Cultural Influences on Politics

by Mehmet Fatih ÖZTARSU

Brenda Shaffer works to define cultural domination on states' foreign or domestic affairs in "Is there a Muslim Foreign Policy?"article. With some examples, Shaffer is explaining this event us. Firstly, Shaffer begin the article with Huntigton's thesis: "The Clash of Civilizations"

Samuel Huntigton’s thesis bases on idea that culture has main role in defining of policy. Also Brenda Shaffer agrees with Huntigton’s thesis. Shaffer says that culture is main mechanism for diplomatic relations. Shaffer interprets culture as specific culture of country's within religion, history and civilization.

Western scholars researched about Islam effection in Muslim countries after 11 September terrorist act. They looked at Muslim scholars, historians, diplomats and generals. They understood Islam effection as strong as nuclear weapons. But this is not a physical thing, this is an ideology. And they speeches to newspapers, politic journals a subject that has a title as "Do Muslim countries act differently than Non-Muslim States?"

On the other hand, Shaffer interests about this subject under the psychological perspective. Human beings are often driven by culture according to Shaffer. Also, human behavior effects on to state affairs. But state acts partly different from human behaviors. We can give example from philosophical history: Some philosophers think that the state is a thing like human. But it is systematically human. The state’ action is like people's actions. State is big form of human and human is small form of the state. As behavioral psychological meaning has different dimensions.1

Shaffer gives an example about different state decision-making. Some Muslim countries have Anti-American people as behavioral. But these states make alliance with the USA like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. Commonly we can see incongruent actings between states policies and people behaviors.

Shaffer's Caspian perspective has common beliefs. According to Shaffer, all Caspian countries have been influenced by Islam effection after from the Soviet Union. And now they have Islamic perspective on their state affairs. But Shaffer judges all Caspian and Middle Asia area as Islamic effection zones. But it is not totally like that. Today these countries are secular except Iran.

Iran - Playing Politics with Islamic Style

The Islamic Republic of Iran is important in this area according to Shaffer’s idea. After the collapsing of the USSR, Iran wanted to export their Islamic regime to other neighbor states. In Central Asia and Caucasus territory, Iran plays for exporting their Persian Islamic mind as a regime under the title as "Islamic Solidarity" with economic and security events. Shaffer is true for this event. Iran wanted to export their regime to other states. But American or Western scholars' view point is different. They are looking as totally  Islamic system to Iran. They say about Iran that they are working for Islamic fundamentalism. But Iran’s Islamic mind is very different from normal Islamic idea. Persian Islamic system bases on fundamentalist movement. If we look at Turkey, Egypt or others, we can see normal, laic Islamic behavior. Also Shaffer says their false point in next sentence. "Poor Muslim countries have an influence circumstance but secular Muslim countries challenges to Iran like Turkmenistan."

But Tehran has faced three regional disputes :

-           the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict (Christian Armenia versus Muslim Azerbaijan)

-           The Chechen conflict (Chechen Muslims versus Moscow)

-           The Tajik civil war (The Islamic Renaissance  Party versus Moscow

In these mix circumstances Iranian fundamentalist approach transformed to self-interest system.  And most telling of these policy preferences are Iran’s support for Armenia instead of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.2

By these events, Iran’s state security was challenged in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia since Iran is a multiethnic state. Shaffer Gives information about Iran’s population: Half of Iran’s population is comprised of non Persian ethnic minorities; Azerbaijani groups. The majority of the residents of Iran’s northwestern provinces which border the country of Azerbaijan and they are Azerbaijani. But Iran’s relations bogged down with Baku because of Iranian self interests.

Shaffer shows their ideas that Iranian diversity of opinion is good example for Iranian foreign policy. There are some different points as historical legacies and religious differences in policies.

"On the other hand Turkey attempted to conduct a balanced policy toward both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Also Turkey helped for Karabagh conflict to Baku."

Turkey changed its policy when Karabagh became a conflict. This is an example for cultural combines. (Brenda Shaffer)

According to many observers, religious differences have played a central role in the Caspian region. With these happenings, Azerbaijan supported Chechnya. Also some analysts have assumed that religious differences serve as a basis for conflict between Muslim Azerbaijan and Christian Armenia. Over these events, common culture serves as a basis role for alliances and coalitions and different cultures act as an obstacle to cooperation.

Shaffer's opinion is that there are cultural alliances are created follow by from collapsing of the USSR.

Tehran's main argument is Shiite background in their helping system. Also Turkey and Azerbaijan shares ethnic Turkic and Muslim backgrounds. Also Russian and Armenian background is Orthodox Christian form. But Georgian-Russian conflict is different from this event. It bases on security alliance.

Final

Culture may be material interest of regime survivability. Islam is more likely to affect policy under conditions that see greater domestic and personnel influences on foreign policies.

Some governments explain and justify their policies in cultural terms. We must analyze a country's foreign policy on the basis of actions. We have anticipated the New Testament to Germany or Russia or Torah to Israel like Islamic system. Shaffer asked question : "What does the Koran have to say an a foreign policy question?"

If Islam influences them, they should act with Islamic interaction. (Shaffer)

The USA wants an enemy for their father emotion on the worlds. They forced as goodness of the world during the Cold War. They defended the world’s countries from dangerous communist system. Their interest was communism in that time. But they wanted a new enemy for regulate the world with themselves. After the Cold War, their White House Scholars worked for a new enemy. There was a "Red Dangerous" thing. But today there should be "Green Dangerous" thing. And its name is Islam. 3

The USA's fans defenses western style always. There shouldn't be a religious system like Islam around the world according to them. But they don't look at Israeli system or American Christiantic base.

Today there is a Muslim conflict. And the USA is patron of the world. So they are working for peace, democracy and other good things. But the world's people will know works of the USA. All terror act's, all problem's, all ethnic clashes...

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1 Dogu Bati Journal  - 26
2 Karabagh conflict begin in the late 1980. And Armenia attacked to legal boundaries of Azerbaijan.
3 Politic Declaration Fikret Baskaya - Ideologies.

Mehmet Fatih ÖZTARSU
Qafqaz University Law Faculty
International Relations