This week I have decided to explore the blogosphere in search of international events and their effects on Turkey, both domestically and internationally. Interestingly the few great sources that I have come across have the same topic in agenda; the presidential election that the United States of America is going through and its impact on the international arena. I have analyzed their thoughts and viewpoints in regards to the focus of my blog. The first blog that I commented on is called Internation Musing. It is a blog initiated by Hans A.H.C, a Dutch living in Istanbul with co-bloggers from Turkey, Greece, The Netherlands, and the USA. This blog focuses on politics, culture, religion, art, daily life, and communications. The reason that I find this blog to be such a solid source is because of the diverse opinions that the bloggers bring. The quality of Internation Musing is the vastness of its spectrum. I have chosen to comment on a post titled "Hop Aboard The Obama Change Train" written by Bea Vanni from North Carolina, because she passionately argues about how Senator Obama will bring the much needed change that the USA and the world has been anticipating. The second article that I chose to comment on is not from a blogsite, but a website called the Turkish Daily News. The article is called "US Presidential Elections And The World." It is written by Ilter Turkmen, a Turkish diplomat and politician, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in the early 80's.The reason why I chose this article rather than a blog post is because I though that Turkmen would be a credible and legitimate scholar analyzing the issue from an educated and knowledgeable Turkish perspective. This article talks about the outcome that Turkey will experience as a result of this election. I have commented on Bea Vanni's post in Internation Musing and emailed Ilter Turkmen, but I am also including my comments below.Comment One:
Bea,
Thank you for you intriguing post. The presidential election is indeed a crucial subject for the United States as well as the rest of the world. The outcome, without a doubt, will impact the international arena and will be an important day in history, no matter the result. I agree with you when you argue that it is Senator Obama who triggered the conscience of the nation to go running to vote. I also agree that Obama is like a breath of fresh air to stale American politics. He is different than what we are accustomed to see and expect. He truly is a charismatic standing for the whole of the nation rather than the elite. Barack Obama may very well be the leader that the US Nation and the world is waiting for, in order to cease the downgrade of US power, using diplomacy as a tool, development and peace as a goal. Speaking of leadership, the Parade Magazine survey that you have included in your post worries me. I question the analysis of a current presidential candidate in regards to two "great" presidents of the past. The major issues that arose while I was thinking, were who are the two greatest presidents that Obama and McCain are being compared to? Greatness is a subjective concept and including this type of evidence in your post makes the reader question the credibility. Also another issue I would like to point out is that you have brought out the advantages of having Barack Obama as president and you have not criticized him at all. However you have criticized John McCain to the maximum and have not included advantages of having him as president. Is this because you truly do not have any common views with John McCain? Or is it your personal bias towards Obama? You end by saying "Barack Obama is the only choice for a new America and the restoration of foreign diplomacy and teamwork." Either way, I hope that for the sake of the world that the most beneficial result comes. Thank you Bea, for making me think about many parts of this election that I had not earlier. I look forward to your next post.Bea,
Mert,
Assuming from your name that you are Turkish, I am glad to see such optimism and faith in change and development. We all are wishing for the best outcome, however from a realistic Turkish perspective I suggest that you understand fully the decisions that Obama will make that might not benefit the Turkish Nation.
Best,
Aylin Ece Cicek
http://www.aylinececicek.blogspot.com/
Comment Two:
Mr. Turkmen,
re, is an accurate description of this. The world public is supporting Obama, and even the Turkish public. I find this to be disturbing because I do not think that the public understand the situation with all of its advantages and disadvantages. They cannot see the consequences that either result brings. Although I think that Barack Obama will be a better choice for the world, I must say I have my doubts about the impact of his decision making to our country. I am also as concerned with John McCain and his extreme realism. Although McCain can be noted as a liberal republican, he still has some values that are not up to date with the era that we exist within. Coming back to how Turkey would be impacted by this election and the next president of the USA, I think that you have narrowed the concerns of our nation successfully. The three main worries that Turkey has, them being terrorism, Cyprus, and the Armenian issues, are what we should be focusing on as a nation. You end by saying: "Nuance is critical in diplomacy and officiousness is dangerous." This statement indicates the depth of your experience and quality of your ideas. Thank you Mr. Turkmen, I look forward to your next article.Best,
Aylin Ece CicekUPDATE: Senator Barack Obama has been elected to be the next president of the United States of America.
1 comments:
Aylin,
I enjoyed reading about the United States Presidential election from an international perspective that is generally absent from the day-to-day dialogue within the United States. Even more specifically, you chose to approach the subject through the lens of, “how will each candidate affect Turkey?” – which is not a question I think many in America had even considered. It has been my impression that most people in the world, as you point out, support Obama; yet this statement alone does not necessarily mean that Obama will actually benefit them or their countries.
I think analyzing and commenting on a blog written by an American, and a blog written in Turkey, makes a lot of sense for what your post attempts to accomplish. So although I found the material to be extremely interesting, and the structure and basis of your post to be strong and effective, I found that I wanted more depth on the central question posed, as to whether or not each candidate would be good for the Republic of Turkey. I think this deserves a lot of discussion. For example, when you point out that many people in America and most people throughout the world support Obama, you argue that it is “disturbing because I do not think that the public understand the situation with all of its advantages and disadvantages.” I wonder what these advantages and disadvantages are. From my own extensive examination of each candidate, and their foreign policy platforms, I have concluded that an Obama Presidency would be the best thing for the world. That said, however, I have never taken the time to research how it would directly affect Turkey, and I therefore would have benefited from a list of proposed advantages and disadvantages. The only other critique I can offer about this post is that perhaps the labels could be less generic. Although the post is indeed about democracy and elections, maybe they could let the reader know that the post planned to take an international approach in discussing these topics.
Overall, I felt that this post was written well, and that the topic is not only relevant, but important. I think we would all benefit from spending more time discussing issues from an eclectic range of perspectives. I also liked the last quote you offered about diplomacy – and I am confident that a President Obama can restore the power of diplomatic relationships throughout the world.
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