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While Iran has virtually no close ties with the West and certainly does not speak with the White House, Turkey is a NATO member, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks from time to time with U.S. President Donald Trump. Other than that, the resemblance between Turkey in past few months and Iran is strikingly odd. Is Iran serving as Turkey’s role model, or does it just so happen that it has taken similar courses of action?
Looking at the years prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the United States has helped Iran develop government institutions and Westernize the country culture. One such move was the White Revolution, an aggressive campaign of social and economic Westernization that included redistribution of land, increased rights for women, and attempts to improve literacy and health in rural areas. Following the revolution and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran has become more hostile towards the West and turned its back to the liberal reforms.
In Turkey’s case, while it remains a member of NATO, Erdoğan has abandoned Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s vision of a secular country to become more religious. Will his next move be disengagement from the West? Only time will tell, though the recent acquisition of the S-400 missile system from Russia suggests that Turkey is heading in that direction.
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