The Founding Philosophy of Nations

THE FOUNDING PHILOSOPHY OF NATIONS

Every country has a founding philosophy. The future of the country is built upon this initial foundation. Changing this founding philosophy later is almost impossible or requires a long and arduous process. In fact, it is possible to broaden the concept of founding or operational philosophy to include companies and institutions.

Every company has its own unique working philosophy, employer-employee relations, and operational philosophy. A company continues with the same philosophy and understanding as it was first established. Those who come later must adapt to this philosophy (approach). I would like to give an example: The fundamental philosophy of Google, founded in 1998 by two students named Larry Page and Sergey Brin and publicly offered in 2004, was defined by its two founders as follows: To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Another slogan was "Don't be evil." Those who start working at Google must accept these fundamental philosophies.

The same applies to nation-states: Let's take a brief journey through history if you wish:

USA

How was America founded? What were the conditions that necessitated the establishment of such a nation-state? What was its fundamental founding philosophy?

As you know, before the USA existed, the British Empire established colonies in the eastern region of America. Its purpose was to seize vast lands for the increasingly widespread cultivation of tea, sugar, and tobacco. Settlers from England established plantations on the lands they seized by killing or expelling Native Americans. When they failed to enslave Native Americans, they used Black people brought from Africa as slaves.

In short, the initial foundations of the USA were built on cultivating produce. Later, the English farmers who settled there refused to pay taxes to the British Empire. The War of Independence began. US independence was founded not on race or religion, but on taxes, that is, money. That is why today, when a foreigner goes to America, what is important to Americans is not the foreigner's religion or race, but their disciplined work and timely payment of taxes. Slavery was used as an element to increase economic wealth and was abolished in 1865 by the 13th Amendment. Although slavery was abolished in the Constitution, its physical and psychological effects continued for many years, slowly disappearing.

FRANCE

While France was an empire, it was restructured as a nation-state with the revolution in 1789. It has three fundamental slogans: Liberty, equality, and fraternity. These three words constitute the founding philosophy of France. Although there was a strong desire to return to imperial values later, the laws known as the Code Napoleon (the Civil Code prepared by Napoleon) ultimately form the fundamental values of today's France. Napoleon's Civil Code also forms the basis of all current Constitutions. If you wish, let's take a look at the fundamental values that Napoleon, who is always introduced to us as a "ruthless dictator," brought to humanity:

1. He was the first founder and implementer of the principle of secularism in the sense we know it.
2. Leaving aside the Magna Carta, which came into force in England in 1215 and limited the powers of the king, he implemented the first Constitution in the world in the sense we know it.
3. He abolished slavery.
4. He opened education to the public.
5. He implemented the tax system and the concept of the Central Bank, which are still in use today.
6. Napoleon founded the modern high school and university.
7. He prioritized reason over traditions.
8. He established street numbering and the modern postal system.
9. The military strategies he invented were in use for years.
10. He provided pensions to the families of fallen soldiers.

Napoleon's aim was to conquer all of Europe, which was surrounded by empires, and establish a state based on the principles I listed above.

SPAIN

Once, in the south of Spain, there was the magnificent Umayyad Caliphate of Andalusia. A Catholic front was formed to expel Muslims from Spain, or rather, from Europe. Spain is a religious state founded on Catholic values. Because by prioritizing Catholic values, the Muslims were defeated. In later years, all states and governments established in Spain have undeniably prioritized Catholic values.

Before moving on to the section about Turkey, I would like to tell an anecdote. When the North American continent was colonized, the Spanish, who had conquered Mexico, advanced from the south (California, Texas, etc.), the French from the north, and the English from the east. The Spanish pardoned Native Americans who adopted Catholicism and massacred the others. The English killed Native Americans who did not want to give up their land or become slaves. The French, coming from the north, treated Native Americans equally on the basis of "Liberty, equality, fraternity," settled in places where Native Americans allowed them, and traded with them. The French quickly took control of 80% of today's America, but because Napoleon needed money to continue the wars in Europe, he sold these lands to the English.

TURKEY

Although the founding fathers of the Republic of Turkey nation-state faced great difficulties, they adopted two fundamental principles: Secularism and Republicanism based on the Constitution. Turkish was accepted as the official language in the Constitution. In a sense, Mustafa Kemal remained loyal to Napoleon's revolutions and was influenced by them. Napoleon's aim was also to make French the official language throughout Europe. In later years, subsequent governments adhered to this principle, and other languages in France were either banned or marginalized.

When the Turkish Republic nation-state was established, a series of Kurdish rebellions emerged; they wanted to establish their own nation-states but failed. This, in a sense, meant accepting the established Turkish Republic nation-state. The Constitution did not discriminate on the basis of race in education and training; every position was open to everyone as long as they spoke Turkish. The principle of secularism and women's rights were protected, the National Pact (Misak-ı Milli) was taken as a basis, and it was hoped that a strong state structure would emerge, especially with the principle of equality in education. Village Institutes and Regional Boarding Schools were implemented to accelerate this process.

However, the principle of equality in education alone was not sufficient, the principle of secularism was disregarded, and Alevis suffered discrimination. Perhaps if a federal structure could have been foreseen when the Republic was first founded, many problems would have been prevented, but since we do not have the chance to go back and change history, the necessity arose to conduct politics based on the Republic of Turkey founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Today, the Republic of Turkey exists as a nation-state with its official language Turkish, its flag, and its territorial integrity. The founding philosophy of nation-states does not emerge easily. The Republic of Turkey, rightly or wrongly, has paid and continues to pay a price to uphold this founding philosophy. Today, if change is desired, the fundamental principles of the Turkish Republic's founding philosophy must first be accepted, and from there, necessary articles should be added to the Constitution within a framework of good faith and democratic cooperation. For example, while slavery existed in America's first Constitution, it was abolished in later years with an amendment.

Kurdish parties established in Turkey disregard the flag of the Republic of Turkey or the principle of the country's integrity. As a Kurd, the colors of the traditional Kurdish flag are also in my heart, and I wish that Kurds and Zazas, without disrupting the integrity of the Turkish Republic and without threatening the nation-state structure, could have access to their mother tongues from primary school onwards. No one knows what the next 50-100 years will bring. Furthermore, manipulating the emotions of the people by saying "we will establish an independent or federal Kurdish republic within the borders of the Turkish Republic" is synonymous with jeopardizing Turkish-Kurdish peace and trust and inciting civil war. Kurds will be able to achieve their goals peacefully and securely, if necessary, on the basis of civil disobedience, by using the nation-state structure, the principles of the founding fathers, and the rights recognized by the Constitution.

Today, Kurds live in four different countries. Every Kurd should seek their rights peacefully based on the founding philosophy and Constitution of the nation-state they live in, and they should inspire a sense of integration, not alienation, with the peoples they live among. Greater Kurdistan may live in hearts as a utopia, but for real life to continue in peace and tranquility, solutions should be sought within the framework of nation-state structures.