Following the failed coup attempt last July in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erogan has been keenly pushing for a referendum – one that is to take place this April. If this referendum were to succeed, it would shift Turkey’s government system to presidential from parliamentary. “Three legislative bodies into one executive branch under Erdogan” thus giving him more power than ever.
Two Turkish politicians who were sent to the Netherlands wanting to take part in a constitutional referendum campaign rally were denied entry, it is said for security reasons. Erdogan, outraged blatantly named the Dutch government of Nazism, threatening to brutally retaliate. He did, in fact, use those harsh words against Germans as well. “I thought Nazism was over but I was wrong… What we saw in the last couple of days in Germany and Netherlands are the reflections of Islamophobia.” Said International Goodness Awards in Istanbul on March 12th 2017.
On one hand, countless European governments question Turkey’s democracy and assertion of basic human rights. It is vital to note that Turkey is, on record, the country with the highest number of jailed journalists in 2016. The nation exercises frequent media censorship, and immoral arrests of extremely large numbers. Not to mention, as Germany officially declared the massacre and illegal deportation of 1.5 million Armenians “a genocide”, Turkey really lost it.
Without getting into this extremely long, complex conflict, let us analyze these outlined issues in relation to Organizational Behaviour. Erdogan exerts a sense of coercive power, essentially instilling fear and threatening the government of Netherlands and Germany. When he does not like the outcome, the tactics he uses are completely immoral and senseless. He uses negative pressure, in the place if rational persuasion. Erdogan is not using positive types of political activity, he is in fact unjustly attacking others, and being extremely unethical as a leader of a nation.
Word Count: 310
Works Cited
McLaughlin, Eliott C. “Tensions Rising between Turkish, European Leaders before Elections.” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. <http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/12/europe/turkish-dutch-tensions-increase/>.
Minkoff, Yoel. “Turkey’s Souring Relations with Europe.” Seeking Alpha. N.p., 13 Mar. 2017. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. <http://seekingalpha.com/news/3250517-turkeys-souring-relations-europe?ifp=0>.
Palkot, Greg. “Tensions Flare between Turkey and the Netherlands.” Fox News. FOX News Network, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2017. <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/14/tension-flare-between-turkey-and-netherlands.html>.