We asked various specialists about the crisis that culminated in the occupation of the US Congress building by Trump supporters and the broader context of these events.
These specialists emphasized that the events in Washington cannot be interpreted as a part of the election crisis and drew attention to the fragmentation within the state and society, stating that the foundations of the crisis will not disappear under the presidency of Biden.
Prof. Dr. Semih Koray, Prof. Dr. Hasan Köni, Dr. Efe Can Gürcan and ANKASAM US-Security Advisor Kadir Ertaç Çelik evaluated the developments in the States.
‘SEGMENTATION IN THE STATE APPARATUS’
“The Trump supporter’s raid of Congress should be considered as an indicator of the level of fragmentation that exists within the state apparatus in the US, and is strongly reflected in the society,” Head of Vatan Party International Bureau Prof. Dr. Semih Koray said, stating that America has been experiencing the deepest disintegration outside the Civil War period since its establishment.
“This attack is not a reflection of the real America, as some claim, on the contrary, it is an event that mirrors the reality of America. The reason for this disintegration is America’s desperation to halt the rapid decline it entered,” Koray added.
THE FOUNDATION OF SEGMENTATION WILL NOT BE REMOVED WITH BIDEN
Prof. Dr. Semih Koray continued his words as follows:
“To date, neither America’s armed interventions nor sanctions have been able to stop Asia’s rise. On the contrary, every road that America has tried has caused it to lose the initiative and to consolidate the world-wide unity against the hegemonic efforts. Like Trump, Biden is nothing new.
Biden’s America will try to revive the Atlantic System and give the US new attack opportunities. To this end, there is no doubt that the US will try to take advantage of some of the expectations and processes that the “presidential change” has caused, especially within the Atlantic System, but also partially outside of Atlantic influence. But since the material basis of the disintegration in America will not disappear with the transfer of the presidency, clearing the obstacles that may arise in the domestic front is a major problem for the new administration of the US.”
WHO CAUSED THIS, TRUMP OR BIDEN?
Emphasizing that the answer to the question of whether Trump’s supporters raiding Congress with guns is “Trump’s work” or whether it was opened by Biden, Koray stated that this incident has largely neutralized and isolated Trump both inside and outside the United States. “The incident undoubtedly hit the reputation of the American system,” Koray said, and noted that the cost of trying to eliminate the effects of the disintegration in an environment where the disintegration is so deep is necessarily high.
THE OPPRESSED AND DEVELOPING WORLD IS READY FOR BIDEN
Koray concluded his words as follows:
“The Oppressed and Developing World is ready for Biden. Because America is no longer America that “declared a Crusade that will last for decades” at the beginning of the millennium, and more importantly, the rest of the world is equipped with the experience of the achievements it has gained in the fight against hegemony over the past two decades. This experience is a candidate to remove the “temporary Biden effect” in a short time by reinforcing the unity in the fight against world hegemony.”
‘THE USA IS GOING TO COLLAPSE’
International Relations and America Specialist Prof. Dr. Hasan Köni stated that the USA is rapidly collapsing, and recent events confirm this. Köni stated that the US can no longer use NATO for its own interests outside the region.
“America has based its world leadership on human rights, liberal economy and democracy concepts until today. They have none of that right now. America’s position in the world is rapidly declining. The States fell behind China,’’ Köni said, emphasizing that America is facing serious problems.
“Without an economy, there is no military power. In the past, first the soldiers and then the economy went to the target countries. They were exploiting the countries they captured militarily. Now this situation is disappearing. America, which used to compete in the international arena, is now struggling with its own internal problems.’’ Köni highlighted, noting that a large part of the US is experiencing economic difficulties and the country’s economy is not good.
Underlying that the unemployed and poor of Central America are following Trump, Prof. Dr. Köni stated that America’s chaos cannot be overcome in a short time. Köni stated that the ideology that “Our destiny was to rule the world”, which is frequently expressed in the USA, has also come to an end, and that many countries of the world have begun to advise the US after the recent events, and that this advice is an expression of the collapse.
CHINA POLICY
Köni reported that the US, which criticizes China for oppressing the Uighurs, nonetheless puts heavy pressure on the minorities in its country, on its own people. “It is very difficult to realize the thesis of the US administration’s national security advisors to compete against China over the liberal economy and international organizations. Recent developments have eliminated the possibility of competing with the liberal economy for a long time. America has to give something to its millions of citizens who rebelled,’’ Köni said, reminding that the new president Biden made statements that envision competing with the allies against China.
US-NATO RELATIONSHIP
Prof. Dr. Hasan Köni also said the following about the US, Europe and NATO relations: “One of the largest research companies in the US has done research in Europe. All the countries studied are NATO countries. They asked the Europeans, “What would your attitude be if there was a war between the US and China?” 69% of Europeans replied “we remain neutral”. This shows that the US allies are no longer willing to follow the US. From now on, the US cannot use NATO for its own interests. The era of the US using NATO in non-regional issues has come to an end.”
Noting that Europe is pleased with China’s investments in Africa, Köni said, “As African countries develop due to Chinese investments, and employment generating investments increase, there is no immigration to Europe. This also suits Europe fine.”
HISTORICAL CHANGE IN AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURE
Istinye University Head of Political Science and Public Administration Department, Faculty Member Dr. Member Efe Can Gürcan stated that the United States is going through the longest election process in its history. “We observe that this political struggle gained a strong momentum and became more massive when Trump supporters raided the Congress in the first week of 2021. “The fact that election irregularities and violent conflicts have come to the fore in the US, which was once shown as the bastion of freedoms and liberal democracy, shows that there is a historical change in American political culture,’’ Gürcan said, stating that although the voting process ended about two months ago, an ongoing election chaos still dominates American politics.
‘THE JIHADIZATION OF US POLICY’
Gürcan continued his statements as follows:
“In an atmosphere where liberal democratic norms are about to dissolve, it is not overlooked that the culture of ‘militia gangs’ inherited from the pre-establishment history of the USA has begun to take over mainstream politics. There is a factor in political sociology that we call ‘Répertoire d’action collective’ (collective action repertoire). This factor expresses an “arsenal” of forms of action, strategies and means adopted by political actors. This arsenal is transferred from generation to generation or from action to action as a historical and cultural experience. It spreads as a collective habit and shapes social struggles. The habit of organizing through militia gangs has really begun to leave its mark on today’s US. Beyond gangs, actions in the style of driving the crowd and knife attacks on unarmed civilians have historically been engraved in the action repertoire of the US far-right that has taken the mainstream into the mainstream, once associated with so-called jihadist terrorist organizations that exploit Islam, such as al-Qaeda and ISIS. In this sense, the phenomenon of the “jihadization of US politics” can be mentioned against liberal democracy and beyond the gang culture. It can well be said that the terrorism that exploited Islam and the globalized interventions under American hegemony and terrorism came back around and hit the US. “
‘NEOLIBERALISM SHOT ITSELF’
Stating that the neoliberal policies of the United States were damaging herself, Gürcan continued as follows:
“Underlying these developments is a deep process that has spread over a long period. In the American political science literature this process is called “culture wars”. The traces of the cultural wars can be traced back to the period before the establishment of the US, but this phenomenon has been widely discussed in the 1990s and has become sharper and sharper today. Again, we see that politics of neoliberalism the United States imposed on the whole of the developing world, especially Chile, including Turkey through foreign-backed coup d’états, eventually shot itself in the foot.
‘THE WAR CAME TO THE BORDERS OF THE USA’
Evaluating the possible effects of the phenomenon of cultural wars, symbolized by Trump supporters’ raid of the Congress, on international politics, Gürcan made the following comments:
“Under conditions where US domestic politics are paralyzed, it will not be easy to realize a comprehensive paradigm renewal in the West-centered global capitalism struggling in crisis. The credibility of the USA, which has an unstable domestic politics, as an ally has been damaged. At the same time, political actors who calculate by leaning their backs on the United States will have a harder time going. In the fields of global governance and international cooperation, a period has begun when revisionist powers such as China can come to the fore against the USA. Turkey is likely to benefit from this state of the economy and politics, to renew her alliances, and to improve her regional power. The USA, on the other hand, was deprived of the pretext of bringing “democracy and freedom” to other countries through foreign interventions. The war has already come the borders of the USA, which once declared war on the world. “
‘IT’S NOT ABOUT THE ELECTION’
Ankara Crisis and Political Research Center (ANKASAM) US-Security Advisor Kadir Ertaç Çelik stated that the recent events in the United States should not be read as a simple reaction to the election results.
Noting that Trump has been in conflict and confrontation with the establishment in the USA since his presidency, Çelik said that the masses in the USA have been thrown to the extremes, become more radical and the US dream has come to an end. Stating that “we have witnessed the democracy crisis of the USA claiming to lead democracy”, Çelik emphasized that the democracy crisis of the USA is not new and reminded Kennedy assassination. Çelik said, “We know what happened to the leaders who had problems with the establishment before.”
CONFLICT WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT
Çelik continued its evaluations as follows:
“Globalists also intervened in Trump’s line against the US establishment, and they did their best to do so. Social media companies blocked the US president’s posts and imposed an embargo. But Trump stood stronger and did not allow the same to happen on his own. And as of last night, although Trump’s power ended de facto after the elections, he made a breakthrough, taking radicals behind him. They tried to maintain the power with an unlawful method. People raided the Congress and died there. It turned out that there was no monolithic structure in the country, from the national guards, to the intelligence officials, to the police. Photos of some policemen embracing the demonstrators were spread. The States started to bleed. The US administration, which was able to move the problems beyond the borders in the past, can no longer achieve this. It has its problems within itself now and faces a systemic crisis. “
THIRD WAY: TRUMPISM
Stating that a new political formation may arise from this polarization and conflicts in the USA, Çelik reminded the ‘Trumpism’ discussions:
“The USA dream is over: the downfall of the US economy, the continuation of the systemic global crisis, the global failures, the political crisis in the country, the crisis of the states formed the infrastructure of these actions. We will also witness more serious complications. This situation may lead to the emergence of a new political tendency in the country. A third option, called ‘Trumpism’, could develop. Maybe not with Trump because of his age, but we can witness a new political structuring created by US radicals with Trump or someone in the Trump family, son, son-in-law and the bottom wave. A new structuring may emerge against the globalists, against the US establishment.’’