The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Chinese hackers attack 12 Korean academic institutions: KISA

  • 3

    Chinese hackers threaten to attack S. Korean cybersecurity watchdog

  • 5

    From period to action: different genre series set for February

  • 7

    Why Korea imports so much kimchi from China

  • 9

    Center offers free STI testing to foreign residents of Korea

  • 11

    Cargo ship carrying 22 sinks off Jeju, 14 rescued but 9 unconscious

  • 13

    ANALYSISChina's reopening to help ease inventory woes

  • 15

    Lawmaker pushes for bill requiring women to join civil defense training

  • 17

    Major Korean banks' overseas branches sanctioned by foreign authorities

  • 19

    Yoon calls for adjusting regulatory, labor systems to global standards

  • 2

    Koreans stunned by spike in heating costs

  • 4

    Heavy snow hits Seoul, surrounding areas

  • 6

    Campaign launched to respect multicultural families, foreign nationals

  • 8

    Cold wave warnings issued across Korea; Seoul witnesses coldest day

  • 10

    Netmarble debuts virtual girl group MAVE:

  • 12

    Korea's move to cut subsidies on imported EVs faces backlash

  • 14

    Homeless women struggle to find place to spend night

  • 16

    More than dozen chaebol scions indicted on alleged drug use

  • 18

    Seoul subway, bus fares to rise by 300 or 400 won

  • 20

    Samsung chief gives gifts to new moms, employees from multicultural families

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
Fri, January 27, 2023 | 07:44
Times Forum
World's leading demagogue
Posted : 2019-03-24 17:03
Updated : 2019-03-24 17:03
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link

By Gwynne Dyer

You can keep your Orban, your Netanyahu, your pathetic Boris Johnson. As for Donald Trump, he's really an icon of democracy, just slightly shop-soiled. The coveted title of World's Leading Demagogue has just gone to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyib Erdogan.

Erdogan may look like an ageing, disappointed post office clerk, passed over for promotion too many times, but he can take an ignorant remark from halfway around the planet and inflate it into an existential threat to Turkey's future. He's desperately trying to rally support for his AK party in local elections due at the end of the month, so what better theme than the threat of an invasion by New Zealand?

"Your grandparents came here," he warned the savage New Zealand hordes, "and they returned in caskets. Have no doubt that we will send you back like your grandfathers." Erdogan had already warmed the crowd up by showing them footage of the massacre of New Zealand Muslims in their mosques by Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant, so they cheered that line.

He was speaking at a rally commemorating the Ottoman empire's victory over British and allied troops who landed at Gallipoli, 200 km southwest of Istanbul, in 1915. ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand) troops played a big part in that First World War battle, which is one of the founding myths of modern Turkish nationalism.

So Erdogan's audience would not necessarily have giggled when he defiantly warned the evil New Zealanders: "We have been here for a thousand years and will be here until the apocalypse, God willing. You will not turn Istanbul into Constantinople." There he stood, metaphorical sword in hand, turning back the New Zealand neo-Crusaders single-handed, and the world heavyweight title for demagoguery was his.

First, a couple of niggling details. Istanbul IS Constantinople; the name hasn't changed. "Istanbul" is just the Turkish pronunciation of the old Greek popular name for the city, "Stamboul."

Second, the Turks have NOT been there for a thousand years. They conquered the city in 1453, five-hundred-and-some years ago. Before that it was Christian for rather more than a thousand years. But you don't want to get caught up in the details when you're holding a flaming sword.

And third, I have never met anybody in Europe who wants it "back." It would be as ridiculous as somebody in the Muslim world wanting Granada or Seville back.

Oh, wait a minute. I HAVE met Muslims who want Granada and Seville back. They tend to be of the Islamist persuasion, but there is a quite widespread conviction in the Arab world that the original 7th-century conquests that gave Muslims control of half of the then-Christian world were legitimate, whereas the 12th-century European counter-offensive that tried to take some of them back (the Crusades) was illegitimate aggression.

It was really just the ebb and flow of empires, with religion mostly as cover. The Muslims (or at least the Ottoman Turks) were on the offensive again by the 15th century, almost reaching Vienna by 1688. Then the tide turned again and the British Empire was almost at the gates of Istanbul in 1915. Nothing to get excited about ― and now it's over.

It really is over. Legally, it has not been permissible to change borders by force since the UN Charter was written in 1945, and in fact few have changed. Militarily, modern technologies and methods of political mobilization have made it ruinously expensive to sustain the long-term occupation of people who do not want to be occupied.

So I think it will be hard for New Zealand to reconquer Istanbul even if it wants to. Turkey is safe. But the old tribal buttons are still there to be pushed, and there are plenty of populist demagogues willing to push them.

Trump has his border wall ('criminal' Mexicans) and his anti-Muslim immigration controls ('terrorist' Muslims). Orban has the Jews (the enemy within Hungary's border) and Muslim refugees (the enemy without). Narendra Modi, now in election mode, has Muslims both within India's borders (cow-killers) and beyond them (Pakistani nukes and terrorists). And Erdogan just has New Zealanders. Must try harder.


Gwynne Dyer (gwynne763121476@aol.com)'s new book is "Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work)."


 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1Koreans stunned by spike in heating costsKoreans stunned by spike in heating costs
2Homeless women struggle to find place to spend night Homeless women struggle to find place to spend night
3Inflation weighs on householdsInflation weighs on households
4[INTERVIEW] Partnerships with Korean companies help Delta Air Lines' post-pandemic recovery INTERVIEWPartnerships with Korean companies help Delta Air Lines' post-pandemic recovery
5'I was a stock investment addict': psychiatrist seeks to help addicted people through his book 'I was a stock investment addict': psychiatrist seeks to help addicted people through his book
6Korea's GDP shrinks 0.4% in Q4, 1st contraction in 10 quartersKorea's GDP shrinks 0.4% in Q4, 1st contraction in 10 quarters
7Netflix series 'The Glory' draws focus to real school bullying Netflix series 'The Glory' draws focus to real school bullying
8Gov't to double subsidies for vulnerable households as energy bills soar Gov't to double subsidies for vulnerable households as energy bills soar
9[VIDEO] Do Koreans know K-pop idols well? VIDEODo Koreans know K-pop idols well?
10S. Korea to increase joint air defense exercises following N. Korean drone incursionsS. Korea to increase joint air defense exercises following N. Korean drone incursions
Top 5 Entertainment News
1From period to action: different genre series set for FebruaryFrom period to action: different genre series set for February
2Miguel Chevalier's psychedelic digital universe takes audience participation to next level Miguel Chevalier's psychedelic digital universe takes audience participation to next level
3Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film
4Yun Hyong-keun's hanji works come under spotlight in Paris for first time Yun Hyong-keun's hanji works come under spotlight in Paris for first time
5Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E' Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E'
DARKROOM
  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

  • World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

    World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

wooribank
CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group