SEATTLE — "Now it is time to naturalize the flow of history," wrote Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's minister of foreign affairs in the March 16 edition of The Guardian.
The process of naturalization is now under way in the region that Davutoglu refused to describe as the Middle East (arguing that the term is "orientalist," and preferring to call the region "West Asia and the south Mediterranean").
Davutoglu is one of the most articulate and passionate Turkish politicians of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Along with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Gul, he has labored to naturalize the flow of history in Turkey, sidelining an incessantly intrusive military, and forging links between regions, cultures and competing political thoughts. While the mission was and remains arduous, it has successfully led to the emergence of a unique Turkish political thought — proud of its roots, yet receptive to progress and modernity.