First it was a bestseller about the United States attacking Turkey, then Mein Kampf was number 1 (Look at Curzon’s picture, what book is right above Mein Kampf?). Now this:
Turks embrace novelist’s war on EU
ISTANBUL The year is 2010 and the European Union has rejected Turkey. Fascist governments have come to power in Germany, Austria and France and are inciting violence against resident Turks and Muslims. A vengeful Turkey joins forces with Russia and declares war against the EU. Turkish commandos besiege Berlin, obliterate Europe and take control of the Continent.
Some critics will be quick to dismiss “The Third World War,” a new futuristic novel by a 30-year-old Turkish writer, Burak Turna, as the wild imaginings of a conspiracy theorist and literary shock jock – and in many ways it is.
But the novel, which dominates bookstore display windows in Istanbul, has sold more than 130,000 copies in just two months and is rising on best-seller lists across the country. As Turkey embarks on 10 years of tortuous talks to join the EU, Turkish observers say the novel’s popularity reflects the growing wariness of Turks about a Europe that is increasingly wary of them.
Thanks to Grendel for the tip. I’d be wary of making any conclusions based on this article though. Both Curzon and I were in Turkey last year and while this article does show there is a nasty populist sentiment out there related specifically to the Iraq War, what it does’t tell you is that Turks just like most Arabs, differentiate between the US government and people. Ironically, the Arabs I met in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan were much friendlier to me than many Europeans. Arabs will quickly tell you they have problems with the US government but no problems with the people. They like us. The same goes for the Turks. You may hear a quick sentence or two about problems with the government but the rest of the conversation will be how much people want to go live in America and them asking you how they can do it.
Perhaps you guys are aware of it, but there were at least a few such similar novels written in Japan preceding WWII, forecasting a coming war with the U.S. and predicting American defeat and the take-over of Hawaii by Japan.
I fear the rise of such fiction in China. National fictions and mythologies can be powerful tools to whip countries into hysterias, the historical examples are too numerous to list. The real danger is when such talk seeps into the national discourse.
“…that Turks just like most Arabs, differentiate between the US government and people. Ironically, the Arabs I met in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan were much friendlier to me than many Europeans. Arabs will quickly tell you they have problems with the US government but no problems with the people. They like us. The same goes for the Turks….”
Is it really much of a surprise that folks who live in authoritarian or dictatorial societies would think that there’s some sort of great *differance* between the American people and the US government?