It is impossible to say something fresh on an identity, a career and discourse that have been built on complaints. This is a state of being and casting it off is a nasty business.

For this very reason, it has never dawned on anyone to question the habit of explaining centuries-long history, religion, culture, tradition and politics with a few concepts in the context of failure- themed writing.

We can explain the fact that our imaginations are imprisoned within the confines of “criticism’” and our inability nevertheless to develop any sort of critique within the context of dependence relations.

Turkish intellectuals are also within the scope of dependence relations in terms of the definitions that shape their imaginations. Those who are able to break free from this are few and far between.

Western imperialism conducted an array of barbaric acts across the world using claims of civilization.

It brought the whole world into line with its military power, technology and weapons, and also reigned over the imaginations of those it conquered.

It managed to impose its own historical problems on the rest of the world, and to add insult to injury became master of their minds too.

Intellectuals of our time are unable to interpret the fundamentals of this era unlike 19th century scholars who were beacons of their own period, such as Ahmet Cevdet Paşa, Ahmet Mithat, İsmail Gaspıralı, Mehmet Akif and Abdürreşit İbrahim.

There is no harm in portraying the gulf between the two eras through foreign dominance over the world of thought.

There were complaints that we haven’t been able to even manufacture a nail until today.

Going back a thousand years, a deep analysis of the stagnation that began with Ghazali was underway. Although Italy was an agricultural country in the 19th century, the difference between the East and the West was discussed. Under the general topic of European History, great stories were written and conveyed that encompassed all eras of Europe with a holistic view under a range of areas, from architecture to philosophy, from shipping to car technology. Assuming that Britain's workbenches included Italy, Germany's factories included France, it was possible to put forward fascinating ideas about Europe. The East couldn’t keep up with the times.

For almost two centuries, We have been discussing the issue of backwardness. However we have to point out the fact that debates have undergone a serious shift since 2013.

Around this time, it was ascertained that many of Turkey’s great projects would begin to materialize. Ever since, Turkey has been undergoing a never- before-seen period filled with intense development.

We have witnessed how scholars, who are famous for their philosophical debates regarding the backwardness of Turkish and Islamic history, take a stance against these great projects.

Especially attempts are being made to dismiss Turkey’s progress in the field of military technology within the context of “Erdoğan’s son-in-law.” “Domestic and national” criticisms were made targeting Turkey’s domestic car due to the fact that the prototype was produced in Italy.

So, what is really going on in Turkey? If we were to take it a step further, “What happened on Turkey?” There is no use in bringing someone in from Europe to try and find the answer to this question.

What happened that led Turkey to start talking of the “Blue Homeland”? Are these the results of momentary success or is there a process to be discussed?

We can enumerate these sort of questions, and we should.

Is this success periodical and momentary or are we currently undergoing permanent, long-term transformations?

There is an invisible connection between Turkey’s humanitarian activities in east Africa and the intervention by foreign powers in Libya.

Did this connection have a catalyst effect on the global intervention by foreign powers in Turkey in 2013? What are the political results it yielded?

Can we speak of a possible link between Turkey’s presidential governing system and the newly-unveiled domestic car?

When I suggested publishing President Erdoğan’s speeches in a book in a previous column I was trying to emphasize a new way of thinking. It is possible to say that Turkey, which is void of an imperialist past, has determined its own dynamics. It won’t be an easy feat to define this process with economic definitions used by specialists in various fields. Turkey is a country with great claims. We need to re-think 19th century efforts for restoration, the era’s accretion and its legacy of ideas in terms of being a source to shed light on the developments of today. We can determine Turkey’s goals and power by analyzing the president’s speeches.

Note that it would be more beneficial to pay no mind to seemingly national elements who have hostile and foreign attitudes toward the national and domestic steps Turkey has taken when analyzing this issue. The current process will cast them away even geographically from anything local. It is clear that they will exhaust all their resources to hinder the production of a domestic car.