The Sèvres syndrome ( Turkish: Sevr sendromu) [1] [2] [3] refers to a popular [4] [5] belief in Turkey that dangerous internal and external enemies, [6] especially the West, [7] [8] are "conspiring to weaken and carve up the Turkish Republic". [9] The term originates from the Treaty of Sèvres of the 1920s, which partitioned the Ottoman Empire among Armenia, Greece, Britain, France, and Italy, leaving a small unaffected area around Ankara under Turkish rule; however, it was never implemented since it was left unratified by the Ottoman Parliament and due to Turkish victory on all fronts during the subsequent Turkish War of Independence. [10] Turkish historian Taner Akçam describes this attitude as an ongoing perception that "there are forces which continually seek to disperse and destroy us, and it is necessary to defend the state against this danger". [11]
This belief is often described as a conspiracy theory, [12] [13] and has been likened to fostering a siege mentality among certain members of Turkish society.
Danish political scientist Dietrich Jung describes the terms as "the perception of being encircled by enemies attempting the destruction of the Turkish state", and asserts that it remains a significant determinant of Turkish foreign policy. [14] The term has been used in the scope of the Kurdish conflict in Turkey, [15] [16] accession of Turkey to the European Union [17] [18] and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Historian Nick Danforth wrote in 2015 that "Sèvres has been largely forgotten in the West, but it has a potent legacy in Turkey, where it has helped fuel a form of nationalist paranoia some scholars have called the 'Sèvres syndrome'". [19]
According to Fatma Müge Göçek, the literature of Sèvres syndrome highlights three development stages of the "syndrome": [20]
Nefes reports a strong undercurrent of antisemitism, blaming the treaty on a supposed Jewish conspiracy. [21]
In 2019, hailing Turkey's willingness to once more project power across the Mediterranean, Erdogan said "Thanks to this military and energy cooperation, we overturned the Treaty of Sèvres". [22]
According to a Le Monde article, the opening date of Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque for worship was not a coincidence, as 24 July marked the 97th anniversary of the Lausanne Treaty. "In the minds of Erdogan and his far-right partners who rallied after the failed coup, it is a matter of foiling the trap of a 'new Treaty of Sevres'". [23]
In a column responding to the Le Monde piece, İbrahim Karagül, editor-in-chief of Yeni Şafak, suggested that the Western media was not "wrong" in spotlighting the weight of Sèvres on Turkey's newly assertive foreign policy. [22]
In 2015, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, compared the agreement between the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Turkish government in the scope of the Kurdish–Turkish peace process to the Treaty of Sèvres. Bahçeli claimed that the agreement "will lead to the collapse of the Turkish Republic" and has vowed to resist it. This was when Bahçeli maintained an anti-government and anti- AKP stance before suddenly switching sides. [24]
Previously rarely raised, Sevres became a common word in the Turkish political lexicon in the 1990s.
The fear of conspiracies directed toward Turkey by international actors is often referred to as the 'Sevres Syndrome'. It is the belief that the international community, and in particular the Western world, aspire to revive the terms of the Sevres Treaty imposed on the Ottoman Empire after the end of the First World War and basically divide up Turkey into smaller ethnic states.
With the Sevres treaty dead, most of the world forgot it. Turks, though, did not. Many are convinced that the world is still plotting to dismember Turkey. They see every claim for regional or cultural autonomy, including those put forward by Kurdish nationalists, as means to this end. Turkish historians and sociologists call this belief the Sevres syndrome.
The Sèvres syndrome ( Turkish: Sevr sendromu) [1] [2] [3] refers to a popular [4] [5] belief in Turkey that dangerous internal and external enemies, [6] especially the West, [7] [8] are "conspiring to weaken and carve up the Turkish Republic". [9] The term originates from the Treaty of Sèvres of the 1920s, which partitioned the Ottoman Empire among Armenia, Greece, Britain, France, and Italy, leaving a small unaffected area around Ankara under Turkish rule; however, it was never implemented since it was left unratified by the Ottoman Parliament and due to Turkish victory on all fronts during the subsequent Turkish War of Independence. [10] Turkish historian Taner Akçam describes this attitude as an ongoing perception that "there are forces which continually seek to disperse and destroy us, and it is necessary to defend the state against this danger". [11]
This belief is often described as a conspiracy theory, [12] [13] and has been likened to fostering a siege mentality among certain members of Turkish society.
Danish political scientist Dietrich Jung describes the terms as "the perception of being encircled by enemies attempting the destruction of the Turkish state", and asserts that it remains a significant determinant of Turkish foreign policy. [14] The term has been used in the scope of the Kurdish conflict in Turkey, [15] [16] accession of Turkey to the European Union [17] [18] and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Historian Nick Danforth wrote in 2015 that "Sèvres has been largely forgotten in the West, but it has a potent legacy in Turkey, where it has helped fuel a form of nationalist paranoia some scholars have called the 'Sèvres syndrome'". [19]
According to Fatma Müge Göçek, the literature of Sèvres syndrome highlights three development stages of the "syndrome": [20]
Nefes reports a strong undercurrent of antisemitism, blaming the treaty on a supposed Jewish conspiracy. [21]
In 2019, hailing Turkey's willingness to once more project power across the Mediterranean, Erdogan said "Thanks to this military and energy cooperation, we overturned the Treaty of Sèvres". [22]
According to a Le Monde article, the opening date of Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque for worship was not a coincidence, as 24 July marked the 97th anniversary of the Lausanne Treaty. "In the minds of Erdogan and his far-right partners who rallied after the failed coup, it is a matter of foiling the trap of a 'new Treaty of Sevres'". [23]
In a column responding to the Le Monde piece, İbrahim Karagül, editor-in-chief of Yeni Şafak, suggested that the Western media was not "wrong" in spotlighting the weight of Sèvres on Turkey's newly assertive foreign policy. [22]
In 2015, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, compared the agreement between the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Turkish government in the scope of the Kurdish–Turkish peace process to the Treaty of Sèvres. Bahçeli claimed that the agreement "will lead to the collapse of the Turkish Republic" and has vowed to resist it. This was when Bahçeli maintained an anti-government and anti- AKP stance before suddenly switching sides. [24]
Previously rarely raised, Sevres became a common word in the Turkish political lexicon in the 1990s.
The fear of conspiracies directed toward Turkey by international actors is often referred to as the 'Sevres Syndrome'. It is the belief that the international community, and in particular the Western world, aspire to revive the terms of the Sevres Treaty imposed on the Ottoman Empire after the end of the First World War and basically divide up Turkey into smaller ethnic states.
With the Sevres treaty dead, most of the world forgot it. Turks, though, did not. Many are convinced that the world is still plotting to dismember Turkey. They see every claim for regional or cultural autonomy, including those put forward by Kurdish nationalists, as means to this end. Turkish historians and sociologists call this belief the Sevres syndrome.