Combating terror is an area on which hot topics have been made for long years. Some favor that severe regulations, establishment of new institutions, strengthening of the security forces and the solid attitude of the security forces without concessions can alleviate the problem. Others demand the change in socioeconomic conditions facilitating terror rather than the legal regulations and they also demand the use of diplomatic and political channels. Recommendations on combating terror usually coincide with the hot moments when the bombs explode or the bombs add flames to these discussions. When the tension is high and people are burst into tears during the funerals of the martyrs, the discussions are based on emotions rather than logic. The terror events, began on 28 March in Diyarbakir and spread to some other cities, revitalized the discussions on how to overcome this problem.

● For a year, PKK terrorist organization, which has practiced 4 different methods since its establishment, has been realizing actions including hit and run tactics against the security forces, coercive intimidation actions against civilians and finally actions aiming to frighten rather than to take lives in tourism regions. In the last Diyarbakir events, PKK practiced a new so-called intifada strategy, by using children and women against security forces. The main point of this strategy is the bringing of children regarded innocent universally and women which are regarded weak face to face with the security forces. In this situation, the security forces aiming children which make serious provocations may be compelled to use force. PKK is estimated to aim that the security forces use excess power upon ‘the innocent children which have no remedies other than revolt and rebellion’ with weapons, sticks and tear gas rather than the children attack on the security forces or the lives and properties of civilians are threatened. In this event, children were used as a shield and tool by PKK and they were put on the front lines.

● In response to the tactics of terrorists, the Republic of Turkey has implemented different strategies. These are series of strategies ranging from extreme military approaches to democratic pluralist approaches, from economic and social policies to preemptive intelligence and works on specific police operations. Mostly the activities of the terrorist organization became a determining factor on the formation and implementation of these strategies. Terrorists who have the lead in terms of selection of action, target and timing also want to be the determining factor on the clarification state strategies. By this, they want to determine rules and the course of the struggle and aim that the struggle takes place in their field. States, which are not able to get the situation right, may start –in a mood of reaction and panic- to make the mistakes the terrorists expect. Some of these are the formation of expectations about solving the problem with legal regulations after the activities of the terrorist organization close all other channels, limitation of the problem with its security dimension but the failure in correctly conceiving the action strategies of the security forces or the solidification of the belief that essence of the problem stems from external enemies. Despite not being totally ready, Turkey has firstly practiced the embracive-soft power strategy on the societal dimension of combating terror during Diyarbakir events. Semi experts of the topic, who are newly introduced with this strategy, hesitated in a great amount about how to assess the developments. Besides the lack of information, this hesitation was also caused by the fact that the strategy could not be implemented correctly.

Strategic superiority over terror may be achieved via embracive-soft power           

● A terrorist wants higher tension, more violence and deaths, but the embracive-soft power does not allow this. Embracive-soft power broadens the state’s base of legitimacy. It prevents the emergence of a turmoil that may occur as a result of brutal power and also prevents the pro-terrorists to take the superiority. Embracive-soft power is extremely successful in achieving the support of the people which is the most significant tool in combating terror. Embracive-soft power has a high level of persuasive influence in ending the propaganda superiority of the terrorists. Embracive-soft power is not a product of weakness but of virtue, mind, professionalism and common sense.

● A terrorist aims that the state copies the value-system of terrorists. However, soft power does not allow this. The state ill be successful as long as it remains loyal to its own system of values. The frequently happening situation that is known as the copying of the rules of terrorists, during which the struggle develops in the way terrorists want, leads mostly to the turning of the security forces to a dirty and an ineffective approach of combating terror. The deception point in this struggle is the approach of multiplied response to terrorists. Although it satisfies emotions and makes people feel comfortable in the short run, in the long run, this approach paves the way for a desired atmosphere for terrorists in recruiting new militants. So the success of states depends on the level of abstaining from the value-system of terrorist organizations and the level of their loyalty to their own values.

● A terrorist wants the agenda based upon blood, tear and tension. However, the soft and embracive power approach does not allow this. Terrorist actions have a further effect on the psychology of the individuals and the society than its physical damages. This aspect of the actions being taken into consideration, it is very beneficial that the state forces reduce the blood and tear to minimum and also reduce the tension calmly and professionally. Because, the significant part of combating terror is psychological. Another way to achieve a high degree of public confidence is to be careful about not permitting that the visible sides of the events, bloodshed and tear lead to misunderstandings.

● A terrorist wants to gain reasons for future propaganda and abuses. However, the embracive-soft power approach does not permit this. The growing of terrorist organizations resembles a snowball. It is started as a small ball, but when the suitable atmosphere and the dominant ground appears, the ball grows up rapidly and by multiplying itself. One of the suitable atmospheres for terror emerges during the mistaken implementations of the security forces. The risk of mistaken implementations is that this kind of developments are assessed on behalf of the interests of terrorist organizations and they are used for enhancing the organization’s credibility in their propaganda against state powers besides propaganda with weapons.

● A terrorist wants to make the legitimacy of the state questionable. However, the embracive-soft power approach does not allow this. The sovereign state is the sole authority that has a right to use legitimate power in the country under its jurisdiction. Terrorist organizations want this authority to be questioned. They try to do this with an alternative method of use of force via the efforts of creating another authority. In a situation like this, state authorities, which get nervous, start to use force also against the ones next to terrorist targets. This leads to the questioning of state sovereignty and legitimacy. From this point of view, combating terror requires more sensitive treatment than a brain surgeon needs in order to succeed.

● A terrorist aims to succeed via the strategies of victimization, innocence and arousing people’s pity. However, the embracive-soft power approach does not allow this. Generally, terror is tried to be defined as the sole alternative of the weak against the strong. This definition may sometimes reflect the truth. However, most of the terrorist organizations do not resort to terror because of necessities, but because they see it as an effective and short way in reaching their goals.

● The embracive-soft power does not make panic, it is not reactive or emotional and it is always ready for events. The basis of the success of the embracive power is that the ones who exercise it are able to use power in the most appropriate time.

● The embracive-soft power holds its channels open in order to inform the public. The soft power provides communication to be made in a planned way by decreasing the atmosphere of tension, chaos and panic with common sense.  

● This strategy is mostly effective in taking the propaganda superiority of the terrorist events into the initiative of the state via its successful media communication and its rational method of setting its own agenda.

● The outcome of the embracive-soft power is the rational and professional public power and this kind of public power does not succumb to excitement and ambition. If the security forces intervened in Diyarbakir events with the lack of patience and without being loyal to their own value-system, these events could have turned to a platform upon which a so-called intifada could be sustained.

● The recent events do not have any historical, humanitarian or legitimate grounds. But it is a risk that the deaths caused by the state forces during this kind of street events, in which children and women participate, may lead to the emergence of innocence which is an indispensable part of an intifada.

Conclusion

Embracive-soft power is the strategy in which logic directs the body and success rests on rational calculations. This strategy is the biggest strength of the state in combating terror especially in following its own citizens who join terrorist groups. The basis of this strength is professionalism, legitimacy, law, calmness, virtuousness, logic and wisdom. In the 21^st century, achieving security is not a physical but a mental issue and this is the rational usage of embracive-soft power which has very successful examples in developed countries. Turkey could not realize its first practice of this new strategy successfully because of not being prepared. So, the first reflections of this approach in Turkey were perceived as the weakness of the state against terror. However, as mentioned above, the embracive-soft power strategy is the most important leverage of success in combating terrorism, if it is implemented in a coordinated way and with all its foundations.    

Trn. By Murat SOGANGOZ, JTW

4 May 2006