Revisiting Lausanne After 100 Years In the Context of the National Pact Goal

There are many lessons to be learnt from history, with devastating wars and disasters in particular paving the way for changes and developments that are both challenging and painful, in all regards. Among the geostrategic adjustments of the last century, the arrangements regarding the reorganization of geographical and political units after the collapse of the Ottoman State, particularly in Turkey, the Balkans and the Middle East, were made with the Treaty of Lausanne. Although Turkey came to the table as an equal sovereign state, holding its head high, to secure its existence and resolve its survival problem, once and for all, with a national spirit of unity and solidarity, it was forced into engage in a challenging diplomatic struggle with multifaceted conflicts of interest under the influence of the dominant states and new powers in international policy. The focus of the speech delivered by İsmet Pasha in the press conference during the Lausanne Conference can be summarized with two words: National Pact, and there is no wrong in looking at the Treaty of Lausanne within the context of the National Pact. Also, from the perspective of internal political tensions and conflicts, the Treaty of Lausanne caused a domino effect in the transition from the 'ancient regime' to the 'new order' (new political regime). What the Turkish party wanted to do was to give the message that it had undergone a radical change. The strategy for the security of the energy basin, particularly the oil reserves, in the Middle East, which was the most important issue for the West, had already been put into practice following the fall and partitioning of the Ottoman State, and so it would be more rational to monitor Turkey in its current form, which had made the world recognize its existence with war and the National Struggle, and taken a stance of ideological change.

Lausanne could be considered an international political crisis management and solution-seeking process in which particular focus on the new leadership structure that arose out of extraordinary conditions and processes, and its capability and capacity for diplomatic maneuverability became prominent. In the end, the Republic of Turkey rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the Ottoman State. Turkey has now evolved into a different country, based on its willingness to reach the contemporary level of civilization over the last 100 years and its democratization efforts over the second half of the last century. The consideration and improvement of the incessantly controversial Treaty of Lausanne in the light of a permanent national security and policy document that will not change periodically as leaders, ideologies and governments step in, requires and even entails the adoption of a common future vision, along with strategic thinking. Hence, fixed and variable elements shall be addressed as a whole, and this holistic and flexible attitude shall be brought together with deeper levels of the social stratification and international psycology and sociology.