Forget About Turkey’s Angry Reaction—International Norms of Armenian Genocide Recognition Clash With Nationalistic Memory

The 109th Armenian genocide Memorial Day is approaching on April 24. It presents an excellent opportunity to examine the significant global shift in recognition since the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in 2015. Notably, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members like Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.S. Congress, as well as President Joe Biden, along with countries such as Lithuania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and prominent international bodies like the European Parliament and Pope Francis, have officially recognized the Armenian genocide.

Forget about Turkey’s angry reaction. Despite Ankara’s warning of a potential “wound” to relations after the U.S. Congress recognized the Armenian genocide in late 2019, trade with Turkey spiked to a record $21 billion in 2020. Business returned to usual after Turkey summoned the U.S. ambassador over the recognition of the Armenian genocide in 2019.

A similar pattern emerged after Germany recognized the Armenian genocide in 2016. There was short-term anger by Turkey’s Foreign Ministry to satisfy Turkish public opinion, but then it was back to business as usual. I suggest that other factors, such as local nationalist memory, also play significant roles in the non-recognition of the Armenian genocide.

At its core, I believe, this resistance reflects a nationalistic memory landscape that prioritizes local narratives and narrow histories, directly conflicting with the international norms of acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide.

The Armenian genocide refers to the systematic extermination of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I, resulting in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians. On its 109th anniversary, the issue remains contentious, particularly for Turkey and Azerbaijan, both of which deny the genocide label.

What changed in 2015?

Recognizing the Armenian genocide has become a more prevalent practice since 2015, placing pressure on European Union (EU) member states and other Western nations to refrain from opposing recognition efforts. While the “diplomacy of genocide” and strategic relationships with Turkey and Azerbaijan often contribute to this reluctance, the issue remains complex and disputed.

The ongoing struggle between global recognition efforts and the complexities of national decision-making processes is illustrated by Israel, which has yet to recognize the Armenian genocide. Acknowledging it could directly challenge other nationalistic memory priorities, particularly under the leadership of ultra-nationalist coalitions spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since 2009.

Israeli legislation such as the Nakba Law (2011) limits freedom of speech concerning the memory of the Palestinian Nakba, impacting civil organizations that receive funding from the government. The nation-state law (2018), which emphasizes Jewish nationalism, underscores the significance of only two official state remembrance days for the Holocaust and causalities of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). This legislation influences the narrative surrounding non-Jewish atrocities and often results in their exclusion from national historical memory.

Moreover, there is a clear conflict regarding the dates of late April each year in the Israeli calendar. While the International Day of Armenian Genocide Remembrance falls on April 24 each year, Israel’s national Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah) is observed on the 27th of the Hebrew month Nisan, according to the Jewish calendar, typically falling at the end of April.

In Australia and New Zealand, military history occupies a pivotal role in national identity, notably through the “Anzac myth.” The term “Anzac” stems from the acronym “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps,” coined during World War I, when troops from both nations participated in the allied forces’ landing at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. About 16,000 Australians and New Zealanders arrived that day to Gallipoli. By nightfall, 2,000 of them had been either killed or wounded.

As the Australian government asserts: “The Gallipoli campaign was a military failure. However, the traits that were shown there – bravery, ingenuity, endurance and mateship – have become enshrined as defining aspects of the Australian character.”

During the Gallipoli campaign on April 25, 1915, Mustapha Kemal, later known as Kemal Atatürk, who would become the founder of the Republic of Turkey, reportedly instructed his men as follows: “I don’t order you to fight, I order you to die.”

On April 25, 1985, one day after the 70th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, at Australia’s request, the Turkish government officially renamed the landing location Gallipoli as “Anzac Cove” in return for memorials to Atatürk in their respective national capitals. Australia’s initiative aligned with Turkey’s strategy to promote a “Kemalist” nationalist modernizing ideology globally, portraying Atatürk as a war hero. Australia, New Zealand, and Turkey drew upon their respective nationalist narratives of military history, potentially overshadowing the recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Similarly, nationalist histories clash over dates on the calendar: the International Day of Armenian Genocide Remembrance falls on April 24, conflicting with April 25 marked as “Anzac Day.”

Let’s dispense with the notion of a Turkish angry response to the recognition of the Armenian genocide; it’s a short-sighted distraction.

Dr. Eldad Ben Aharon (@EldadBenAharon) is an Irish Research Council (IRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in international security at Dublin City University. He leads the research project titled, 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and Israel’s Foreign Policy: Securitization, Geopolitics, and Arms Trading.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.