Values and heritage in the construction of the Organization of Turkic States: a Turkic archipelago in the making

The official discourse of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) lacks clarity with regard to the topics of heritage and values. While common ethnic and religious values and heritage are emphasized, the dimension of political values is absent. This article finds that the intention of the OTS is to build a common Turkic identity and promote related cultural values and heritage, without a shared political identity and related political values. This leads to the formation of a Turkic archipelago of individual Turkic states with a strong actual emphasis on national sovereignty, not Turkic integration, which is a main stated goal of the OTS. Broader empirical evidence and historical cases have shown that common cultural heritage is important but not sufficient for effective integration. Shared political values are inevitably and utterly needed for an ambitious integration to materialize.