In psychology, psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy, projection is the mental process by which a person attributes their own inner thoughts, beliefs, feelings, experiences, and personality traits to another person or group.
This is the very pattern that Turkey follows in a series of issues, including its relations with Greece.
Projection and Greek-Turkish Relations
Ankara demands that Greece demilitarize the Aegean islands, fearing—haunted by the so-called “Sevres Syndrome”—that they could be used as “springboards” into Asia Minor. At the same time, however, it has assembled the largest amphibious fleet opposite the islands, based in Foça, with a clearly offensive purpose: their seizure. Turkey’s fear that it cannot defend its own borders, due to both internal (Kurds) and external challenges, is thus projected onto Greece.
Likewise, as a counterbalance to the efforts of refugee organizations of Asia Minor, Pontic and Thracian descent advocating for international recognition of the Genocide of the Greeks of Anatolia, Ankara promotes alternative narratives of supposed genocides: in Tripolitsa in 1821 and against the Cham Albanians during WWII. In reality, the latter collaborated with the Nazis and were expelled as collaborators of the occupying forces.
From Gaza to the UN Podium
Today, the larger picture concerns Israel and the accusations it faces of committing genocide in Gaza. In an article for Geopolitico.gr, Israeli analyst Shay Gal stressed that “those who speak of genocide should first look in the mirror.” Commenting on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech at the UN, he pointed out: “When the Turkish president dares to speak of genocide, millions of other accusers stand before him: the annihilated Armenians, the Pontic Greeks driven into death marches, the disappeared Assyrians, the uprooted Cypriots in 1974, the crushed Kurds.”
Projection as Ego Defense
Turkey’s policy is closely tied to projection as a defense mechanism of the ego. As psychotherapist and Geopolitico.gr columnist Manolis Skoulikas explains:
“When a person cannot accept something about themselves, they usually project it onto another. I don’t want to admit that I am genocidal, so I accuse the other of genocide. I don’t want to admit I am racist, so I accuse the other. Or I am homophobic, because in reality I am secretly homosexual. Projection is a classic mechanism for absolving oneself of guilt and evading responsibility.”
The International Dimension
On an international level, strategic analyst Savvas Kalenteridis (YouTube Channel, 1/10/2025) emphasized that “states have memory, and they reproduce it.” Germany was forced to acknowledge its crimes and renounce Nazism. Turkey, by contrast—long treated as the “spoiled child” of both West and East—was never compelled to do so. As a result, it carried out the Istanbul pogrom of 1955, the oppression in Imbros and Tenedos, the 1974 invasion of Cyprus, and now lays claims over the Aegean and Thrace. In short: when the perpetrator of genocide is never punished, they repeat their crimes—and accuse others of the very acts they commit themselves.
Projection and Propaganda
Reports from the Quincy Institute refer to Israeli contracts to promote narratives via social media, but the very same references are intertwined with Turkish propaganda sources (Anadolu). This is a clear case of projection: Turkey accuses Israel of tactics it has been employing itself for years through troll networks and coordinated disinformation campaigns.
In June 2020, Twitter revealed a network of 7,340 accounts linked to the Turkish state, amplifying narratives favorable to the AKP and Erdoğan himself. In March 2022, Turkish researcher Fazıl Alp Akiş, in an article for the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, detailed how Ankara’s troll army was built and evolved.
The Directorate of Communications of the Presidency also plays a crucial role. In April 2023, it spent 282.9 million lira (around €13.8 million), a record figure ahead of the May elections. With a total budget of 1.63 billion lira for 2023 (€80–82 million), it had already consumed 40% of it in the first quarter.
Conclusion
Projection, originally a psychological defense mechanism, has become a tool of foreign policy and propaganda. In Turkey’s case, it functions as a strategic absolution mechanism: accusing other states of crimes and practices it has itself committed or continues to implement, fueling tension and perpetuating conflicts.
