Content Type: Journal Article / Journal: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations

1. EU Governance: Struggle Between Cooperation and Competition

Author:: N. Nevra Esentürk
Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: EU governance is characterized as a multi-level system in which various actors are involved in the policy-making procedure at multiple levels in a non-hierarchical way. During the course of the European integration process, EU governance has been brought forward as a response to the citizens' quest for a legitimacy through enhanced democratization in the decision-making mechanisms and as a tool that would increase the leverage and competitiveness of the EU to have an efficient way of functioning for the enlargement of the Union. In that respect, the legitimacy and the representative power of the EU and its institutions are put under scrutiny, as powerful and at the same time efficient decision-making mechanisms are necessary for the EU. However, although significant changes are enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty regarding the decision-making procedure and policy outcomes, it has been limited with struggle between cooperation and competition at vertical and horizontal levels under the shadow of supranational hierarchy that has created mistrust on the EU institutions and decision-making structures from the perspective of citizens. The article addresses this issue on the grounds of the reasons and the circumstances in which EU governance emerged, the principles and characteristics it is based on, the means and ways it utilizes, and the effects on the decisionmaking process of the EU.
Political Geography:: Europe and Lisbon

2. Looking Within and Without: The Path to Tread by Muslims

Author:: Shamsul Khan and Mahjabeen Ahmad
Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: There is no doubt that relation between the Muslim world and the West is often dominated by simmering distrust and antagonistic feelings although they may not always boil over. Tensions and recriminations abound and so do arguments and justifications. The need to find common grounds do not get translated into intentions or sincere efforts to move forward as the past casts a long shadow over the present. Typecasting a billion-plus fellow human beings or their faith as objects of dread or hatred as is being done by the West through fomenting Islamophobia needs to be prevented. Muslims must be able to reassert their true identity and earn their rightful place in a world dominated by Western power and influence. This may begin to happen if Muslims denounce and repudiate all the wrong that is being done in the name of their great religion, speak for themselves, develop religious and community leaders who are well equipped to impart the right knowledge and effectively address contemporary issues that confront Muslim societies and countries, and revive the spirit and unity of the ummah. Only then can they effectively fight not just the menace of Islamophobia, but also the injustices and discrimination in their own countries and those that are perpetrated by the West. The West must also turn their gaze inward and admit their role in creating this 'Great Divide'; they need to realize that their overbearing attitude toward Muslims and relentless depiction of the latter as their common folk devil will inevitably have undesirable, serious, and long-term consequences.

3. Sustainable Democracy and the Paradox of the Arab Spring: The Egypt Experience

Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: <p>The Arab spring began with an uprising in Tunisia and subsequently spread to Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, Libya, Yemen and Syria. The protest has been referred to as the Arab spring and for others the Arab democratic revolution. Despite the substantial variants of the revolt it explains a component of a great collective shift from long tenure and authoritarian rule. The aftermath of the transition from authoritarianism to democracy should have been the establishment of independent democratic structures. This is the only way that a sustainable democracy can be guaranteed. This is where such factors as religion (Islam), monarchies, military and fundamentalism, come to be a crucial factor in analysing and assessing the success or failure of the Arab democratic revolution. This paper is of the opinion that a sustainable democracy within the Arab world cannot be guaranteed, in view of the above contesting variables for political/state power and influence. Each of these variables is not only anti democratic but present a contradiction in democracy. Egypt experience is instructive. What is thus needed is a frame work to manage and structure these diversities toward providing sustainable democratic political institutions that are in consonance with democratic tenets without radically changing the norms, values and nuances of the Arab society</p>

4. Rethinking the Conflict- Proneness of Oil-Rentiers State in Historical Context

Author:: Muhammed Kürsad Özekin and Zeynep Arıöz
Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: With the rise of intra-state conflicts in the Middle East, particularly in the last two decades, the causality relationship between oil wealth and political stability has become a matter of debate in the literature. However, despite the proliferating research interest, the impact of oil revenues on regime stability and civil conflicts still remains contested in both theoretical and empirical terms. Bearing this limitation in mind, this article aims to present a fairly general but analytically broadened framework to explain the relationship between the decline of the oil-rentier states, and the rise of intra-state conflicts experienced in the Middle East in the past two decades. Putting matter into the historical context of the state formation and the colonial legacy in the Middle East this study presents a slightly different reading of the causality relation between oil revenue and the conflict-proneness of rentier states. Thus this article, to a certain extent, moves beyond the conventional explanations of the rentier state theory and argues that oil revenue cannot be taken as an explanatory variable of conflicts per se.
Political Geography:: Middle East

5. Religion as a Factor in Israeli-Turkish Relations: A Constructivist Overlook

Author:: Tugçe Ersoy Oztürk
Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The influence of religion in the foreign policy has recently begun to be discussed among the scholars of international relations field. That the role of religion as an attribute of individuals and communities and in its institutional connections with the state cannot be ignored has started to be widely accepted. This study argues that besides the material reasons stemming from realpolitik, there are also behind the scene, certain “cultural codes” that have played an important role on the actions and discourses of Turkey's leaders on the foreign policies and especially on the deterioration of Israeli - Turkish relations. This study seeks to find the effects, if there are, of religion in the Israeli - Turkish relations by exemplifying Turkey in its relations with Israel to see whether the recent rupture is a result of the religious orientation of AKP government.
Political Geography:: Turkey and Israel

6. An Empirical Look to the Arab Spring: Causes and Consequences

Author:: Muhammed Kürsad Özekin and Hasan Hüseyin Akkaş
Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This article pursues two main objectives. First, mainly drawing on empirical evidences rather than journalistic impressions and reports on the Arap Spring, it aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the sets of socio-economic and socio-political factors that have been deeply rooted in the region for more than half a century and which have driven (and continue to drive) a wave of uprisings across the region commonly labelled as the 'Arab Spring'. Thus, this study expects to present a slightly different reading of the Arap Spring by placing the issue into the socio-economic and socio-political context of the recent past. Secondly, by considering a range of factors such as the responses of the regimes, the role of security forces, the ethnic and sectarian makeup of the societies and the politico-institutional feature of states, it explains how the unfolding of events has differed from country to country and why some uprisings have succeeded in toppling regimes and others have not.
Political Geography:: Arabia

7. Turkeys Development Assistance to Fragile States: From Sporadic Actions to System Building Practices

Author:: Deniz Göle
Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This article aims at presenting policy recommendations for Turkish decision makers with a view to address Turkey's needs to ensure effective and timely development assistance to fragile states. The analysis begins with a quick look at the controversial relation between aid, growth and poverty in order to provide a basis for understanding aid effectiveness as well as some of the ongoing debates and limitations in the development assistance field. It then gives an insight on the current state of Turkey's development assistance to fragile states and briefly explains major characteristics of Turkey's aid policies and practices in fragile state contexts. The study focuses on describing the necessity for shifting Turkey's development assistance paradigm and is concluded with recommending a new paradigm along with its operational framework in three pillars namely; Institutionalizing Peace, Building the Functional State and Risk Distribution.
Political Geography:: Turkey

8. Guest Editor's Note: The End of the Arab Spring?

Author:: Philipp O. Amour
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: In December 2010, a revolutionary spark in Tunisia initiated what is now referred to as the Arab Spring. Since then, many countries across the broader Middle East have been swept up in uprisings that have led to fundamental shifts in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. The same drive for change has also led to minor changes in Jordan, Morocco, and elsewhere.
Political Geography:: Middle East, Libya, Yemen, Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco

9. Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya: A Comparative Analysis of Causes and Determinants

Author:: Ufiem Maurice Ogbonnaya
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The Arab Spring, a pro-democracy uprising which has been sweeping through North Africa and the entire Arab world since 2010, has been described as a cataclysmic revolutionary wave that has seen the over-throw of numerous political regimes in its wake. This has had great impacts on the political developments and democratic governance in the Arab world in particular and the world in general. Though the political, environmental and socio-economic factors and variables that resulted in and sustained the revolutions in the affected states appear similar in nature, they vary from one country to the other. Using the MO Ibrahim Foundation Index, Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index among others on selected indicators, this paper draws a comparative analysis of the key factors and variables that gave rise to the Arab Spring. The paper focuses particularly on the North African countries of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Findings show that the inability of governments in these affected states to respond adequately to the growing demands of political inclusion, good governance, job creation and policies of inclusive growth played fundamental roles in awakening the people's consciousness, resulting in the revolutions. This paper recommends the institutionalization of participatory and multiparty democracy and the implementation of people-oriented policies such as job creation and the introduction of poverty reduction programmes among others, as a means of sustaining the success of the revolutions.
Political Geography:: Africa, Libya, Arabia, and Egypt

10. From the Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe to the Arab Spring: Lessons for Democratic Transition

Author:: Ayfer Erdogan
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The last two years have witnessed an unexpected series of events unfolding in the Arab World leading us to make comparisons with the fall of Communism in 1989. Developments in the Middle East and North Africa made headway at a rapid pace. The overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt, the civil war in Libya and the ongoing inner conflicts in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen were just as unexpected and stunning as the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. It is ironic that many observers attempting to make sense of these events have chosen the term 'Arab Spring' to define this movement, which somehow recalls the Eastern European analogue 'Prague Spring' in 1968. Many political scientists and analysts viewed these events taking the fall of Communism as a common point of reference. The Arab Spring is reminiscent of the Eastern European Revolutions in 1989 in many respects, yet a deeper analysis shows that significant similarities are outweighed by key differences. This paper attempts to address the recent wave of democratization which has swept across the Arab world in a comparative context and discuss the similarities and differences between the Arab Spring in 2011 and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.
Political Geography:: Middle East, Eastern Europe, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, and Bahrain

11. When Life Imitates Art: The Arab Spring, the Middle East, and the Modern World

Author:: Sean Foley
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: What was the intellectual vision that led to the Arab Spring and what are its roots? This article investigates how that vision took shape in the years immediately before the Arab Spring through the work of poets and popular Arab singers like Hamza Namira and Maher Zain. It argues that the vision in art and politics mirrored the desire of many Arabs and Muslims to find new ways to solve the challenges plaguing their societies. The vision also reflected a) how the downturn in the global economy after 2008 combined with major environmental changes to galvanize millions to act in the Arab World b) how social media and new communications tools helped to mobilize dissent and to limit the ability of governments to effectively repress their populations. More than two years after the Arab Spring began in late 2010 the movements it spawned are radically reconstructing societies in the Middle East. They are also undermining some of the basic assumptions of the international system, many of which have been in place since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Political Geography:: Middle East, Arabia, Syria, and Egypt

12. 'Blown Away by the Winds Like Ashes:' Biopower in Egypt's #25 Jan and Iraq's 14 Tammuz

Author:: Elizabeth Bishop
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Citizens of the Arab Middle East have taken part in a wave of democracy movements; in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia at least, their protests have resulted in regime change. Drawing on Michel Foucault's personal experiences in one of these countries, and informed by his concept of “biopolitics,” this essay connects Egyptians' current liberation struggle with their earlier revolution in 1952, in order to compare these experiences with Iraqis' 1958 Tammuz revolution. Were new social media as important, as the level of funding dedicated to the military? And what is the role of diplomacy in a revolutionary moment?
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, Libya, and Egypt

13. Debating the Merits of the "Turkish Model" for Democratization in the Middle East

Author:: Paul Kubicek
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The “Turkish model” has been upheld as a positive example for Middle Eastern countries, particularly in light of the Arab Spring. While Turkey is, in many respects, successful—it has a dynamic economy and in recent years has made great strides toward political liberalization— and the current Turkish government has high standing in the Arab world, this paper will argue that the applicability of a “Turkish model” to other settings is limited. In part, this is due to confusion over what the “Turkish model” precisely is or should be. For many years, the “Turkish model” was taken to be Kemalism, or a statist, authoritarian, secular order imposed “from above” with the goals of modernization and Westernization. More recently, the “Turkish model” would mean embracing a more moderate-type of political Islam, exemplified by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). While the AKP has proven to be successful in Turkey, it came to power in conditions very different than those that prevail in the Arab world at present. In particular, the AKP has evolved to reconcile itself to secularism in Turkey and embraced a program of Europeanization through accession talks with the European Union, an option not on the table in Arab states. Finally, a comparison of the political culture of Turkey with that in much of the Arab world reveals significant differences in values and priorities between the two cases.
Topic:: Democratization
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Arabia

14. Turkish Foreign Policy toward the Iranian Nuclear Programme: In Search of a New Middle East Order after the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War

Author:: Moritz Pieper
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Turkey's role in the Iranian nuclear dossier is often portrayed as that of a 'facilitator' and 'mediator' in scholarly analyses. NATO member Turkey was seen as a potential bridge-builder between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the 'Western camp' of negotiators. During prime minister ErdoÄŸan's first legislature, however, Ankara's and Washington's foreign policy outlooks and strategic priorities started to diverge in the course of Turkey's new regional engagement in what has been theorized as a 'Middle-Easternization' of Turkish foreign policy. It is Turkey's location as a geostrategic hub in a politically instable region that informed Turkey's 'Zero problems with neighbors' policy and foreign minister DavutoÄŸlu's advocacy for a 'Strategic Depth' in Turkey's foreign and regional policies. Ankara emphasizes its need to uphold sound relations with its neighbors and publicly stresses an unwillingness to go along with Western pressure on Iran, and insists on the principle of non-interference and Iran's right to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes. All the same, Turkish-Iranian relations are undergoing a deterioration in the wake of the Syrian civil war at the time of writing, with both sides supporting diametrically opposite causes and factions. Turkish-Iranian fundamentally differing conceptions of regional order will also impact upon Turkey's leverage power to defuse the Iranian nuclear crisis. This paper therefore adds a timely contribution to our understanding of a multifaceted and nuanced Turkish foreign policy toward Iran that can be a critical complement to 'Western' diplomatic initiatives in the search for new paradigms for a new Middle East order.
Topic:: Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: Iran, Washington, Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, and Syria

15. The 'Arab Spring' and South China Sea Tensions: Analyzing China's Drive to Energy Security

Author:: Henelito A. Sevilla
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The Arab Spring has brought significant changes to the political landscape in many Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries since early 2011. It has also affected the geo strategic and economic interests of powerful emerging Asian states, especially China and other net-energy consuming countries. One immediate result of the Arab Spring is its highly disrupted impact (a ' Black Swan') on the production and supply of crude oil to the economies in Asia due to their high degree of reliance on hydrocarbon from the Middle East. Chinese reactions to Arab Spring have fed tensions between itself and the countries with which it shares the South China Sea, most importantly the Philippines and Vietnam. This paper demonstrates that the black swan effect of the Arab Spring is manifested in the renewal of a geo-strategic competition in the South China Sea as China is re-asserting its historical claims over the control of the area and of its possible hydrocarbon reserves.
Topic:: Economics
Political Geography:: China, Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa

16. Book Review: Iranian and Turkish rapprochement: Damaged by the Arab Spring?

Author:: Vahit Yucesoy
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Well-researched, and well-documented, L'Iran et la Turquie face au Printemps arabe (Iran and Turkey in the face of the Arab Spring), written by authors Mohammad-Reza Djalili and Thierry Kellner, sets out to analyse the Arab Spring from the vantage point of two major non-Arab powers of the Middle East. Given the shortage of academic books on the reaction of these two major powers to the Arab Spring, the authors' book comes at a very pertinent time.
Political Geography:: Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Arabia

17. Book Review: Change and Opportunities in the Emerging Mediterranean.

Author:: Hamdy Bashir MohammedAli
Publication Date:: 11-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: In Change and Opportunities in the Emerging Mediterranean, the editors Stephen Calleya and Monika Wohlfeld, have succeeded in pulling together outstanding essays on challenges facing the Southern Mediterranean countries in transition to provide insight into policy measures that should be adopted to create a more stable and prosperous future. It is important to note that this book is a collection of essays written by eminent academics from the North African countries that are experiencing change and reform as well as European scholars. They provide important conceptual and methodological insights as they investigate the diverse patterns of political mobilization, the various indigenous traditions of order and governance, and the institutional mechanisms that have shaped the state-making process.
Political Geography:: Europe and North Africa

18. Historical Construction and Development of Bosniak Nation

Author:: Caner Sancaktar
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Every nation and national identity is a product of long historical process because nation is constructed and develops historically. Especially, conflicts with other ethnic - religious groups, nations and central government make great contribution to construction and development of nation. Therefore, as other nations, Bosniak nation historically has been constructed and developed during centuries. Major historical events and steps which shaped and affected historical construction and development of Bosniak nation are as following: (1) Islamization process in Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Ottoman rule since second half of 15th century; (2) the Bosniak rebellions led by Bosniak landowners and kapetans (the commanders of fortresses) against the Ottoman central government in 19th century; (3) armed resistance of Bosniak people against the Habsburg occupation, political opposition of Bosniak clerics and landowners against the Habsburg rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1878 and 1918, and foundation of the Muslim National Organization in 1906; (4) Political opposition of the Yugoslav Muslim Organization founded in 1919 against Serbian and Croatian nationalism which oppressed Bosniaks within the First Yugoslavia; (5) clashes between Bosniaks and the Chetniks and between Bosniaks and the Ustasha during the Second World War; (6) official recognition of Bosniak nation by the socialist regime as one of the six constituent nations of the Second Yugoslavia; (7) significant progress in economic, social, political and cultural status of Bosniak people in the Second Yugoslavia; (8) foundation of the Party of Democratic Action and the Muslim Bosniak Organization after collapse of the socialist regime; (9) the Bosniak armed resistance against Serbian and Croatian militarist-nationalism during the Bosnian War from April 1992 to December 1995; (10) foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which Bosniak politicians undertake influential political roles after the Bosnian War; (11) newspapers and periodicals published by Bosniak intellectuals, political parties and cultural associations in the periods of the Habsburg rule, the First Yugoslavia, the Second Yugoslavia and after collapse of the Second Yugoslavia. So, this article, in order to explain historical construction and development of Bosniak nation, focuses on these historical events and steps occurred within six historical periods of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1463 and 1878, the Habsburg rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina until 1918, the period of the First Yugoslavia between 1918 and 1941, the period of the Second World War, the period of the Second Yugoslavia until 1990, and disintegration process of the Second Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Political Geography:: Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Yugoslavia

19. Could Turkey Be a Dominant Regional Power?: The Rise of Turkey as a Country of Middle-East and Europe

Author:: Bulend Aydin Ertekin
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: According to the common idea, "the economic power determines the political power." By this general principle, when we look at the powerful states, we see that these states (countries) have, at the same time, the powerful political effect on the other actors. In this paper, some trade and economic data of Turkey are shown in order to localize its place in the World rankings. By this purpose, this paper argues the fact that Turkey which, being one of the countries belonging G-20, has tried since 1991 to play a big role in its bilateral relations in Caucasia, Central Asia and Middle East (CCAME). However, when the data of international business of Turkey and those of each one of the countries of Central Asia treated in the contents of research are studied, it is seen very clearly that the influence of Turkey in Central Asia is not very dominant or does not create a dominating effect over the economic plan in spite of the existence of the diplomatic effects, visa facilities and the visits based upon the cultural level and mutually testified. Without any doubt, although nobody can deny the existence and the probability of the gradual growth of Turkey's relations in CCAME's countries, Turkey, whose face is turned mainly towards the occident and the large majority of trade made within the European countries,tries to be an influential actor in the determined areas. Naturally, in spite of the celebration of Nawruz with the Turkic World, acting as a Muslim country in Middle East, and accepting the norms of European Union as a European democratic and laicized country in Europe, Turkey presents several identities and makes it a multi-colored actor who can be used in favor of Turkey's interests.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Globalization
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Middle East

20. Turkish-Armenian Relations and the Issue of the Recognition of the claims of the Armenian genocide

Author:: Alica Vidlickov
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This article examines the Turkish-Armenian relations, its development throughout the history and the situation between those two countries since Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the prime minister of Turkey in 2003 resulting in the change of the Turkish foreign policy. The main focus is on the problems between Turkey and Armenia stemming out from the different view on the happenings in 1915 and the recognition of the so called Armenian genocide. The article analyzes the decision-making of the individuals, the international organizations and the states when it comes to the question of the so called Armenian genocide and the reasons of the decisions made by individuals and states. These decisions are subjected to criticism on the basis of the reality image theory by Ibrahim Canbolat (1993) and the Thomas theorem (1928) as well as other criteria. States are the most important actors in the article because they form the foreign policy and the influence of this particular problem of the decisions of states influences the relations between Turkey and the EU as well as other world powers. Turkey's importance and image are still worsened due to these reasons and unfortunately, it seems that states have no interest in finding the truth.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Genocide
Political Geography:: Turkey and Armenia

21. Transformation of Turkish Foreign Policy Toward the Middle East : From Non-Involvement to a Leading Role

Author:: Mustafa Yetim and Cengiz Dinc
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Turkey's foreign policy toward the Middle East has gone through a radical change over the decades. Earlier periods were marked by almost a complete neglect. However, since Özal, Turkey's interest toward the region has constantly increased. Especially in the last few years of the AKP government, in line with the new foreign policy vision, the Middle East has started to occupy a central place in Turkish foreign policy. In this article, underlying factors of this changing policy and newly envisioned regional role for Turkey will be analyzed. Turkey now pursues a pro-active and multidimensional foreign policy; and the Middle East seems to be the most suitable area for Turkey to implement a successful foreign policy based upon its new parameters.
Topic:: Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Israel

22. The Trials and Tribulations of Constitutionalism and the Constitution Making Process in Zimbabwe

Author:: Jephias Mapuva
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Constitutionalism in Zimbabwe has been characterised by controversy with citizens getting a raw deal. The colonial era was characterised by deprivation of basic rights and civil liberties. A plethora of constitutions were established to try and create a semblance of black representativity. The post-colonial era was informed by governance structures provided by the Lancaster House Constitutional document which was a surrender document that brought the protracted liberation struggle to an end. The vagaries of the Lancaster House Constitution lived to haunt even those who fought for the country, leading to an expression of dissatisfaction with its contents. After successive indecisive elections conducted under the Lancaster House Constitution, the political and economic crises of 2008 led to an impasse and the signing of the Global Political Agreement which gave birth to the Inclusive Government, a transitional arrangement during which a new constitutional draft would be written and put to a referendum. This paper will explore the general theory of constitutions from the Aristotelian classical perspective. Thereafter the paper will also provide an overview of the concept of constitutionalism, followed by the case of Zimbabwe from the colonial era and the various constitutional documents that existed. The recent political development and the role of civil society herein represented by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) will be presented and how the civic group has articulated the constitution reform debate since its inception in 1997.
Political Geography:: Zimbabwe

23. Critical Security in the 21st Century: The Resonating Voices of Thucydides

Author:: James Rochlin
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: What makes Thucydides' work so incredibly alive and relevant for global politics today is the analytic of how the story is told. Three points stand out in this regard. First, the The Peloponnesian War features a momentous epistemological jump. One facet of this, among so many, is that divinity is swept aside and humans become the masters of their own destiny. Next, despite its recent reputation for being a classic text of Realism, Thucydides' work is not subject to the stultifying shackles of ideological boundaries. It is vastly eclectic and non-doctrinaire. Finally, the unraveling of the 27-year epic war is told through a multitude of competing voices that evokes the reader to interpret the text's ultimate meaning. It is this element that injects so much life into the text, since rather than being subjected to the dictation of 'truth' through an author's monologue, the reader must assume the role of judge and truth producer. These themes of epistemic rupture, human agency, eclecticism and situated truth are vital in relation to analyzing the current juncture in world politics, especially regarding the opportunities and perils of navigating through a sweeping transformation of the global constellation of power.

24. American Democracy Promotion In The Arabian Gulf

Author:: Muhammad Azam and Sagheer Ahmad Khan
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Advanced democracies, including the United States, have been championing democratic promotion around the world. In the past, American policy towards the Arab Middle East, however, had been mainly based on just paying lip-service to democracy sans concrete measures for promoting a democratic culture in the region. The events of 9/11 marked a watershed in the history of US foreign policy towards the region. Facing calls for a democratic Arab World from home and abroad in the wake of 9/11 the US government raised the ante for pushing democracy in the Arab Middle East. The rhetoric and emphasis laid on 'democracy in the Arab World' by the American leadership over the years after 9/11 was unprecedented. This study deals with the visible shift in US foreign policy vis-à-vis democracy in the region, focusing on the six GCC states, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to American approach and strategy, practical measures taken in the areas of politics, economy, education, media, civil society, and human rights is also furnished. An effort is made to understand and highlight the methods and tools employed by the foreign democracy promoters, both at the levels of state and society. However, a large part of the study appertains to the activities conducted at the grass-roots level. The study is comparative in its nature, based on empirical analysis.
Topic:: Civil Society and Human Rights
Political Geography:: United States, America, Middle East, Kuwait, Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman

25. Rabindranath's Nationalist Thought: A Retrospect

Author:: Narasingha P. Sil
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Tagore's anti-absolutist and anti-statist stand is predicated primarily on his vision of global peace and concord—a world of different peoples and cultures united by amity and humanity. While this grand vision of a brave new world is laudable, it is, nevertheless, constructed on misunderstanding and misreading of history and of the role of the nation state in the West since its rise sometime during the late medieval and early modern times. Tagore views state as an artificial mechanism, indeed a machine that thrives on coercion, conflict, and terror by subverting people's freedom and culture. This paper seeks to argue that the state also played historically a significant role in enhancing and enriching culture and civilization. His view of an ideal human society is sublime, but by the same token, somewhat ahistorical and anti-modern.
Topic:: Nationalism

26. The European Union: A Schumpeterian Model of Democracy?

Author:: Markus Pausch
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: One of the most discussed aspects of the so called democratic deficit of the EU is the lack of a European public sphere. The Union's democracy is perceived by its citizens as Schumpeterian in nature and this perception corresponds to a large extent to reality. Schumpeter described democracy as the rule of the politician, who gains decision making power in the free competition over votes. The parliament's role is of minor importance; it decides more by acceptance than by initiative. Citizens can neither bring up the issues nor decide them. The European Union is indeed an ideal platform for such a model, be - cause it is elitist, technocratic and rather complicated for the ordinary citizens. European integration was and still is an elite-dominated project, where citizens do not have many possibilities to intervene during legislation-periods. Over many years, the consensual behaviour of the political elites hindered the emergence of broad debate and of conflict in a European public sphere. As a consequence, scepticism towards the integration process became stronger in the Member States. At the beginning of the new millennium, politicians tried to turn the table by stressing the importance of the involvement of the citizens. A convention was installed to work out a Constitutional Treaty. But once again, the debate remained elite-dominated. The heads of governments finally signed another elitist compromise without the broad involvement of the citizens. The rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands in 2005 can thus be considered as the result of an elitist and Schumpeterian model of democracy which is perpetuated by the new reform treaty of Lisbon. Thus, the claim for a European public sphere remains relevant, although scholars differently define such a sphere. The argument of this paper is that besides the often claimed Europeanization and transnationalisation of European debate, the notion of broad conflict is of high importance for the emergence of a European public sphere.
Political Geography:: Europe, France, and Netherlands

27. Compromize and Controversy Over Global Intercountry Adoption: A Comparative Analysis of Adoption in Haiti, Chad, Southeast Asian Countries, and Cambodia

Author:: Dr. Kieran E. Uchehara
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Authorities in belligerent countries are now faced with a new problem: modern warfare and natural disasters. Between 2001 and 2010, four relatively publicized adoption related cases have caused some Third World countries to revitalize their concerns over the rights of children in such cases of adoption, mainly the New Life Children's Refuge (NLCR) in Haiti, the Zoe's Ark in Chad, the Katherine Hart case in Southeast Asian countries, and the twelve United States adoptive parents' case in Cambodia. The thesis of this paper is that there are systemic vulnerabilities and gaps in the current global adoption systems across the Third World Countries, thus creating irregularities and scandals that are predictable to an extent, such as the ones in the four cases under consideration. An investigation will be made as to some of the lessons that can be drawn there from. In the end, this paper concludes by highlighting that, although the four do not hint at the full picture of complications that may arise as a result of global adoption in their corresponding regions, they do, indeed, bear important ramifications, ones that are ignored at the cost of the well-being of children involved.
Political Geography:: United States, Asia, and Cambodia

28. Regional Innovation Policy: An Analysis of Turkey's Aegean, Marmara, East Anatolia and Southeast Anatolia Regions

Author:: Yavuz Selman Duman
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This paper analyzes the main intuition behind the concept of Regional Innovation System (RIS) and the corresponding policy implications in a literal notion. The aspects that are the reasons of regional disparities in terms of innovation such as clusters, agglomerations, research and development (R) will be investigated via observing whether development agencies, clusters, industrial zones and universities which overall are contributing factors in regional development exist or not. Aligned with these aspects, this paper analyzes the reasons for the disparities between regions. Consequently, policy approaches and innovation strategies towards the regions that are distinguished due to disparities (as peripheral, metropolitan and industrial regions) will be presented. The following will constitute of the analysis of Turkey's Aegean, Marmara, East Anatolia and Southeast Anatolia regions with respect to the results reached in the prior analysis. The objective is to investigate the characteristics of the corresponding regions and determine the aspects for the developmental gap between them. The policy applications regarding regional innovation systems, the effects of universities in the mentioned regions and the adopted policies within the process of EU membership are presented. The literal analysis indicates that although in the recent years there have been improvements regarding regional development, previously it has been the western regions that received the most attention. These findings could be verified in a further research with a thorough statistical analysis using regional data on labour productivity, capital investment, expenditure on R, registered patents and economic growth.
Political Geography:: Turkey

29. Turkish Political Culture and Civil Society: An Unsettling Coupling?

Author:: Begüm Burak
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This paper attempts to analyze Turkish politics in the post-1980 period with a special reference to the relationship among the state elites, political elites and societal actors, and its impact on the constitution of civil society in Turkey. After the 1980 military intervention, the political and economic realms of Turkey witnessed a relative degree of liberalization through Özal's neo-liberal policies. The January 24 economic decisions paved the way for economic liberalization as well as letting new economic and societal actors emerge. These new economic actors were different from the prevailing economic actors which used to enjoy a considerable amount of opportunity spaces in the economic sphere. Together with the Özal governments, Islamic segments started to become powerful in both political and economic realms. This paper analyses the chief traits of Turkish politics and economics and their impact upon civil society aftermath the 1980 coup in general, and the relationship and/or interaction among the state elites, political elites and societal actors in particular. The engagements of newly-emerging societal and economic actors into Turkish political scene and the challenge of these actors against the so-called “Kemalist-Republican” elites are also illustrated in the paper. Moreover, state-Islam interaction, politics-Islam interaction as well as Kemalism-newly-emerging societal and economic actors interaction will be studied with a special emphasis to the post-1980 period. The major argument of the paper is that, in Turkey, both civil society issues and political issues reveal outcomes which are primarily shaped by the nature of the relationship between state elites and political elites in general and by Turkish political culture in particular.
Topic:: Civil Society
Political Geography:: Turkey

30. Transitioning Afghanistan in the Post-Withdrawal Era: Setting the stage for a stable political order

Author:: Reza Sanati
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Within the coming year, the American led-NATO mission will begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Though the decrease in troop levels in the short-term has been expected, the final date wherein all American and NATO troops leave the country is still a matter of heated debate, primarily for two reasons: the inconclusive steadiness of the present Afghan regime and the uncertainty of what a post-withdrawal Afghanistan would like. With this in mind, this article intends to explore both the logic of NATO intervention and the subsequent occupation of that war-torn country. It examines the primary reasons why stability and progress within Afghanistan have been elusive, the current debate amongst policy makers regarding the steps ahead, and finally proposing an alternative model that proposes a new US and NATO regional strategy that places the burden on Afghanistan stability and reconstruction on neighbors who share the larger NATO goal of a self-sufficient and stable Afghan government. Accordingly, the most potentially successful NATO approach towards Afghan stability would adopt the proven economic, social, political, infrastructural, and local governance models of regional states, and honing and adopting those models into the broader Afghan domestic theatre. For this to happen, a new plan of cooperation from both NATO and American policy makers with regional states and their respective civil societies needs to be constructed and implemented.
Topic:: NATO and War
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

31. Relations Between Politics and Constitutional Review in Turkey with Special Reference to the Referrals of Republican People's Party: 2002-2010 Period

Author:: Serdar Gülener and İrfan Haşlak
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: In this article, relations between constitutional review and politics will be examined within the framework of referrals of the main opposition party in Turkey, the Republican People's Party (RPP), to the Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC). Decisions of the TCC have, in recent years, engendered discussions about the relations between politics and judiciary. Compared to constitutional courts in western countries, the TCC has followed a statist approach vis-à-vis the individual, which is difficult to understand given that constitutional courts are established primarily to protect individual rights and freedoms. It can be argued that the main reason behind Court's line of decisions is the ideological outlook of its members. However, it should be borne in mind that in order for the court to reach a decision, a claim should be filed with the court by one of the bodies which are given the constitutional right to go to the court. At this point the main opposition party, RPP, emerges as an important actor in Turkish political life. Characteristics of the cases which are taken to the court by the main opposition party have considerably affected the nature of the court's decisions. Getting a good grasp of this issue seems to be of importance since there have been some debates on the boundaries of constitutional review in Turkey. Within this framework, first, judiciary-politics relations will be examined in the context of judicialization of politics. Then, the content of referrals of RPP to the Constitutional Court will be analyzed.
Political Geography:: Turkey

32. The Potential for a China-Russia Military Alliance Explored

Author:: James MacHaffie
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: China is now a major power in the international system. One axiom of the realist theory on international politics is that states will acquire power to ensure their own position and security within the system. One effective way Major or Great Powers have done this is through alliance building. Historically, China has not had much success in cultivating long-standing alliances; however, cooperation between it and its neighbor Russia have deepened. This paper, using structural and defensive realism as theoretical framework on how and why states form alliances, explores the potential China-Russia military alliance. This paper looks at both balancing power and balancing threat as justifications for Great Powers to form alliances. As both a powerful state and a potential threat, the United States serves as the prime impetus for both Russia and China to align with each other. Whether the US is an actual threat to both Russia and China is immaterial, rather it is the perception by both China and Russia that the US's military strength and stated policy of promoting democratic norms and values represent a threat to the established leadership in both countries. China is in a unique position as a near peer competitor to the US; however, with few natural allies Russia is still powerful but in a relative state of decline. Both countries benefit from an alliance to counteract American influence within their zones of influence.
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, and China

33. Caucasus and Central Asia in Turkish Foreign Policy: The Time Has Come for a New Regional Policy

Author:: M. Efe Çaman and M. Ali Akyurt
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: After the end of the Cold War, the disintegration of the Soviet Union (USSR) and the emergence of new independent states in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Turkey was forced to restructure its regional policy concept and started a new pursuit in its foreign policy. Turkey has been in interaction with this transition geography and has a complex array of economic, political and cultural relations with its neighboring re- gions. Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) assumed power in 2002, Turkey has been trying to follow a pro-active regional policy approach and solve existing problems with its “zero problems with neighbors” policy concept. This article focuses on the Turkish regional policy in Caucasus and Central Asia and provides an assessment of this policy. It argues that Turkey needs a new applicable, feasible and realistic action plan regarding the Caucasus and Central Asia in order to combine its normative outlook with the realities of the region. The article asserts that in order to enhance cultural, economic and politi- cal ties with the region, first, the necessary structural and institutional conditions have to be created.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Cold War
Political Geography:: Central Asia, Caucasus, and South Sudan

34. Turkey and Iran Rivalry on Syria

Author:: Idrees Mohammed
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This article explores the Turkish-Iranian rivalry and the conflicting interests of the two countries in the region with respect to the impact of the Arab Spring on the Syrian regime. It first looks into the background of the rivalry between Turkey and Iran. It then examines the reasons of the Turkish-Iranian rivalry, particularly over Syria. It posits that the rapprochement between Turkey and Syria, which had taken place as a result of the change in Turkish foreign policy in the last decade, faced a rupture with the breaking of the Arab Spring. It then argues that the rupture in Turkish-Syrian relations increased the Iranian influence on the Syrian regime owing to the long Iranian-Syrian alliance and their converging interests in the region. Finally, the article argues that while Turkey is in favor of a change of regime in Syria towards democratization of the country, Iran is in favor of the Syrian status-quo
Political Geography:: Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

35. Britain's Policy Toward Kurdistan at the End of the First World War

Author:: İhsan Şerif Kaymaz
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: In the aftermath of the First World War, Britain aimed to create an autonomous Kurdish state – or states – in northern Mesopotamia to be governed under its protection. It therefore experimented with various different methods between the years 1918 and 1920. All those attempts were proven futile. Using mainly the British and Ottoman archival material it has been inquired how the British authorities had developed the plan for Kurdistan, how they tried to implement it in the northern Iraq (then the Mosul vilayet) and the southeastern Anatolia respectively, and how they failed. The reasons for Britain's failure had been discussed. After the failure new policy options had been given consideration among which, the debates on retreat came into prominence. The diplomatic negotiation process between the allies and the legal arrangements on Kurdistan that took pace in the Treaty of Sevres was of a nature of keeping up appearances. Kurdistan plan, though failed in 1920's, gained ground in the following years as the international conditions became more convenient. As the Kurdish problem has once again become an issue of worldwide concern, it will be interesting to see how the British government dealt with this complicated problem when it first emerged, some ninety years ago.
Topic:: War
Political Geography:: Britain, Iraq, Turkey, and Kurdistan

36. Diplomacy, Regime Change Agenda and the Survival of Zimbabwe in the New Millennium

Author:: Percyslage Chigora and Edson Ziso
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The Zimbabwean government at the turn of the 2000 New Millennium received widespread ostracisation by some sections of the international community particularly the West. As a fairly small state and weak vis-à-vis its erstwhile adversaries who are powerful, the clear expectation based on conventional wisdom is that the regime would collapse instantly. For Zimbabwe the course of events did not turn as expected. On the contrary, emerging has been the ability of Zimbabwe to influence the international community not only those in the developing world but also the Western world itself for support largely through diplomatic efforts. The regime has stood the test of time and has not altered its behavior in the international system; its objectives have remained the same confronting its adversaries. The paper therefore seeks to analyse the ways through which the regime has been able to use diplomacy as a tool in international relations to achieve its objective in the face of a heavy onslaught by the powerful section of the international community. In essence, the paper will largely provide the basis through which weak states in the developing world can successfully use diplomacy to achieve their foreign policy objectives in the face of the powerful global actors.
Political Geography:: Zimbabwe

37. The Impact of Changing Islamic Identity in Turkey's New Foreign Policy

Author:: Martina Warning and Tuncay Kardaş
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Much praise and calumny has been heaped on the new Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) for its peculiar record in the last decade. In particular, probing into whether Turkey drifts from the West have recently become something of a cottage industry. Systematic studies analyzing complexities and nuances of the new TFP are scarce. Instead, both the champions and critics of the new TFP often cloak normative and empirical debate in hastily designed conceptual edifice, which not only tend to simplify and misconstrue the whole debate on what is at stake in Turkey's changing identity and foreign policy, but also expose deep misperceptions and confusions rather than scholarly communication. This article seeks to offer an analysis of Turkey's new foreign policy orientations in relation to its identity-changes affect policies and posi-tions of Turkey in world politics. It first provides a general overview of the approach developed by the founding figure of the new TFP, Ahmet Davutoglu. Secondly, it identifies theoretical underpinnings of the new TFP with a view to evaluating the role of its religious and cultural identity. Then, a selection of discussions both from the advocates and critics with regard to empirical cases including the Iraq and Israeli conundrums are put under scrutiny. Thirdly, the much-hyped debate as to whether the new TFP drifts from the West and its ideals are put into context order to provide a more balanced view of what is at issue in Turkey's changing foreign policy orientations.
Political Geography:: Turkey

38. The Counter-Revolution in Diplomacy and Other Essays (G. R. Berridge)

Author:: M. Ali Akyurt and N. Nevra Esentürk
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: G. R. Berridge is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at University of Leicester, UK. He has written many pieces on both the theory and practice of diplomacy, as author of Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, and as co-author of A Dictionary of Diplomacy (with Alan James), Diplomatic Theory from Machiavelli to Kissinger (with Maurice Keens-Soper and T. G. Otte). Berridge edited Diplomatic Classic: Selected Texts from Commynes to Vattel, and co-edited Diplomacy at the UN (with A. Jennings). He has also written books about specific historical cases, especially about British diplomacy in Turkey and South Africa.
Political Geography:: Turkey and South Africa

39. Learning from Dependency and World System Theory : Explaining Europe's Failure in the 'Lisbon Process'

Author:: Almas Heshmati and Arno Tausch
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The current paper investigates the cross-national relevance of Latin American 'dependencia theory' for five dimensions of development (democracy and human rights, environment, human development and basic human needs satisfaction, gender justice, redistribution, growth and employment) on a global scale and tries to confront the very basic pro-globalist assumptions of the 'Lisbon process', the predecessor of the ongoing EU-2020 strategy, which was the policy target of the European leaders since the EU's Lisbon Council meeting in March 2000 to make Europe the leading knowledge-based economy in the world with a 'Latin American perspective'. A realistic and politically useful analysis of the 'Lisbon process' has to be a 'Schumpeterian' approach. First, we analyze the 'Lisbon performance' of the world economy by multivariate, quantitative means, looking into the possible contradictions that might exists between the dependent insertion into the global economy and other goals of the 'Lisbon process'. Dependency from the large, transnational corporations, as correctly predicted by Latin American social science of the 1960s and 1970s, emerges as one of the most serious development blockades, confronting Europe. Secondly, we analyze European regional performance since the 1990s in order to know whether growth and development in Europe spread evenly among the different regions of the continent. It emerges that dependency from the large transnational corporations is incompatible with a balanced, regional development. Finally, we discuss cross-national and historical lessons learned from the views of dependency and Schumpeterian perspectives for current policy-making in Europe, and opt for an industrial policy approach in the tradition of former EU-Commission President (1985-1995) Jacques Delors.
Topic:: Economics
Political Geography:: Europe and Latin America

40. British Legacy and Evolution of Kurdish Nationalism in Iraq (1918-1926): What Significance the 'Mosul Question'?

Author:: Zeynep Arikanli
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This article aims to study the British modalities of managing Kurdish nationalism in the vilayet1 of Mosul in the 1918-1926 period, when both Kurdish nationalism and Iraqi state-building were in their formative (if not infancy) period. There are two inter-dependent arguments: First, the new British policies of the post-WWI period were also in their formative period, since they were being formed through the issue of a geo-political and frontier re-structuring necessitated by the new international order. Second, Kurdish nationalism in the Mosul province evolved in the prism of the British policies, constituting both a trump card for and a challenge to the Kurdish population. This duality, I will argue, became the main characteristic of Kurdish nationalism in the future configurations in Iraq in particular, and in the Middle East, in general. This duality was the direct outcome of the British policies in the post-WWI period, which were stamped with a considerable polyarchy and tergiversations, due both to the uncertainties generated by the post-WWI period, the necessity of adapting to the new principles of the international order and inter-departmental competition. These polyarchy and tergiversations became manifest in the Iraqi state-building process, especially before the settlement of the Mosul question, the old Ottoman province with a substantial Kurdish population. In other words, it was in the vilayet of Mosul during this period (1918-1926) that the re-structuring of the British policies in the post-WWI era was crystallized -with all their ups-and-downs.
Topic:: Race
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

41. Security Debates and Alliance against Terrorism

Author:: Ramazan Erdag
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This article searches the answer that how security could be defined, what the new security studies are and what can be done against global terrorism and how can be assured peace and stability condition? In this context, with new security disputes and perspectives it can be said that security is not an alone issue, it's a collective study and mostly claimed as dilemma. It also can be said that in the new era more international collaboration and alliance are need to supply international security. In this regard this article expounds global alliances' effectiveness -especially NATO for global security.
Topic:: Security, NATO, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: Europe

42. Public Perceptions and Reactions : Gauging African Views of China in Africa

Author:: Max Rebol
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: While economic and political ties between China and Africa have grown substantially in the last years, our understanding of African perceptions of China is still limited. Those pieces of cross country survey data which are available draw a positive picture of African perceptions of China but surveys are not comprehensive and only consider various African countries as a whole. Starting from here, this paper looks into how opinions on China form in different parts of African society, using case studies from unions, political elites and civil society. It comes to the conclusion that trade has an overall bigger impact on popular perceptions of China than FDI, which has been the focus of much literature. While a rising trade deficit has an overall negative impact on perceptions of China, increased Chinese trade is perceived positive by consumers that get more competitive prices and small scale vendors. Civil society organizations in Africa sometimes show critical opinions but are also increasingly engaged by China. Western Media generally tends to portrait China's relations with Africa in a more negative way, than it is perceived by most Africans. Several studies confirm that Africa is the continent that on average holds the most positive views on China.
Topic:: Civil Society and Public Opinion
Political Geography:: Africa and China

43. Zimbabwe-Russia Relations in the 21st Century

Author:: Percyslage Chigora and Dorothy Goredema
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The 21st century has witnessed the intensification of relations between Zimbabwe and the East and other favorable states, Russia among them. Historically under the socialist rhetoric the two countries shared a common political ideology. Zimbabwe-Russia relations dates back to the era of the liberation struggle. The Soviet Union aided Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe People's Union and later the Patriotic Front which included Mugabe's Zimbabwe National African Union. The Soviet Union aided the Patriotic Front freedom fighters with training, material and logistical support. After Zimbabwe's independence in 1981, diplomatic relations between Russia and Zimbabwe were efficiently established. These relations were interrupted in 1989 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia maintained her ties with Zimbabwe during this interruption but all the same the relations were non-eventful. The inception of the 21st century witnessed the revival intensification of relations between the two states. Russia's ties with Zimbabwe were re awakened following the invasion of Iraq by the US led coalition of the willing in March 2003which coincided with the unprecedented pressure on Zimbabwe following the 2002elections. The revival of these relations is depicted by trade agreements signed between the two states, actions of government officials concerned, in the diplomatic and academic circles as well as by the media reports. The aim of this paper is to highlight how common ideology, foreign policy principles and objectives and commonality of interests between the two states have led to cooperation. Issues characterizing the revival and intensification of relations between the two states will be highlighted and these will provide the appropriate framework upon which the relations between Zimbabwe and Russia could be understood. The paper brings to evidence that the revival of relations between the two states is partly driven by the deterioration of relations between Zimbabwe and the West.
Topic:: Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: Russia, Soviet Union, and Zimbabwe

44. Convergence of State Policy Analyses in the Context of Globalization : An Application of the 'Herbert Kitschelt' Model

Author:: Alex Igho Ovie-D'Leone
Publication Date:: 11-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The effects or indeed impacts of ongoing globalization have been quite fundamental in all facets of human endeavours. The world has become closely more interconnected, interdependent within the context of a global village. Consequently, sovereign national borders have been increasingly breached with impunity and in alarming frequencies by events occurring in very remote locations across the world. There are now obvious constraints on the manner states have to make and formulate their policy decisions, knowing fully well that they could almost invariably affect trends in far flung locations worldwide. Viewed then against this backdrop, it is obvious that the borderline that traditionally separates domestic from foreign policies now also appear blurred increasingly by such intervening influences of globalization. If we then take this position as given, there appears to be an urgent need to rethink the basic theoretical props utilized over time in analyzing government policies generally. The intention here is to devise a common analytical model that could be readily applicable to both domestic and foreign policies. This paper examines critically the so-called 'Kitschelt Model' and submits that, as an analytical frame, and under the intervening influences of ongoing globalization, there is a veritable basis now to analyze almost any government policy whether they are oriented towards the domestic or foreign context from a central point of convergence.
Topic:: Government

45. Passive Globalization and the Failure of the European Union's Lisbon Strategy, 2000-2010: Some New Cross-National Evidence

Author:: Arno Tausch
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The current paper investigates the cross-national relevance of dependency theory and world systems theory for eight dimensions of development. The main emphasis is on indicators of sustainable development, and our essay comprises in all 36 main dependent variables. They are part of the dimensions of democracy, gender justice, high quality tertiary education, economic growth during the outgone economic cycle until 2008 and projected economic growth after 2009, the environment, human development, employment, and social cohesion on a global scale by a new. Our 175 nation analysis, using 20 main predictors of development tries to confront the very basic pro-globalist assumptions of the “Lisbon process”, the policy target of the European leaders since the EU's Lisbon Council meeting in March 2000 to make Europe the leading knowledge-based economy in the world with a “globalization critical perspective”. A realistic and politically useful analysis of the “Lisbon process” has to be a “Schumpeterian” approach. We analyze the “Lisbon performance” of the world economy by multivariate, quantitative means, looking into the possible contradictions that might exists between the dependent insertion into the global economy and other goals of the “Lisbon process”. Lowering the comparative price levels and increasing the dependency from the large, transnational corporations, as correctly predicted by Latin American social science of the 1960s and 1970s, emerges as one of the most serious development blockades, confronting Europe. It also emerges that failing to develop Europe's own MNC headquarter status in the global economy has very negative effects on development performance. The increase in military expenditures, proposed in article 42,3 of the new EU Lisbon Treaty, is another stumbling block against development. We also present a concluding factor analytical perspective, which again re-iterates the importance of avoiding a “race to the bottom” as an “alternative” in Europe.
Political Geography:: Europe and Latin America

46. The European Union Foreign and Security Actions and the Western Balkans

Author:: Siret Hursoy
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: The EU's realisation of the need to develop more cogent external relations, foreign and security policies towards the Western Balkans can be attributable to the failure of Europeans to end conflicts on their doorstep in Bosnia, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo throughout the 1990s. It is argued that the EU's network of external relations traditionally consists of three main elements: trade, foreign and security policy and development co-operation. Therefore, this paper will dwell upon the EU's international role through its external relations elements which are also considered to be the main tools of bringing stability and prosperity into the Western Balkans. Moreover, it will be argued that the EU has an extensive network of foreign relations, but no 'real' foreign policy. This article will specifically examine the experiences of the EU's CFSP by highlighting the success and failures of the ESDP in the region.
Political Geography:: Bosnia, Kosovo, and Albania

47. Iran's Nuclear Program: The US Misses Opportunities? –An Examination of US Policies in the Middle East and Implications of those Policies on the US Global Position–

Author:: Adem Ogultarhan
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan cause people to think that the US can resort to military measures against Iran as well. However the US invasion of Iraq and the uncertainties prevailing because of the invasion make analysts to question the necessity of military operations, because it might bring further uncertainties to region and to world politics. In this paper, it is argued that the US priorities in the Middle East are not well-defined and its policies are contaminated with cultural misperceptions, as seen in the case of the Iran's nuclear program. Historical, technical and international law aspects of Iran's nuclear program would be surveyed and the US policies regarding Iran's nuclear program would be analyzed. The US interests in the region would be discussed and the most known clichés regarding Iran and US relations would be questioned. It is the argument that US policies in the Middle East are not well-calculated in terms of the US global realpolitik concerns; and current US policies in the region harm the US interests in global stage. Thus, the US confrontation with Iran makes the potential cooperation opportunities with the Middle Eastern countries missed.
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Iran

48. Understanding Iran's Foreign Policy: An Application of Holistic Constructivism

Author:: Mahdi Mohammad Nia
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: This article seeks to explain why Iranian foreign policy toward the western countries in general and The United States in particular even under the systemic pressures has remained relatively unchanged. To this end, the present article identifies the determinant factors affect Iranian foreign policy. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian foreign and security policy has been dominated by a new set of revolutionary values and discourses. The author believes that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran mostly is driven by its revolutionary values and ideological perspectives than the logic of nation states. To understand Iranian foreign behavior, one should try to understand the basic characteristics of the country's normative and discursive structures. Hence, this article argues that due to the role of normative factors in constructing Iranian foreign policy, the Holistic constructivist approach is considered the most applicable theory for explaining the country's foreign policy.
Political Geography:: United States and Iran

49. The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Reconciling or Re-dividing Liberia?

Author:: David Harris and Richard Lappin
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: After 14 years of civil war and violence followed by the momentous and rather unusual elections of 2005, in which a woman defeated a footballer for the presidency, Liberia has seen over six years of state reconstruction and relative peace. Two recent announcements have, however, served as a warning to the extent of progress. The most recent is President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's declaration that she will, despite previous statements to the contrary, stand for re-election in 2011 due to shortcomings in progress. The announcement preceding Johnson-Sirleaf's was made in the form of the report of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It recommended that Johnson-Sirleaf, and indeed many others accused of involvement in the war, should be barred from public office for the next 30 years, and still more should stand trial on charges of war crimes. Four important questions arise. First, what was the mandate and findings of the TRC? Second, how has Liberia and the wider international community reacted to the final report? Third, has the TRC fulfilled its mandate and contributed to a process of reconciliation? Finally, and in a much broader sense, where does the TRC stand relative to the much wider liberal peace model?
Political Geography:: Liberia

50. Economic Sanctions: A Panacea to Democracy and Good Governance in Zimbabwe?

Author:: Heather Chingono
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:: Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:: Against a background of the augmented utilization of economic sanctions as a prescriptive measure to restore/establish democracy in autocratic or semi-autocratic regimes, this article seeks to explore the impact of economic sanctions on Zimbabwe's democratization process. This article argues that imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe further rendered the prospects of democracy attainment a murky area as reflected by some of the internal and external strategies espoused by the Zimbabwe government in redressing the unintentional manifestations of economic sanctions. Palpably, the use of economic sanctions to induce democracy in Zimbabwe has to a large extent failed, yet, on the contrary it has provided an opportunity, a scapegoat, and a fertile (conducive) platform for the government to further deny citizens their political freedoms whilst blaming it on external forces. This article's conclusions and results seek to bring out the significant policy implications related to the utilization of sanctions as an apparatus for attaining the political freedoms of people and to reveal some of the unintended outcomes of sanctions.
Political Geography:: Zimbabwe

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS