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4781. An Uncompleted Attempt at the End of the Nineteenth Century: The Shipping Company of Sakarya River

Author:
Ömer Karaoğlu
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bilgi
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
XVIIth century and next periods were the years of the expansion of commercial capitalism by means of shipping trade. The activity of west in Mediterranean trade along the line a series of developments which constricted the Ottoman domination. At the beginning of the XIXth century, it was seen the expansion in foreign trade and financial dependence conjunction with the process of integration with western economies. In this process, the western countries experienced the significant improvements in the ship technology and sea transporting. The steamships moved to a new phase the superiority of western capitalism. The Ottoman State tried to develop the resistance by reforms in this new process. It was intended to improve the water resources of Anatolia and also to prevent damage to agricultural lands in accordance with the Tanzimat reforms. It was realised the public services in order to get benefit of the rivers to contribute to the national economy. The river transporting failed mostly. The old shipping technology was dependent on the wind directions. It could be done the transportation on the rivers such as Euphrates, Tigris, Nile and Danube. The shipping company of Sakarya river was aborted attempt in Ottoman territory. It was given the concession for this initiative that was started towards the end of Abdulaziz I (1861-1876) period but it was not ready for operating activities in the legal term. This study is the subject of this unfinished experiment.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Maritime Commerce, Water, and Shipping
Political Geography:
Europe, Asia, and Ottoman Empire

4782. Interrogating the “social life of methods” in critical approaches to security | Interroger la « vie sociale des méthodes » dans les approches critiques de la sécurité : expertise et enquête sur les questions de sécurité européenne

Author:
Julian Jeandesboz
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Research on the security politics of the European Union is becoming increasingly abundant. To further the aims of this special issue on methodology among critical approaches to security, this article draws on the appropriation by this scholarship of the “social life of methods” debate to open two related lines of investigation. First, the article examines the inscription of researchers into European security politics not only as a limit to research, but as a method of access and analysis. The article looks particularly at the identification of researchers as “experts” by EU practitioners, and at expertise as method. The second line of investigation and reflection concerns the limits inherent to the way in which critical scholarship on security has appropriated the “social life of methods” discussion. The article argues that this is an opportunity to engage with methods in relation to concrete research endeavors, rather than to stage a theoretical discussion on methods.
Topic:
Security, European Union, Methods, and Experts
Political Geography:
Europe

4783. Analyzing the field of security in Switzerland: Towards a hypertrophy of internal security and some methodological remarks | Analyse du champ de la sécurité en Suisse : vers une hypertrophie de la sécurité intérieure et autres réflexions méthodologiques

Author:
Stephan Davidshofer, Amal Tawfik, and Tobias Hagmann
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Investigating the possible emergence of a transnational field of security in Europe constitutes a very stimulating research venue for literature on critical approaches to security. However, the operationalization of such an agenda entails some challenges. Notably, time-consuming data collection and analytical processes are needed in order to fully grasp the characteristics and resources of numerous actors. Drawing on a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), the aim of this paper is double. It offers both an analysis of the contemporary dynamics of the field of security in Switzerland and a presentation of practical solutions for researchers willing to conduct empirically-oriented studies of different settings of the transnational field of security in Europe. In order to do so, this contribution stands as a methodological roadmap, presenting the various steps leading to the construction of a national social space dedicated to “security issues”. Given the significant volume of data collected in this research project, a series of statistical analysis methods are mobilized in this paper: multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and network analysis. Lastly, in summarizing the project’s results, the paper points to the growing influence of transnational security dynamics on Swiss security actors.
Topic:
National Security, Statistics, and Methods
Political Geography:
Europe and Switzerland

4784. Producing Undesirables at the Border. Border Control Practices at a European Airport | La fabrique des indésirables Pratiques de contrôle aux frontières dans un aéroport européen

Author:
Andrew Crosby and Andrea Rea
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Based on empirical research in a European airport, this article analyses how border guards control third-country nationals by advancing an anthropology of the power of border control as exhibited by the use of symbolic violence and discretionary state power. Leaning on the theories of street-level bureaucracies and organizations, we analyze the work practices, professional routines and organization of the work of border guards in order to show how border guards activate and constitute the border and the control of mobility. We argue that control at the airport is based both on the influence of the network-border and on a dramaturgical performance of bureaucratic governance, which is meant to create legitimate travelers and undesirable passengers, while circumventing potential protests of the latter and simulating accountability toward the broader public of citizens. As such, border control is more of a symbolic act than an efficient tool of immigration policy.
Topic:
Immigration, Border Control, Borders, and Bureaucracy
Political Geography:
Europe

4785. The Russian Reality Check on Turkey's Gas Hub Hopes

Author:
Morena Skalamera
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
On Nov 24, 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet after it veered into its airspace for 17 seconds. On December 13, a Russian ship fired warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean Sea. Bilateral tensions, with overt military dimensions, have seemed to quickly replace the goodwill that characterized relations only a year ago. Over the past few weeks, experts and observers have debated whether this incident will jeopardize deep Turkish-Russian energy cooperation—and whether newfound tensions between Moscow and Ankara will thwart Turkey’s ambition to transform itself into an energy hub. A closer look suggests grounds for both optimism and pessimism. Given the deep interests of both parties in continuing energy cooperation, and the mutual nature of the dependency, tensions over Syria are unlikely to adversely impact energy cooperation in a fundamental way. Turkey, however, is unlikely to realize its vision of an energy hub—not because of Russia, but because of a combination of domestic and other geopolitical factors.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Economics, Energy Policy, Oil, Geopolitics, Gas, and Trade
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Turkey

4786. On Political Forgiveness: Some Preliminary Reflections

Author:
Wendy Sherman
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
This policy brief examines political forgiveness, when countries or groups are able to reconcile or set aside historic enmities. The inability to overcome longstanding grievances—however justified and deeply rooted—often undermine a group’s or nation’s current core interests. This lack of forgiveness manifests throughout the world: tribal warfare in South Sudan, hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran, seemingly irreconcilable differences within the European neighborhood, and the failure to reach a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Deep animus often seems to take precedence over interests. What conditions are necessary for political forgiveness, and through what process is it achieved? How is it that some countries, like Germany, have been able to find their way through this thicket, while others, such as Japan, have not—or at least not to a comparable extent? And, in cases of genocide, such as Rwanda, where political forgiveness may well be impossible, should the international community more purposefully examine the social license extended to victims? Ambassador Wendy Sherman makes the case that insights from frameworks of personal forgiveness can help nations seize the moment when their interests align and, accordingly, move to achieve political forgiveness. First, the process of forgiveness requires a sense of justice—victims must feel that perpetrators have been held accountable and will no longer be able to hurt them. It must also be a deep, extended undertaking: when perpetrators offer only superficial acknowledgments of the victims’ pain and attempt to move on quickly, victims perceive those efforts as perfunctory, even disingenuous. Additionally, countries must reestablish genuine, ongoing contact to overcome narratives of “the other” that inhibit forgiveness. They should not assume, however, that political forgiveness will proceed as a linear, three-part process in which the perpetrator issues an apology, the victim accepts the apology, and the two subsequently cultivate their ties on the basis of aligned national interests. This examination finds that the process works best in the reverse order: only upon discerning that their strategic interests happen to align do conflicting countries begin to move toward reconciliation and forgiveness.
Topic:
International Relations, Defense Policy, International Security, and Forgiveness
Political Geography:
Europe and Asia-Pacific

4787. Not Even in the Margins : Where are Roma with Disabilities?

Author:
Michael Szporluk
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
A major campaign to raise awareness of conditions for Roma living in Central and South-East Europe, the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015, ended last fall. Governments made commitments, reported on progress, and civil society organizations monitored their work. The concluding report, A Lost Decade?, signals that results were mixed at best; yet for 15% of the population (i.e., persons with disabilities), there were no commitments, no reports, and no monitoring. For Roma with disabilities the decade didn’t start and lose momentum, it simply never happened. This study looks at the progress made through the Decade of Roma Inclusion (hereinafter Roma Decade) and European Union’s Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies (hereinafter EU Framework), provides information about Roma with disabilities, describes efforts to raise awareness of Roma with disabilities and protect their rights, and finally outlines the rights of ethnic minorities through an intersectional lens.
Topic:
Minorities, Ethnicity, Disability, Local, and Protected People
Political Geography:
Europe

4788. Dynamics of Integration in the OSCE Area: National Minorities and Bridge Building

Author:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
This Report has been compiled in support of the 2016 German OSCE Chairmanship’s focus on “the situation of national minorities in times of crisis, their positive contribution to social integration and their potential to build bridges in international relations.” The Report presents 24 positive initiatives at bridge building taken throughout the OSCE area, including seven examples of legal instruments in cross-border regions and 17 examples of projects covering a number of themes identified in the political, cultural and socio-economic sectors.
Topic:
Nationalism, Minorities, Ethnicity, Borders, and Integration
Political Geography:
Europe

4789. Minority Rights Governance: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Equal Treatment when Budgeting for Education

Author:
Tove H. Malloy
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
When governments are faced with economic crises, the education sector is often the first sector to experience budget reductions. This may hit educational programmes for minorities disproportionally harder, if austerity measures are applied equally across the board, as positive measures adopted as a result of minority protection schemes are more costly than regular educational programmes. Minority educational programmes incur higher cost per pupil due to additional and extra-curricula topics and activities aimed at preserving and promoting minority cultures. Cutting special programmes may inadvertently or perhaps deliberately lead governments to discriminate against minority pupils, who have enrolled in minority schools or programmes. Unfortunately, there is little guidance for policy makers and school principals in this regard. International human rights law instruments prescribe positive measures without explaining how these should be safeguarded during economic hard times. Only two international soft law documents provide some guidance with regard to education for minorities. This Issue Brief will examine the standards and guidance available in international law and put these in a perspective of actual practice of education for minorities in Europe. The main argument is that equal treatment or equal reductions across the board do not secure equality; equitable processes protecting positive measures are needed.
Topic:
Civil Society, Education, Governance, Minorities, Civil Rights, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe

4790. Dynamic of Integration in the OSCE Area: National Minorities and Bridge Building

Author:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
This Report is the main output of a project executed by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) in cooperation with the European Academy Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC) and independent researcher Dr. Nina Bagdasarova. The project was developed at the request of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) in response to the priorities set by the 2016 German OSCE Chairmanship. The project covered the period from March to December 2016, and preliminary results were presented at the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting 10-11 November in Vienna while the final results were presented in a side event at the Ministerial Council 8-9 December in Hamburg. The research team would like to thank members of the HCNM office and OSCE missions for assisting it with dissemination of questionnaires, data collection and follow up as well as review of the Report. Any mistakes should be attributed to the research team, not the OSCE or HCNM staff
Topic:
Nationalism, Minorities, Peace, Integration, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe