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Author:
Publisher: SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : tr
Pages : 370
Get Book Here
Book Description
Turkey and the United States have been going through dramatic changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Both countries began to search for new political identities in the international system. With the end of ideological competition, the U.S. remained unchallenged for a while, and this has created an identity crisis for the U.S. With the beginning of the 21st century, especially with the September 11 attacks, the U.S. declared international terrorism as the new other of the Western world. Similarly, Turkey has adjusted its foreign policy orientation according to the post-Cold War realities. After the loosening of the Western alliance and the decline of U.S. superiority in the international system, Turkey began to follow a more assertive foreign policy in order to increase its role and autonomy in international politics. While the relative power of the U.S. has been declining, Turkey’s economic and political power has been rising. On the one hand, the U.S. does not perform the role of the global hegemon anymore. The U.S. government refuses to provide global public goods such as international security and free trade. As can be observed in its recognition of ‘united Jerusalem’ as the capital of Israel, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the annexation of the Golan Heights, the U.S. even does not abide by the principles of international law. On the other hand, Turkey has been trying to improve its relations with different global and regional powers. In addition to its traditional Western allies, Turkey began to engage with other regions and continents including East Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Turkey has been attempting to restructure its foreign policy into a more diversified and independent one. The more Turkey follows an independent foreign policy, the more it has been otherized by the Western countries, the U.S. in particular. Eventually, the longtime Turkish-American partnership began to be questioned. Bilateral relations of the two formal allies have been going through troubled times. The Turkish-U.S. alliance or strategic partnership has been questioned by different issues such as the purchase of S-400 missiles, the American financial and military support for YPG/PKK, the protection of FETÖ ringleader in Pennsylvania, and the U.S. cooperation with the anti-Turkey bloc in the Middle East. Pro-Israeli lobbies in Washington D.C. have abandoned their traditional pro-Turkey stance especially when Turkey and Israel began to confront in the Middle East. Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have bought most of the American lobbies to mobilize the Congress and the White House against Turkey. Finally, these lobbies have openly mobilized support from the American authorities to support FETÖ and PKK/PYD/YPG against Turkey, which has led to the increase of anti-American feelings in Turkey. Nowadays, there are significant differences in Turkish and American foreign policies, with their perspectives of the Middle East and the global system being quite different, in some cases opposing. At the regional level, while the U.S. supports the authoritarian regimes of the region, Turkey has been supporting the mainstream popular movements. As in the Syrian and Libyan crises, the U.S. does not support Turkey even in its confrontation with the Russian Federation, the main ‘other’ of the NATO alliance. At the global level, the U.S. is not happy with the system that has been established in the wake of the Second World War, yet it is not offering any alternative. However, Turkey asks for the transformation and reformation of the global system to make it more inclusive and representative. All these differences have led to simmering tensions and mutual mistrust and created an atmosphere to question the entire bilateral relationship and the seventy-year long alliance. The two countries are unable to align their counter-terrorism strategies due to the U.S. instrumentalization of one terrorist group in its struggle against another. It becomes more and more difficult for a confused U.S., which has been following a unilateral global policy, and a Turkey, which has been trying to change its position in the international hierarchy, to coordinate their relations. As both countries are going through hard times and transitory periods, it will take time for them to adjust themselves to new global realities. Ultimately, they will have to redefine their foreign policies according to their strategic priorities. Considering that it is not the rise of Turkey, but that of China and Russia which threatens the American global hegemony, the U.S. will eventually have to rethink its stern anti-Turkish stance in the Middle East. This issue of Insight Turkey brings to its readers six papers touching upon this ever-changing Turkey-U.S. relationship. Three commentaries and three articles focusing on Turkey-U.S. relations are worth reading to better understand the main issues, challenges, as well as opportunities under the light of recent conjunctures. These pieces concentrate on differing perspectives of the two countries, especially in the last decade, and the interdependence between them. Luke Coffey presents a new perspective about Turkey-U.S. relations, which after decades of cooperation, is at an all-time low. Emphasizing the importance of hard work, persistence, and comprehension of the various policy disputes, he encourages policymakers to “start small and think big to rebuild this relationship,” which once was a cornerstone of the success of NATO. Coffey maintains that the two countries will continue to matter for one another for a foreseeble future. Kadir Üstun provides a comprehensive analysis on how Turkey-U.S. relations have been able to survive despite years of strategic feuds and diverging interests. He asserts that both actors seem to have learned how to compartmentalize most bilateral and international issues and tensions. Üstun also points out that as Turkey and the U.S. have disengaged from “inorganic” channels in their bilateral relations, they now have a healthier, even if more conflictual, relationship. However, U.S. policies in the Syrian crisis, such as supporting the PKK/PYD/YPG, have damaged the mutual bonds. Jennifer Miel’s commentary provides a timely analysis for Turkey-U.S. relations, which once were led by defense and security ties but have become a keystone of economic affairs. Miel examines the economic and commercial opportunities in key sectors for the United States and Turkey during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. She argues that both states can benefit mutually from a more robust collaboration in relatively less notable sectors such as healthcare, the digital economy, and finance. In addition to these three commentaries, this issue includes three research articles focusing on Turkish-U.S. relations, as well as their foreign policies, under the COVID-19 pandemic. Burhanettin Duran sheds light on the on-going great power competition and argues that the pandemic will not establish a new international system, but will certainly affect it by creating a global instability where states will invest in self-sufficiency and redefine their strategic areas. As the main topics that will define the future of the international system, Duran draws particular attention to the decline of U.S. hegemony, the challenging policies of China, the U.S.-China relations, and the EU’s deepening crisis. In his article, Mustafa Kibaroğlu focuses on the prospects of Turkish-U.S. relations in the post-COVID international order. He specifically discusses if this pandemic would grant a favorable environment for Turkey and the United States to reset their relations in order to accommodate themselves better to the new realities in international politics. Çağatay Özdemir’s article focuses on Turkey’s position and reactions within the framework of the international competition over natural gas and oil in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the middle of the balance-of-power politics in the region, Turkey is being isolated through unilateral actions and guided alliances. Describing the situation as a U.S.-backed containment of Turkey, Özdemir examines the formation of the anti-Turkish bloc and discusses its possible repercussions in Turkish foreign policy. Besides the pieces covering Turkey-U.S. relations, this issue also includes a number of commentaries and articles covering different issues relating to Turkey, the Middle East, and international politics. In their analysis on Turkey’s current position and policy in Libya, Emrah Kekilli and Bilgehan Öztürk present the grounds for and nature of Turkey’s increasing cooperation with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA). They also claim that Turkey’s support to the GNA has changed the dynamics in the conflict in Libya. The commentary by Dmitry Shlapentokh examines Russia’s gas price discount for Bulgaria. The author links the discount to frequently unfavorable circumstances for Gazprom’s operations in Europe in general, and in Bulgaria in particular. This commentary highlights that with the emerging alternatives to Russian gas, Bulgaria was able to negotiate with Russia for a more favorable price in obtaining natural gas. In his article, M. A. Muqtedar Khan argues that a post-orientalist discussion has arisen over the past few decades to challenge the dominance of orientalism on Western foreign policy thinking towards Islam and the Muslim Discussing the geostrategic views of Bernard Lewis, Edward Said, and John Esposito, Khan concludes that while post-orientalism has triumphed in the academic literature, the orientalist perspective still dominates the policy sphere and continues to shape American foreign policy. Using a rich theoretical literature on leadership and political empowerment, the article by Kasım Timur and Rasim Özgür Dönmez offers an analysis of the mutually empowering relations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his followers. In order to illustrate how leaders and followers influence each other in times of political crisis, as a case study, the article examines how Erdoğan’s charismatic leadership galvanized his followers during the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, and how his followers’ support has further empowered Erdoğan as a leader. In recent years, the use of social media discourse has shifted from having a positive effect on democratization to a tool threatening democracy. In this regard, Turgay Yerlikaya focuses on how virtual social networks affect socio-political life, particularly how networks such as Facebook and Twitter can shape electoral preferences during election times through manipulative content and fake news. The last article of the issue examines the impact of soap operas as a multi-faceted phenomenon that, as a product of cultural hybridization, can also contribute to cultural hybridization wherever they are broadcasted. In her case study, Ouafaa Rafi examines Turkish soap operas watched in Morocco and discusses the encompassing dynamics at stake when it comes to cultural influence and interaction. This issue of Insight Turkey aims to present the current situation of the Turkish-American relations and to provide to its readers with a general framework of important events and developments in Turkey and its surrounding regions. We hope that this issue contributes to a better understanding of these crucial issues.
Author:
Publisher: SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : tr
Pages : 370
Get Book Here
Book Description
Turkey and the United States have been going through dramatic changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Both countries began to search for new political identities in the international system. With the end of ideological competition, the U.S. remained unchallenged for a while, and this has created an identity crisis for the U.S. With the beginning of the 21st century, especially with the September 11 attacks, the U.S. declared international terrorism as the new other of the Western world. Similarly, Turkey has adjusted its foreign policy orientation according to the post-Cold War realities. After the loosening of the Western alliance and the decline of U.S. superiority in the international system, Turkey began to follow a more assertive foreign policy in order to increase its role and autonomy in international politics. While the relative power of the U.S. has been declining, Turkey’s economic and political power has been rising. On the one hand, the U.S. does not perform the role of the global hegemon anymore. The U.S. government refuses to provide global public goods such as international security and free trade. As can be observed in its recognition of ‘united Jerusalem’ as the capital of Israel, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the annexation of the Golan Heights, the U.S. even does not abide by the principles of international law. On the other hand, Turkey has been trying to improve its relations with different global and regional powers. In addition to its traditional Western allies, Turkey began to engage with other regions and continents including East Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Turkey has been attempting to restructure its foreign policy into a more diversified and independent one. The more Turkey follows an independent foreign policy, the more it has been otherized by the Western countries, the U.S. in particular. Eventually, the longtime Turkish-American partnership began to be questioned. Bilateral relations of the two formal allies have been going through troubled times. The Turkish-U.S. alliance or strategic partnership has been questioned by different issues such as the purchase of S-400 missiles, the American financial and military support for YPG/PKK, the protection of FETÖ ringleader in Pennsylvania, and the U.S. cooperation with the anti-Turkey bloc in the Middle East. Pro-Israeli lobbies in Washington D.C. have abandoned their traditional pro-Turkey stance especially when Turkey and Israel began to confront in the Middle East. Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have bought most of the American lobbies to mobilize the Congress and the White House against Turkey. Finally, these lobbies have openly mobilized support from the American authorities to support FETÖ and PKK/PYD/YPG against Turkey, which has led to the increase of anti-American feelings in Turkey. Nowadays, there are significant differences in Turkish and American foreign policies, with their perspectives of the Middle East and the global system being quite different, in some cases opposing. At the regional level, while the U.S. supports the authoritarian regimes of the region, Turkey has been supporting the mainstream popular movements. As in the Syrian and Libyan crises, the U.S. does not support Turkey even in its confrontation with the Russian Federation, the main ‘other’ of the NATO alliance. At the global level, the U.S. is not happy with the system that has been established in the wake of the Second World War, yet it is not offering any alternative. However, Turkey asks for the transformation and reformation of the global system to make it more inclusive and representative. All these differences have led to simmering tensions and mutual mistrust and created an atmosphere to question the entire bilateral relationship and the seventy-year long alliance. The two countries are unable to align their counter-terrorism strategies due to the U.S. instrumentalization of one terrorist group in its struggle against another. It becomes more and more difficult for a confused U.S., which has been following a unilateral global policy, and a Turkey, which has been trying to change its position in the international hierarchy, to coordinate their relations. As both countries are going through hard times and transitory periods, it will take time for them to adjust themselves to new global realities. Ultimately, they will have to redefine their foreign policies according to their strategic priorities. Considering that it is not the rise of Turkey, but that of China and Russia which threatens the American global hegemony, the U.S. will eventually have to rethink its stern anti-Turkish stance in the Middle East. This issue of Insight Turkey brings to its readers six papers touching upon this ever-changing Turkey-U.S. relationship. Three commentaries and three articles focusing on Turkey-U.S. relations are worth reading to better understand the main issues, challenges, as well as opportunities under the light of recent conjunctures. These pieces concentrate on differing perspectives of the two countries, especially in the last decade, and the interdependence between them. Luke Coffey presents a new perspective about Turkey-U.S. relations, which after decades of cooperation, is at an all-time low. Emphasizing the importance of hard work, persistence, and comprehension of the various policy disputes, he encourages policymakers to “start small and think big to rebuild this relationship,” which once was a cornerstone of the success of NATO. Coffey maintains that the two countries will continue to matter for one another for a foreseeble future. Kadir Üstun provides a comprehensive analysis on how Turkey-U.S. relations have been able to survive despite years of strategic feuds and diverging interests. He asserts that both actors seem to have learned how to compartmentalize most bilateral and international issues and tensions. Üstun also points out that as Turkey and the U.S. have disengaged from “inorganic” channels in their bilateral relations, they now have a healthier, even if more conflictual, relationship. However, U.S. policies in the Syrian crisis, such as supporting the PKK/PYD/YPG, have damaged the mutual bonds. Jennifer Miel’s commentary provides a timely analysis for Turkey-U.S. relations, which once were led by defense and security ties but have become a keystone of economic affairs. Miel examines the economic and commercial opportunities in key sectors for the United States and Turkey during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. She argues that both states can benefit mutually from a more robust collaboration in relatively less notable sectors such as healthcare, the digital economy, and finance. In addition to these three commentaries, this issue includes three research articles focusing on Turkish-U.S. relations, as well as their foreign policies, under the COVID-19 pandemic. Burhanettin Duran sheds light on the on-going great power competition and argues that the pandemic will not establish a new international system, but will certainly affect it by creating a global instability where states will invest in self-sufficiency and redefine their strategic areas. As the main topics that will define the future of the international system, Duran draws particular attention to the decline of U.S. hegemony, the challenging policies of China, the U.S.-China relations, and the EU’s deepening crisis. In his article, Mustafa Kibaroğlu focuses on the prospects of Turkish-U.S. relations in the post-COVID international order. He specifically discusses if this pandemic would grant a favorable environment for Turkey and the United States to reset their relations in order to accommodate themselves better to the new realities in international politics. Çağatay Özdemir’s article focuses on Turkey’s position and reactions within the framework of the international competition over natural gas and oil in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the middle of the balance-of-power politics in the region, Turkey is being isolated through unilateral actions and guided alliances. Describing the situation as a U.S.-backed containment of Turkey, Özdemir examines the formation of the anti-Turkish bloc and discusses its possible repercussions in Turkish foreign policy. Besides the pieces covering Turkey-U.S. relations, this issue also includes a number of commentaries and articles covering different issues relating to Turkey, the Middle East, and international politics. In their analysis on Turkey’s current position and policy in Libya, Emrah Kekilli and Bilgehan Öztürk present the grounds for and nature of Turkey’s increasing cooperation with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA). They also claim that Turkey’s support to the GNA has changed the dynamics in the conflict in Libya. The commentary by Dmitry Shlapentokh examines Russia’s gas price discount for Bulgaria. The author links the discount to frequently unfavorable circumstances for Gazprom’s operations in Europe in general, and in Bulgaria in particular. This commentary highlights that with the emerging alternatives to Russian gas, Bulgaria was able to negotiate with Russia for a more favorable price in obtaining natural gas. In his article, M. A. Muqtedar Khan argues that a post-orientalist discussion has arisen over the past few decades to challenge the dominance of orientalism on Western foreign policy thinking towards Islam and the Muslim Discussing the geostrategic views of Bernard Lewis, Edward Said, and John Esposito, Khan concludes that while post-orientalism has triumphed in the academic literature, the orientalist perspective still dominates the policy sphere and continues to shape American foreign policy. Using a rich theoretical literature on leadership and political empowerment, the article by Kasım Timur and Rasim Özgür Dönmez offers an analysis of the mutually empowering relations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his followers. In order to illustrate how leaders and followers influence each other in times of political crisis, as a case study, the article examines how Erdoğan’s charismatic leadership galvanized his followers during the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, and how his followers’ support has further empowered Erdoğan as a leader. In recent years, the use of social media discourse has shifted from having a positive effect on democratization to a tool threatening democracy. In this regard, Turgay Yerlikaya focuses on how virtual social networks affect socio-political life, particularly how networks such as Facebook and Twitter can shape electoral preferences during election times through manipulative content and fake news. The last article of the issue examines the impact of soap operas as a multi-faceted phenomenon that, as a product of cultural hybridization, can also contribute to cultural hybridization wherever they are broadcasted. In her case study, Ouafaa Rafi examines Turkish soap operas watched in Morocco and discusses the encompassing dynamics at stake when it comes to cultural influence and interaction. This issue of Insight Turkey aims to present the current situation of the Turkish-American relations and to provide to its readers with a general framework of important events and developments in Turkey and its surrounding regions. We hope that this issue contributes to a better understanding of these crucial issues.
Author:
Publisher: SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Israeli-Palestinian question has been at the heart of Middle Eastern politics for the last 80 years. Although the Palestinian’s land has been one of the main subjects of international politics since the beginning of the 20th century, it was the unusual creation of the Israeli state in 1948 that led to many regional crises. Since then the Israeli state has been the instigator of many regional wars, continuous expansionism, discrimination, and violation of international law and basic human rights. Millions of Palestinians were forced to leave their country and those who preferred to stay were deprived of their rights. A special type of apartheid has been implemented by the Israeli state. All regional states and most global powers have been involved with this problem, which is not only between the aggressive Israeli nationalism and the defensive Palestinian nationalism, but also a conflict between the Israeli state and the Arab countries, a civilizational dispute between a pro-Israeli coalition and Muslim countries and a war that symbolizes the struggle between the oppressor and the oppressed. A number of international organizations have passed different resolutions offering solutions to the problem. Among them is the Islamic Cooperation Organization which was established following the many attacks against sacred places, notably the city of al-Quds and al-Aqsa Mosque, in Palestine. The international community represented by the United Nations (UN) has been calling on the Israeli state for decades to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories and to abide by the international rules and principles. As the UN resolutions, international law, and international public opinion expect, and Palestinians also aspire for, Israel must withdraw from the occupied territories, namely East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip and recognize an independent Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution. However, global powers, especially the United States, have not allowed the UN to force the Israeli state to move out from the occupied territories and to restore peace in the region. In other words, the Palestinian people and Muslim nations have long witnessed the continuous Israeli fait accompli, the never-ending Palestinian suffering, the weakness of the Muslim Middle Eastern countries, and the indifference of the global powers. Israel continues to violate not only the rights of self-determination but also basic human rights for Palestinians. As one of the indications of this inhumane policy, the Gaza Strip has been under continuous Israeli blockade and attacks since 2006. Israel has been attacking the Gaza Strip and the West Bank intermittently, to expand its territories in order to establish new illegal Jewish settlements and squash any hope for Palestinian statehood. Israel’s large-scale attacks against the Gaza Strip in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2019 have made conditions in Palestine unlivable. The latest attack in 2019 stopped with yet another cease-fire, however the fate of the most recent cease-fire is not different from the previous ones. Israel has never fulfilled its promises and cynically considers the cease-fire as a temporary process, allowing time to prepare for a new wave of violence. At a time when there is no will or strength in the Arab world to resist against any anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab development, the current Israeli and U.S. government is trying to legalize the years of Israeli atrocities, crimes against humanity, and violations of human rights. Most steps taken by these two governments contradict with and violate international norms and rules. First, the Israeli parliament adopted a law that is known as the “basic law” or “the nation-state act” in 2018. According to this law, the right to exercise national self-determination in the state of Israel is unique to the Jewish people and thereby it denies Palestinian people any national rights or existence. Second, U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral recognition of the “united Jerusalem” as the capital of Israel and the transfer of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a pivotal point in the history of the Middle East, for both regional and global actors. This decision, with significant implications for the Middle Eastern politics, is not only about the transfer of the Israeli capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but also about the halt of the Middle Eastern peace process. Furthermore, it implicitly means that the U.S. supports the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland and the prevention of the establishment of a Palestinian state. In other words, the U.S. has contradicted its traditional policy and has abandoned the long-time advocated two-state solution. Third, contrary to basic rules of international law and a number of UN resolutions, the U.S. government announced that they do not consider the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories as inconsistent with international law. The U.S. also stopped funding the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) and closed down the Washington D.C office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), a body internationally recognized as the representative of the Palestinian people. With all these steps, the U.S. government demonstrated that it fully and unconditionally supports the Israeli state. Fourth, Trump has declared a so-called Middle East peace plan in January 28, 2020 after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz in Washington D.C. The U.S. government has ignored and violated all decisions made and resolutions passed by the UN regarding the issue, according to which the Israeli state is an occupier of the Palestinian land and violator of international rules and norms. Bearing in mind all these illegal steps, it can be said that the U.S. shares the responsibility with Israel for the violation of Palestinian rights. Achieving peace between the Israeli state and the Palestinian people appears to be unachievable, because the Israeli side does not take any Palestinian demands into consideration. All steps taken so far have been unilateral and against the interests of the Palestinians. The Deal of the Century is no exception; it is also a unilateral intervention to the question. Effectively, it is a dictation to the Palestinian-Israeli problem which ignores the realities on the ground. The timing of the Deal of the Century has to do with the current situation in the Arab world. As a matter of fact, today there is no political Arab world, since almost all heavyweight nationalist Arab states are in chaos, politically unstable or vulnerable. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia who claim the leadership of the Arab world are closely associated with the Trump Administration and the Israeli state. These two Arab states and the current Egyptian government support Israel rather than the Palestinians and blame Palestinian political groups instead of the Israeli state for the ongoing situation. These states condemn the retaliatory actions conducted by the Palestinians and remain silent about the inhumane treatment they suffer at the hands of the Israeli war machine. Consequently, there is no strong Arab state to defend the rights of Palestinians. For decades, Arab regimes have exploited the issue for domestic political legitimacy. Arab regimes who were afraid of their peoples tried to satisfy their demands by exaggerating the Israeli threat. Nowadays it appears that their fear of external powers is greater, which is why they capitulate to the demands of countries such as Israel and the U.S. and accordingly use the Palestinian issue in negotiations to their own benefit. However, Trump’s proclamation of the Deal of the Century caused fierce reaction from public opinion worldwide, especially from the Arab streets and Muslim communities. The Trump Administration miscalculated the civilian reaction. This time, it will be difficult to convince the Arab public, since it is much more aware than before about their regimes’ foreign policy behavior. Trump’s declaration, which contributed to the reunification of the Arab and Muslim peoples, satisfies only radical Christians and Zionist Jews. As long as the blockade on the Palestinian lands continues, the region will be subject to new waves of violence. Considering the unstable international system, ultra-nationalist, and xenophobic Western politics, chaotic regional atmosphere and Israeli domestic politics, it is not expected that the Israeli government will ease the blockade and give some rights to the Palestinians. Global powers such as the U.S. and the European Union not only close their eyes to the Israeli atrocities but also support its unequal and limitless violence. Even the UN has begun to warn “the two sides” about the escalation of violence, thus undervaluing the Israeli brutality by equating it with the small retaliatory actions of the Palestinains. Therefore, it can be said that there is currently no deterrent power in the world that is preventing Israeli aggression. Only a significant change in the regional and global balance of power will bring considerable changes in Israeli policies towards the region. This new issue of Insight Turkey highlights different subjects regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Some of the leading and well-known intellectuals and academicians from Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Europe, and the United States contributed to this issue focusing of different dimensions of the problem. From a religious perspective, more particularly in Islam, the status and significance of Bayt al-Maqdis, the city of al-Quds, which is one of the main themes of the problem, must be acknowledged. Ikrime Sa’eed Sabri’s commentary explains the significance of Bayt al-Maqdis by addressing the close bonds, namely the bonds of creed, worship, civilization and culture, and history which are firm ties that link Muslims to Bayt al-Maqdis and the land of Palestine. The resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has faced many different obstacles since the United Nations resolved to partition Palestine into two separate states, Jewish and Arab. Galia Golan addresses these obstacles between Israel and Palestine as well as possibilities for peace, primarily the pragmatic 1988 PLO decision to create a new state, next to the state of Israel, in the West Bank and Gaza, with a capital in East Jerusalem. She discusses the possibilities of achieving a political peaceful co-existence in Palestine and finds it quite challenging. The commentary written by Victor Kattan examines the legality of the Israeli settlements and occupations in the West Bank, based on the perspective of international law and U.S. foreign policy. He analyzes the motives of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to initiate an investigation into the alleged war crimes committed in Palestine by the Israeli state, which include Israel’s settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. “Is the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict achievable?” is the question that Ian Lustic seeks to answer. In his opinion, this solution is a pretty picture of the future that only good people can imagine. Meanwhile, it remains just that, a picture, because there is a lack of effort to conduct negotiations between the Israeli state and the Palestinian people. This lack of effort is mainly related to the nature of negotiations which have become highly provocative in recent years. The influx of immigrant Jewish communities from different countries to Israel has disenfranchised the Palestinians from their land. Although, Israel claims that it offers democratic rights for all its citizens, in reality Palestinians have nothing. Ran Greenstein conceptualizes this situation by comparing the Israeli policies with the practice of apartheid in South Africa. He identifies the policies practiced by Israel as “apartheid of a special type” and a crime against humanity. To reveal how the status of the original Palestinian population has been ignored, Elia Zureik highlights the Israeli practices of governance in Palestine and how the Zionist movement and later the Israeli state have worked to kill the dream of the Palestinian people for their own state. This has been achieved through passing racially biased laws that discriminate against the native population, and using violence when enforcing those laws, especially after the Israeli state codified its new citizenship law that defines Israel as the state of the Jewish people. Ayfer Erdoğan and Lourdes Habash question the continuity of the U.S. policy making towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially under the Trump Administration. The results show that there hasn’t been a radical change throughout the administrations; however, the U.S. position in the conflict has become more transparent with a sharper pro-Israel tilt during the Trump Administration. Hamas has a dual role in the political and military struggle against the Israeli state on one hand and Fatah in Palestinian politics on the other. Although Hamas has had many achievements, since its establishment in the late 1980s, it has also failed in many aspects. To understand why, Nasuh Uslu and İbrahim Karataş evaluate this dualist struggle of Hamas in Palestine. The authors conclude that since Hamas has been otherized by many international actors, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and some international actors contributed more to this struggle. However, Hamas is still expected to fulfill the needs of Palestinians. In addition to these eight articles, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, there are some insightful pieces on a range of topics regarding Turkey and international politics. The transformation of international education with a Turkey-centric perspective strengthens Turkey’s cultural diplomacy and soft power. This transformation is led by different sub-governmental and non-governmental organizations. One of the leading actors is the Turkish Maarif Foundation. In their commentary, Birol Akgün and Mehmet Özkan contextualize the foundation’s foreign and domestic policy and outline a vision through evaluating activities over the past three years. The principle of “the more corrupt the country, the less democratic it is likely to be” can be measured in the Balkan countries. Sabrina P. Ramet in her article addresses problems that the Balkan countries are facing, such as corruption, unemployment, and poverty. With regard to the events of the Gulf Crisis, Farhan Mujahid Chak deconstructs the reasons and motives behind the quartet’s blockade on Qatar. To do so, he employs post-colonialism variables, assuming that the preponderance of the U.S. military power in the Gulf Cooperation Council produces competing ‘projects’ in the Middle East. He underlines three conflicting ideal types: subservient, resisting/increasing, and pivoting from engagement to resisting the American hegemony. The article written by Nur Köprülü takes us back to the events of when the public protests engulfed most Arab regimes in 2011. However, she focuses on how the democratization processes in the MENA region led to the empowerment of the Islamist actors after decades of political exclusion. Hence, within a domestic and regional context shaping the politics of Islamist parties, Köprülü explores different trajectories of two countries in the region, the inclusion of Islamists in the case of Tunisia and their exclusion in the case of Jordan. In the last piece of this issue, Krizza Janica Mahinay analyzes the shift of the Moro National Liberation Movement (MNLF) in the discourse on Malaysia and the ramifications of this new discourse within the Philippine state. She elaborates this shift through the lens of power relations and foreign policy, taking into account the struggle for legitimacy within the Philippines. Through a wide range of commentaries and articles, this issue of Insight Turkey aims to bring to its readers a comprehensive framework on the current situation of the Israeli-Palestinian question. Whether there will be a deal to this problem remains a difficult question to be answered. Currently one thing is clear, that the plan declared by the Trump Administration, which was welcomed by Israel and some of its Arab allies, such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, assures the Palestinian people the continuation of their century long ordeal.
Author:
Publisher: SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Turkey’s contemporary defense and military strategy can be best understood as a result of the historical process the country has experienced. This historical process has significantly altered the security environment surrounding Turkey while transforming her alliance relations, ultimately producing a new political vision for the country and a defense and military strategy that serves this vision. Firstly, although the end of the Cold War and the ensuing dissolution of the Soviet Union has ameliorated international security, Turkey was faced with both conventional and asymmetric threats on multiple fronts. This situation kept defense spending of the country at record levels despite military expenditures within NATO showing a rapid decline. On the other hand, the emerging political geography led to a series of new conflicts erupting in several hotspots, from the Balkans through to the Caucasus and the Middle East. Emerging conflicts were thought to require a common response which precipitated NATO’s evolution from a collective defense organization to a collective security organization. Concurrently, it meant that Turkey would actively join NATO’s new missions ranging from the peaceful resolution of disputes to stability operations with expeditionary forces featured by mobility, jointness, and readiness. Secondly, the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the U.S. created profound ramifications for Turkey’s regional security and her alliance relations. In particular, the American military occupation of Iraq jeopardized Turkey’s national security by effectively removing the political authority of that country and dismantling the Iraqi army. While the emerging political vacuum was filled by sectarian politics, the scarcity of security was exploited by the PKK, consolidating its presence in northern Iraqi territories. Divided Iraq has also transformed into a breeding ground for international terrorism which resulted in the rise of various extremist armed organizations, including ISIS. Thirdly, since the so-called Arab spring started in the early 2010s, the political and security landscape of the Middle East and North Africa has undergone significant changes. While the overthrow of dictators led to intra-state conflicts in several places, it was particularly the civil war in Syria that alarmed Turkish decision-makers due to its transformation into a safe haven for various terrorist groups operating at Turkey’s southern frontiers. Bereft of concrete ally support, Turkey unilaterally launched military operations into northern Syria in order to eliminate ISIS elements as well as curbing the long-term territorial ambitions of the PKK. The Arab spring has also aggravated previous tensions and engendered various factions that facilitated new alignments which is the case for today’s Eastern Mediterranean and Arab-Israeli relations. Against the backdrop of these considerations, Turkey’s contemporary defense and military strategy has been formed. In general, this strategy lays down the principles of using military force to support the political aims of the country. It operates as a “bridge” between policy and operation, in a classical sense. And that strategy is now not just informed by protecting the territorial integrity of the nation but has wider objectives, including enhancing the country’s international standing as well as achieving strategic autonomy. This in turn has necessitated new tools that extend beyond a sole deterrent force, namely military activism, and defense industry investments, along with the contribution to international security and commitments to the NATO alliance. The summer issue of Insight Turkey aims to explain the changing dynamics of Turkey’s military and defense strategy by taking into consideration current foreign and security policy practices of Turkey in the Middle East and North Africa region. More specifically, this issue is an attempt to develop a new framework to understand Turkey’s revolution in its military and defense strategies. Hulusi Akar, the Minister of National Defense of Turkey, in his commentary sheds light on the global and regional developments that threaten Turkey’s peace and stability and which contributed to shaping its defense strategy. A strategy that targets finding common solutions to international problems in a collaborative way. Akar gives special attention to the contribution of the distinguished, deterrent, efficient, motivated, well-trained, and disciplined Armed Forces that are equipped with high-level weaponry produced domestically using national resources. Within the context of the Turkish Defense Industry’s strong historical background, İsmail Demir highlights the transformation and rationality of the Turkish Defense Industry. He emphasizes the necessity of addressing the recent rise of the Turkish Defense Industry in two different but interrelated periods. The first provided the defense industry with strong support with an extremely decisive and long-term projection. The second represents the transformation of the expectations from the defense industry, in coordination with the changing position and function of the defense industry in bureaucratic mechanisms. Michaël Tanchum’s commentary is a coherent and rigorous analysis of the logical result of Turkey’s post-Cold War strategic reorientation, presented in its new expeditionary capability of enhanced naval capacity and new forward bases. Michaël examines Ankara’s challenge of calibrating the use of its hard power instruments to serve its post-Lausanne strategic orientation toward establishing Turkey-centered, inter-regional connectivity. In the middle of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey, Fahrettin Koca, underscores the role of Turkey in the management of COVID-19. His commentary asserts that Turkey has successfully contained the COVID-19 pandemic and prevented devastating consequences due to its idiosyncratic approach to the crisis and the robustness of its healthcare system. After 85 years as a museum, Hagia Sophia welcomes Muslim worshippers’, a decision that has drawn intense criticism in Turkey and worldwide. However, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Yavuz Selim Kıran, argues that the functional change of Hagia Sophia will not affect Turkey’s centuries-old tradition of promoting tolerance, harmony, and diversity. The final off-topic commentary of this issue underlines the challenges to Pakistan’s nuclear threshold. Muhammad Haris Bilal Malik and Muhammad Abbas Hassan explain why Pakistan has been further threatened by India’s aggressive policies and provocative military modernization. The commentary concludes that Pakistan may be compelled to further revisit its nuclear threshold level to overcome India’s aggression. Besides the commentaries, this issue comprises five articles that focus on the Turkish Defense Industry past, present, and future and underline the factors that led to its remarkable evolution. The first article by Murat Yeşiltaş presents a general framework of Turkey’s Military and Defense Strategy. By taking into account the main drivers, primary objectives, and essential pillars, as well as its tangible repercussions on the military mindset, the author explains how the change in Turkey’s defense and military strategy stems both from Turkey’s changing security landscape and its quest to be an assertive regional player. Can Kasapoğlu’s research article covers two interrelated strategic topics regarding Turkey’s national military capacity in the 21st century: its defense technological and industrial base and its military policy, both currently characterized by a burgeoning assertiveness. In light of the rapid advances in technology that are continually shaping developments in the aerospace and defense sector, notably the evolution of airpower, Arda Mevlütoğlu, provides us with an understanding of the features of the next generation of air warfare, while presenting the status of the Turkish Air Force and offering suggestions on several challenges and opportunities. As a reply to the critics that Turkey is caught between a rock and a hard place due to the adamant opposition of its NATO allies, Mustafa Kibaroğlu tries to make sense of Turkey’s S-400 choice by assessing the impact of the S-400 deal on Turkey’s defense industries. On one hand, he presents his conception of the current “international political non-order” as an underlying factor behind the deal. On the other, he suggests that the deal must be approached from a wider perspective to grasp the extent of the service it has done in bolstering Turkey’s military-industrial complex. The last article related to the main theme of this issue focuses on Turkey’s defense spending. Merve Seren attempts to show that prioritization of defense spending during the AK Party era is specifically the outcome of a political preference. In other words, the shift in the political landscape from idealism to realism, associated with pragmatism. Our initial off-topic article highlights how Trump’s peace plan optimistically called the “Deal of the Century” adopts the Zionist discourse regarding al-Aqsa and its effects on undermining the Muslim sovereignty over the mosque, which will be a clear violation of the International law and status quo. Khalid el-Awaisi and Cuma Yavuz investigate the results of the implementation of Trump’s plan which they assert will lead to three main changes that would undo the centuries-old status quo of Masjid al-Aqsa completely and give Israel full control over this important historic and religious site. Ahmad AlShwawra and Ahmad Almuhtady’s off-topic article completes the dossier of this issue. The authors examine the potential implications of Jordan’s decision to import Mediterranean gas through Israel on Jordanian energy security, with special attention to how this decision will impact Jordanian foreign policy regarding the Palestinian cause. Through a wide range of articles and commentaries, this issue aims to bring to its readers a comprehensive framework on the transformation of Turkey’s Defense Industry and changing patterns of its military strategy.
Author:
Publisher: SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :
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Libya is one of the most important regional actors in the Middle East and North Africa region in terms of its geographical location and geostrategic importance. In 2011, Qaddafi was ousted from power raising the hopes of the Libyan people for a democratic regime. Unfortunately, Libya, one of the most interesting fronts of the Arab insurgencies and revolutions, has disintegrated into a severe civil war and a regional crisis. The reasons behind this are both internal and external. While the clash between the state, non-state, and armed actors within Libya have threated the internal stability, the intervention of some regional and global actors has incited the conflict further. Authoritarian regimes and pro status-quo states such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have been against the Arab uprisings as they did not want the will of the people to be reflected in the Middle East and Arab countries’ administrations. Within this context, these states did not allow the emergence of an encompassing and pluralist political structure in Libya. Furthermore, most international and regional powers such as France, Russia, and the United States have also been supporting this authoritarian coalition. Haftar, who had little influence during the revolution and lived outside of Libya for a long time, attempted a military coup in 2014 by rejecting the authorities of legitimate political actors in the country, with the support of these states. The Government of National Accord (GNA), which is recognized as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan state and people by many international institutions, most notably the United Nations, suppressed Haftar’s coup attempt. However, the abovementioned states continue to invest in Haftar’s forces. After having amassed enough armed forces with the support of a large coalition of states, Haftar launched a comprehensive military attack to take over the capital city of Tripoli in April 2019, to offset-up another autocratic regime in Libya. While everyone saw the capital Tripoli passing into the hands of Haftar as inevitable and only a matter of time,turning a blind eye to the situation, Turkey stepped in and upset all the calculations. As a result, Turkey increased its presence in Libya after two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed with the GNA in November 2019. With these two memorandums, Turkey has determined and declared its sea border in the Eastern Mediterranean and made a commitment to the GNA. Accordingly, when needed and requested by GNA, Turkey is ready to provide all kinds of military support. Especially since January 2020, Turkey has supported the GNA militarily and financially in its struggle against Haftar. The GNA forces supported by Turkey defeated the Haftar troops and forced them to withdraw from a large area in the Western part of the country. Turkey, which has altered the whole balance of power in Libya within a short time with the new dynamics, has changed the course of the crisis and the civil war in the country. Haftar and his supporters, who preferred only military methods, had to declare a unilateral ceasefire and to sit down at the diplomatic negotiation table. At the same time, Turkey persuaded some countries that are flirting with both sides to strengthen their relationship with the GNA. Developments in Libya directly influence Turkey, since Libya is a very important country for Turkey in the context of both the history of bilateral relations as well as the regional balance of power. Therefore, since the first days of the revolution, Turkey has been in close relations with the legitimate actors in order to protect the territorial integrity and political independence of the Libyan state. With its support both in the conflict area and at the negotiating table, Turkey ensured that the GNA remains an effective actor. Thus, Turkey has prevented the persons and groups which are under the control of the anti-Turkish coalition during the post-Arab spring period. On the other hand, Turkey has negated all anti-Turkey moves, formations, and processes within the newly emerged strategic regional equation. In this sense, the legitimate Libyan government came to the fore as a regional actor that it can work with. After signing a ceasefire agreement in October 2020, in Geneva, the political peace talks started under the auspices of the United Nations acting envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, and the warring sides have reached a preliminary agreement to a roadmap for elections. The two rival sides have agreed to hold both parliamentary and presidential elections in December 2021. If the process is completed successfully, the future of the country will be determined after these elections hopefully with an end to the discord in the country. The Libyan issue is a complex crisis with which many local, regional, and global actors have become involved. Therefore, the resolution of the crisis will only be possible with international consensus. In order to solve the crisis, a negotiation process must begin after securing a sustainable ceasefire agreement, all segments of the Libyan society must be included, and the two sides must reconcile on civil and democratic principles. Only then can a reconstruction of the state and a reform process in political, economic and security spheres be initiated. This issue of Insight Turkey focuses on underscoring both promises of internal reconstruction and challenges fueled by different external actors intervening in the Libyan crisis. This latest issue includes five commentaries and three insightful research articles that explore the Libyan conflict from different perspectives. While some pieces focus on the role of different actors in the crisis, others analyze the reconstruction efforts. While the civil war has pitted Libyans against each other, foreign interventions have hindered the resolution of the civil war. In this regard, Yahia H. Zoubir’s commentary presents a coherent framework of the foreign powers involved in the Libyan conflict and their interests. Zoubir argues that unless those foreign powers have achieved their goals in Libya, an end to the civil war anytime soon remains unlikely. Talha Köse and Bilgehan Öztürk provide a rigorous analysis of the external interventions in Libya and the logic behind each intervention, between offensive, defensive, opportunistic, or ideological. Understanding the full picture in Libya requires us to fully grasp the Turkish role and motivation for the Libyan conflict. To do so, İsmail Numan Telci underlines the factors and challenges that made it difficult for Turkey to implement its peaceful plans in Libya and argues that Turkey will continue to be an active supporter of peace and stability in the country. Tarek Megerisi briefly analyzes Europe’s relations with post-revolutionary Libya and European policies on Libya to conclude by stating that a continuing struggle between the EU member states over how to handle the new world, that is emerging in the wake of the pax-Americana, is also exposed in European policy on Libya. Ali Bakir’s article aims to discuss the United Arab Emirates’ interventions in Libya in terms of their nature, extent, motives, goals, and repercussions. Bakir tries to answer the questions of why Abu Dhabi has been able to act with impunity in Libya despite being the top foreign player fueling the war there for many years, and whether it will be able to achieve its goals and continue its interventions in Libya or not. France, while actively allying with the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, has aggressively confronted Turkey and undermined the internationally recognized Libyan Government of National Accord. On this basis, Timothy Reid seeks to examine the premises of the French policy toward Libya and its real intentions behind these actions. Guma el-Gamaty highlights the strong foundations and drivers for the Turkish-Libyan strategic alliance which allowed Turkey eventually to provide timely and decisive support for the legitimate Government of National Accord. He argues that the Turkish strategic relationship and cooperation with Libya over the coming decades will contribute to lasting peace as well as institution and state-building. Based on empirical evidence, Shatha Sbeta and Mohamed Abufalgha advocate for a comprehensive framework to address the political, economic, and social challenges facing Libya. Their proposal draws a clear roadmap that begins with establishing trust and extending the authority of the government across the Libyan territory. Murat Aslan, focusing on state, non-state, and armed actors, analyses Libya’s post-Qaddafi fragile state structure and struggles to build the internal order. He argues that these actors pose a repeating and paradoxical dilemma in which the root causes can be scrutinized by investigating the security culture inherited from Qaddafi’s regime. Four off-topic manuscripts conclude this issue of Insight Turkey. This issue places a special emphasis on the insurmountable deadlock that tackled the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict resolution process. Farid Shafiyev and Vasif Huseynov in their off-topic commentary assert that this deadlock is due to the failure of the peace negotiations brokered by different actors to deliver any progress as well as the constant provocations of Armenian military and political leaders, which eventually led to the outbreak of an almost full-scale war on September 27, 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, refugees are in constant danger because they live in highly congested environments. Within this context, Mahmood Monshipouri, Burcu Akan Ellis, and Cassidy Renee Yip call for a new approach to cope with the pandemic while arguing that helping refugees to curb the spread of the current coronavirus cannot be divorced from social contexts. Lukáš Tichý, Jan Mazač, and Zbyněk Dubský present a modified concept of the EU actorness in energy relations and deals with the identification of its criteria. Based on a predefined methodology, the article also analyses dimensions of actorness in the external energy relations with Algeria. Written by Shamkhal Abilov, Ceyhun Mahmudlu, and Natig Abdullayev, the last research article focuses on the dispute between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan over the delimitation of the Caspian Sea. This article aims to find out whether the new Convention of 2018 on the status of the Caspian Sea resolved the long-standing dispute and to assess the potential of implementing the Trans Caspian Pipeline under the new conditions. With one more year coming to an end, we are pleased to present to our readers yet another insightful issue of Insight Turkey that aims to bring the Libyan crisis to the attention of the politicians, intellectuals, and academicians. With the hope that you will find this issue informative and interesting, we are looking forward to providing you with more next year.
Author: Aili Piano
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742536456
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 756
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Freedom in the World contains both comparative ratings and written narratives and is now the standard reference work for measuring the progress and decline in political rights and civil liberties on a global basis.
Author: Peter J. Katzenstein
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108425178
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 383
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Mainstream international relations continues to assume that the world is governed by calculable risk based on estimates of power, despite repeatedly being surprised by unexpected change. This ground breaking work departs from existing definitions of power that focus on the actors' evolving ability to exercise control in situations of calculable risk. It introduces the concept of 'protean power', which focuses on the actors' agility as they adapt to situations of uncertainty. Protean Power uses twelve real world case studies to examine how the dynamics of protean and control power can be tracked in the relations among different state and non-state actors, operating in diverse sites, stretching from local to global, in both times of relative normalcy and moments of crisis. Katzenstein and Seybert argue for a new approach to international relations, where the inclusion of protean power in our analytical models helps in accounting for unforeseen changes in world politics.
Author: Avital Livny
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108485529
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271
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Book Description
This cutting-edge analysis of Islamic politics and economics shows how Islam builds trust in communities and serves as a collective identity.
Author: Freedom House
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442254084
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 877
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Book Description
Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fourteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.
Author: Ayşe Avcı
Publisher: SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280
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Book Description
On May 14, 2023, Türkiye will hold both the presidential and the parliamentarian elections, in which the Turkish people will choose the president and all 600 members of the Turkish Parliament. This will be the second elections since the transition to the presidential system in 2017. After the first elections, held in June 2018, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected as the first president of the new governmental system, and AK Party received more than 42 percent of the total votes, winning almost half of the seats in parliament. As in the first elections, two major political blocs will compete, namely, the People’s Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı) and the Nation Alliance (Millet İttifakı). The People’s Alliance bloc consists of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AK Party) led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) led by Devlet Bahçeli, the Great Unity Party (Büyük Birlik Partisi, BBP) led by Mustafa Destici, the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi, YRP) led by Fatih Erbakan and the Free Cause Party (Hür Dava Partisi, HÜDA-PAR) led by Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu. The second political bloc, the Nation Alliance also known as the Table of Six (Altılı Masa), is made up of six-plus-one political parties. The alliance, which was initially formed in May 2018 by four political parties, now consists of six parties, while one party supports the bloc from outside. The Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP) led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the Good Party (İyi Parti, İP) led by Meral Akşener are the two main allies. They were/are officially supported by four smaller political parties. The Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti, DP) led by Gültekin Uysal represents the center right, while the Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi, SP) led by Temel Karamollaoğlu is the continuation of Necmettin Erbakan’s Islamic political tradition. The two additional political parties, the Future Party (Gelecek Partisi, GP) led by Ahmet Davutoğlu and the Democracy and Progress Party (Demokrasi ve Atılım Partisi, DEVA Party) led by Ali Babacan are breakaway groups from the ruling AK Party. They have recently joined the Nation Alliance in an attempt to overthrow the ruling party, which has been in power for the last two decades. In addition to these six political parties, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi, HDP) led by Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, also supports the Nation Alliance. However, it did not become an official partner of the Nation Alliance, since some partners of the alliance, most notably the İP, generally representing the secular Turkish nationalists, oppose the alliance with HDP due to its close connections with PKK. Therefore, although HDP has declared its support for the candidacy of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, it has not joined the alliance. It has become obvious that two political alliances will dominate the election process, therefore there are effectively only two main presidential candidates. While the People’s Alliance has nominated Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Nation Alliance has nominated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for the presidential post. Concurrently, there are two additional candidates, Muharrem İnce and Sinan Oğan, supported by other small political parties that will no doubt influence the election results, however they are not expected to get more than a small percentage of the vote. The two opposing and conflicting political blocs represent an almost absolute mutual exclusive perspective about the future of Türkiye and the politics of the country, reflecting the increasing polarization of Turkish politics. These two alliances have two opposite and conflictual perspectives of Türkiye. The People’s Alliance emerged as a consequence of a domestic stance against the attacks Türkiye faced after the bloody coup attempt by FETÖ on July 15, 2016, which led to many major changes in the country. The alliance aims to maintain the current government, to consolidate the current presidential system, to continue the country’s transformation program, to protect the country against both internal and external threats, to increase its deterrent military power, to strengthen its economic development, and to globalize its diplomatic power. The Nation Alliance, on the other hand, was formed as a reaction to the People’s Alliance, since no one political party was/is able to challenge the power of AK Party and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The alliance is determined to reverse the course of politics in the country and to reverse many of the changes made by the AK Party governments. It claims that if it wins the elections, it will initiate a process of restoration, revive the old political system, change the regime, revive the old, and turn to the status quo ante. However, the Nation Alliance is quite a vulnerable and fractured opposition bloc. It seems that while the Nation Alliance agrees on what it does not want, specifically the rule of the AK Party, the bloc does not know what it wants instead. There is no real consensus among the fragmented opposition parties about the future of the country. Not only do different political parties expect different developments, even different wings within certain political parties make different suggestions. For example, some officials of the biggest partner of the Nation Alliance, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has declared that they will apologize (helalleşmek) to certain mistreated groups such as the women who were excluded from education and work because they chose to wear Islamic clothing. On the other hand, some other representatives and supporters emphasize that they will take revenge (hesaplaşmak) against other groups close to AK Party. Another important event that reflects the division within and the brittleness of the Nation Alliance is related to the announcement of their presidential candidate. Not only did it take more than ten meetings and several months for them to decide, but at the end of the process, the leader of İP, Akşener, left the block as she (and her party) did not approve the candidacy of Kılıçdaroğlu. Nevertheless, she came back to the table just one day later accepting Kılıçdaroğlu’s candidacy but adding two new names, Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş, CHP mayors of İstanbul and Ankara respectively, to the existing five vice-presidents. Indeed, for a long time, Akşener had been campaigning that one of these two men be selected for the presidential candidacy. The upcoming elections, which are held on the centennial anniversary of the Turkish Republic, put Türkiye at an important crossroads. It seems that two conflictual perspectives, the bloc that supports the consolidation of the presidential system and the bloc that supports a regime change, will collide. While the People’s Alliance emphasize autonomy in foreign policy and seeks to achieve regional leadership, the Nation Alliance promote an inward-looking political system and withdrawal from regional issues. Whatever the position of the bloc, one thing is for sure: The Turkish people want a strong leadership in foreign policy during this crucial global transition period. The turnout in Turkish elections is relatively high, generally over 80 percent, which is one of the highest in the world. Considering the politicization in the people’s daily lives, political polarization and the harsh political dialogue, it seems that the turnout in the upcoming elections will be even higher. Furthermore, the earthquake disaster of February 6 has further exacerbated and aroused the political fault lines. However, at the end of this high level of democratic competition and turnout in elections, Turkish democracy will be the winner, and it will be consolidated. Taking into consideration these developments and the importance of the elections -not only for Türkiye but for the regional and global affairs as well- this issue of Insight Turkey tackles some of the most important and determinative topics influencing the results. Disinformation has been one of the most noticeable ramifications we are experiencing of the digital revolution. At the same time, Türkiye, situated in a geopolitical hotspot, is one of the countries that is both a target and a hub of disinformation campaigns in the region. Within this context, Fahrettin Altun, the Presidency Communications Director has penned a commentary addressing misinformation and disinformation with a special focus on Türkiye and the initiatives undertaken by Communication Directorate. Within the same line of thought, Yenal Göksun provides an overview of Türkiye’s strategic communication policy and evolution of the Turkish communication model and the current strategic communication initiatives undertaken by the Directorate of Communications. According to Göksun, Türkiye’s evolving development and foreign policy agenda, which has developed rapidly in the last 20 years, has pushed it to undertake more ambitious efforts in the field of communication and public diplomacy, and as a result, innovations have been made in strategic communication policies. Turning to one of the most discussed issues in recent years in Türkiye’s politics, Cem Duran Uzun focuses on the country’s presidential system and the different government systems proposed by various parties before the 2023 elections. He specifically focuses on the differences between the U.S. presidential system and Türkiye’s administrative system, which overhauled its political system in 2017 and replaced the parliamentary system with a Turkish-style presidential system. Following up, Hamit Emrah Beriş evaluates the key issues in Turkish politics before the 2023 elections. Beriş argues that the 2023 elections are one of the most important in Türkiye’s history and four main topics determined the fate of the elections: refugees, the economy, rising nationalism, and the Kurdish question. The author focuses on serious differences of opinion between the ruling and opposition blocs on the solution to these problems. According to Beriş, the 2023 elections will show whether the approaches of the ruling or opposition wing are in line with the expectations of Turkish society. In our next research article, Ravza Altuntaş Çakır aims to investigate the relationship between ethnic Muslim minority identity and transnational Muslim solidarity, with emphasis on HÜDA-PAR, the most organized political Islamic organization and the second largest political party in Southeast Türkiye. In her paper, Çakır examines how the concept of ummah motivates the party’s domestic/ideological, national and transnational political discourses and initiatives, and also deals with the uncertainties that a mostly abstract and idealist ummahist approach to modern politics brings in the face of Kurdish nationalism, regional realpolitik, and democratic pluralism. As mentioned previously, refugees are another important issue for the forthcoming elections. In that respect, the article by Hatice Karahan and Öznur Gülen Ertosun examines the various dynamics that Syrian women under temporary protection face in the labor market in Türkiye. Technology has become a driving force in the global affairs and Türkiye has been taking all the necessary steps to take advantage of new developments. Within this line of thought, Serdal Temel in his commentary argues that Türkiye, an emerging economy, has been attempting to improve its socioeconomic strength through the promotion of research and development (R&D), innovation, and technological development activities. The author underlines that since the 2000s, the government has implemented support programs focused on developing the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and universities, and emphasizes that these programs are diversified as support for ecosystem improvements as well as support for patenting, commercialization and entrepreneurship. In another article, Nurettin Akçay and Guo Changgang, discuss China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Türkiye’s Middle Corridor (MC) projects, which have a common goal of connecting Europe and Asia, as well as facilitating commercial, economic, political and socio-cultural interactions between the two continents. In this commentary, which aims to examine the history, objectives and stages of Türkiye’s MC, Akçay and Changgang harmonizes the BRI with the MC and examines the inherent risks and challenges of integration as well as opportunities for the region. Our final commentary by Şafak Oğuz, analyzes the possible consequences of the F-35 fighter crisis between the U.S. and Türkiye, particularly in terms of its effect on the tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) deployed in Türkiye as part of NATO’s nuclear sharing program. Three off-topic research articles enrich the scope of our special issue. Eldar Hasanoğlu and Oğuzhan Çağlıyan investigate, with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, how the Israeli diplomacy initiative took on greater importance in maintaining its presence and reputation internationally. In their article, the authors analyze Israel’s approach to COVID-19 diplomacy, which involved providing medical teams, PPE, and surplus vaccines to approximately 20 countries, and examine the political and strategic calculations behind Israel’s decision to extend assistance to specific countries. Focusing on the religious conflicts in Kashmir, Resul Yalçın and Umair Gul seek to try to contextualize the search for the “secular” while examining the construction of Muslim identity, the institution of martyrdom, and its social basis in Kashmir. They define Kashmir as a festering political problem receiving little global attention. Lastly, Bashkim Rrahmani and Majlinda Belegu focus on the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue. They discuss the important issues linked with the dialogue that is being facilitated and negotiated by the EU, including essential activities, challenges, obstacles, antagonisms, the approach the EU facilitators/mediators undertake, as well as the reaction and the expected results that the parties involved in the process have regarding reaching a final solution to the dispute. As Türkiye is on the eve on one of the most important elections in its history, this issue of Insight Turkey addresses some of the issues that have been dominating the political agenda lately. Through this issue, we hope to provide our readers with a thorough analysis and the necessary foundations for a better understanding of some of the main issues that will influence the outcome of the May 14 elections.
Author: Ömer Aslan
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331966011X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 303
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Book Description
This comparative study explores the involvement of the United States in four successful military coups in Turkey and Pakistan during the Cold War. Focusing on military-to-military relations with the US in each country, the book offers insight into how external actors can impact the outcomes of coups, particularly through socialization via military training, education, and international organizations such as NATO. Drawing upon recently declassified government documents and a trove of unexplored interviews with high-ranking officials, Ömer Aslan also examines how coup plotters in both countries approached the issue of US reaction before, during, and after their coups. As armed forces have continued to make and unmake Turkish and Pakistani governments well into the twenty-first century, this volume offers original, probing analysis of the circumstances which make coups possible.
