Dept.of International Relations - Ph.D. / Sc.D.

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Open Access
The nuclear non-proliferation regime at the crossroads
(Bilkent University, 1996) Kibaroğlu, Mustafa
Based on the assumption that further proliferation of nuclear weapons will jeopardize international peace and stability, the ways and means for restraining proliferation of nuclear weapons are extensively researched. The research is conducted at state level. The framework of international efforts for stopping the spread of nuclear weapons is identified as the n u clear n on -proliferation regim e. In that respect, the International Regimes Theory is exploited to a certain extent. The basic premises of the regimes theory furnished the necessary insights about the concepts of international regime formation, regime maintenance, and regime effectiveness. Hence, these concepts have then formed the background of the proposals for increasing the strength of the non-proliferation regime. The degree of effectiveness of the nuclear non-proliferation regime in inhibiting states from going nuclear is observed to have largely depended on the attitudes of the states that participated in the international negotiations which aimed at establishing the fundamental stones of the regime (e.g., the IAEA Statute, the NPT and the related IAEA safeguards document INFCIRC/153 ). Emergence and evolution of these elements of the non-proliferation regime are investigated, and the loopholes and shortcomings that came into view in practice are determined. Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of states have joined the ranks of international collaboration for halting the further spread of nuclear weapons, a group of states (hold-outs) have opted to stay far from the nuclear non-proliferation regime by putting forward numerous arguments, and went on to manufacture nuclear explosives. Likelihood of an increase in the number of such states in the short and medium terms (unless appropriate measures are taken to strengthen the regime) necessitated a research about various regional and bilateral nuclear restraint arrangements that would prove feasible for associating the hold-outs with the principles, norms, rules, as well as the decision-making procedures of the non-proliferation regime. Regarding the recent developments in world affairs, measures are suggested to amplify the usefulness and the effectiveness of the essential elements of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Moreover, measures with regard to several other issues that are not generally considered among these mainstays of the non-proliferation regime, but which are believed by the author to have an impact on the future performance of the regime, are also incorporated into the research.
Open Access
The European system and the Egyptian question 1827-1841 : a study in the theory of balance of power
(Bilkent University, 1996) Abd El Sattar El Badri, Mohammed
This work aims at explaining the events of the Egyptian Question through the tools of balance of power theory. It is the main hypothesis of this work that the Egyptian Question affected the balance of power in Europe, i.e. Equilibrium, and therefore, was subjected to the mechanics of balance of power. It is further believed that the reactions of the major European powers were in full conformity with this mechanics. The first chapter explains the theory of balance of power and its major concepts. In the following chapter, these concepts are applied to the European system o f interstate relations, tracing it from the Treaty of Westphalia. The third chapter explains the link between Egypt and the European system, as well as the rise of the Egyptian Question. Chapter four deals with the effect of the Egyptian intervention in the Wars of Morea 1827, Anatolia 1832-3 and the European system. The final chapter is the mechanics of balance of power applied to pacify the Egyptian Question.
Open Access
Climate change and international institutions: agents of global environmental cooperation
(Bilkent University, 1997) Bayramoğlu, Banu
The major focus of this dissertation is the global climate change issue which threatens the international ecosystem as the most complex and unique environmental problem today. The study attempts to contribute to the understanding of the climate change cooperation, which has been evolving within a global scope, by displaying the major political and legal processes in the international arena. It aims to answer the question of which elements and factors have played significant roles with respect to climate cooperation. For this end, the research concentrates on the impacts of international institutions and non-state actors and a neoliberal institutionalist theoretical framework is employed while analyzing the regime formation process over the issue. The study has found out that being the actors of the international system, international institutions, along with epistemic communities and nongovernmental organizations, have emanated as the adherents and promoters of climate cooperation, and they have had significant impacts on the emergence of a regime over the climate issue. Thus, the ultimate purpose of this work is to analyze climate cooperation - which requires a more effective and substantial contribution of world states - in connection with the important roles played by international institutions, and to emphasize the implications of this cooperation for the International Relations theory and discipline.
Open Access
Greek air power as a national security instrument
(Bilkent University, 1998) Egeli, Sıtkı
The basic precepts and characteristics of Greece's national security posture dictates that, as a result of its geographic circumstances and the nature of the disputes with its main rival Turkey, very high expectations are placed on air power. Yet, a detailed analysis of the Hellenic Air Force and the country's other air-power relevant assets reveals that a number of shortcomings and discrepancies exist in a number of key areas and capabilities. The implications of this discrepancy between the high Greek expectations of air power and what it can actually deliver, could not be more significant. Given the high responsibilities with which Greek air power is entrusted in order to back up the current Greek policy line of challenging Turkey at all possible levels and platforms, air power cannot and should not be expected provide all the services demanded of it. Turkey, in this regard, appears to be a major regional military power with more advanced, sizeable and comprehensive air power-relevant capabilities than Greece. If this discrepancy is not properly addressed, it will undoubtedly result in Greece being extremely disillusioned, and in case of an armed combat, with both sides' national security goals in mind, Turkey would be the one to reap greater strategic benefit. Accordingly, from the perspective not only of air power, but its overall military capabilities as well, Greece is presented with two possible courses of action: faced with a much larger and better equipped opponent such as Turkey, Athens either has to increase its military capabilities, or else, it will have to reduce the scope of its national security goals in line with the services its military can provide. Given Greece’s human and financial resources, the former option - further boosting Greek military capabilities - appears to be an insurmountable task. This leaves Greece one viable option: to revise its national security objectives and, even more importantly, to seek a more conciliatory attitude to replace its current confrontational and escalatory attitude towards Turkey.
Open Access
The wars of Yugoslav dissolution and Britain's role in the making of international policy
(Bilkent University, 1999) Osmancavusoglu, Emel G.
This study is a chronological examination of British politics and diplomacy concerning the Former Yugoslavia from the explosion of war in 1991 right up to the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in December 1995. As such, it serves as a case study of British diplomacy during that period. All in all, British policy towards the Yugoslav dissolution wars was evaluated as unsuccessful both in terms of achieving a stable peace in the region and containing the conflict. The major aim of this study is to analyse the basic considerations and main motives behind the British policy in dealing with the wars of Yugoslav dissolution. The study attempts to look at the question whether or not any particular responsibility for the inadequate international response to the Yugoslav crisis can be attributed to Britain. The study argues that Britain’s Conservative government, rather than attempting to lead international community to take more robust stance against Serbian genocidal war in Bosnia and Hercegovina, used its diplomatic skills to subdue discussion of using force whenever the issue arose and severely hampered a collective response to the crisis. As a result, it is argued that Major government’s unwillingness to go beyond humanitarian intervention, despite pressure from the US, from the media and public and from two main opposition parties, reinforced its image of weakness and incompetence and thus did have important political implications both at home and abroad.
Open Access
Self-determination, territorial integrity and international stability : the case of Yugoslavia
(Bilkent University, 2001) Hasanı, Enver Beqir
This study analyzes the issue of self-determination, territorial integrity and international stability, within the Yugoslav context. However, it is not confined to the Yugoslav case of self-determination alone. The study stretches over other several cases of self-determination and analyzes the historical background of the phenomenon itself. The argument of this dissertation in terms of the history of self-determination, is that the phenomenon has gradually crystallized over the last two centuries. In addition, self-determination is viewed in connection with two other issues: territorial integrity and international stability. In fact, these two segments have been and remain intrinsic to every discussion of selfdetermination. The conclusion of this study is that the Yugoslav case of selfdetermination should not be singled out from other similar cases of its time. This covers not only the period following the end of the Cold War, but also the period prior to the South Slav unification of 1918 and thereafter. In all cases, the Yugoslav case reflects the features of self-determination as they appeared at the times under discussion. Evidence of this is best seen from the last period of the Yugoslav self-determination after the Cold War. In this period, Yugoslav selfdetermination was nothing but a part of the wider picture of self-determination covering all former Communist Federations (Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia). This further supports the argument that the Yugoslav case did not set any precedent in terms of self-determination that could be applicable in the future: self-determination as a principle has not been altered. It remains a political principle with a moral value only, without any legally binding effect. The relevance of this principle for the future rests in the fact that it has further crystallized one of the aspects of self-determination, that is, the principle of uti possidetis. The Yugoslav case has shown that the fixed territorial borders, as a rule of international law and relations that limits the territorial scope of selfdetermination, is a rule of utmost acceptance. The Yugoslav case of self-determination, however, has some unique features. It concerns the nature of nationalism of its constituent nations, most notably the Serbs. The interpretation of self-determination put forth by these nations was unique as compared to the whole Communist world that collapsed after the Cold War. Namely, they perceived self-determination in pure ethnic terms, thus excluding other nations from being beneficiaries of the same right. This perception was not without practical implications. The realization of pure ethnic self-determination resulted in ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs and the destruction of other cultures within the territory of former Yugoslavia. In addition to stopping the war in the territories of former Yugoslavia, efforts of the international community have also been focused on preventing the implementation of ethnic self-determination. The issue of human rights, the rule of law and democracy take prominence in the efforts of the international community in these regards. In some cases, these efforts have been combined with the use of force and sanctions against some of the Yugoslav actors.
Open Access
The making of Turkey's western alliance : 1944-1952
(Bilkent University, 2001) Çetiner, Yusuf Turan
This study analyses the formulation of Turkish foreign policy in the period 1944 to 1952 and considers the making of Turkey’s Western Alliance in this context. The thesis aims at indicating that Turkey’s resolute quest for a Western alliance in the aftermath of WW II was a natural end-result of the experiences inherited from wartime diplomacy. While Turkey’s sensitivity against the bloc strategy of world powers was continuing, it was evaluated by the makers of Turkish foreign policy that aggression could emerge from the totalitarian regimes which combined their forces or by one of them. Previously, the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 had demonstrated that the danger could emerge as a collective movement. Shortly afterwards, it was understood that the split in this bloc had not removed the threat either. In this framework of analysis, the thesis discusses that forced by the conditions of an unpredictable international environment, Turkey constantly sought the ways to enhance its security; an effort which eventually paved the way to the formation of an alliance with the West. In order to deepen the discussion in this context, the thesis makes a comparative study of Turkish foreign policy of the period in concern as well. Thus, attitudes of consecutive governments as mainly divided between those run under the Presidency of İsmet İnönü and the Democrat Party era after May 14, 1950 elections towards the course of international events are explored. On this premise, a contention is advanced that the making of Turkey’s Western Alliance and its adherence to NATO was the end-product of a variety of incidents and policies which operated towards this effect. Turkey’s participation in the plannings for a Middle Eastern Defence Organization (MEDO) and its decision to assign a combat force of a brigade size in the UN Command in Korea are evaluated as the main events of this process. In 1946, facing the Soviet assertiveness in global affairs, it was increasingly felt by the makers of Turkish foreign policy that maintaining an alliance with Britain and the USA was of utmost priority. At this juncture, Britain was pursuing a regular withdrawal policy from its global status which hampered London to develop a strategic partnership with Ankara. In its turn, Washington was not in favour of extending its commitments and had the opinion that as far as the coordination of security plannings were concerned Turkey was in Britain’s area of responsibility. It was the Truman Doctrine that marked a complete change in the US perception of Turkey and Greece. The thesis aims to shed light on a set of matters, the futile efforts around the MEDO and the concurrent hot conflict over Korea being the most significant ones. The period subsequent to the elections of May 1950 after which the Democrat Party administration decided to push Turkey to its limits - through hasty attempts at times - where the reflexes of benovelent neutrality towards the Allied side inherited from WW II left its place to an active search for security and partnership with the West is examined as the last phase in this process. In this framework, the thesis also aims to elaborate that the continuation of politics by war, and the continuation of war by politics continued throughout 1950 and 1952 which finally paved the way to the first enlargement of Western Alliance within the framework of NATO by the inclusion of Turkey and Greece.
Open Access
The Soviet attitude towards Turkey 1923-1929
(Bilkent University, 2002) Zalyaev, Ramil
This doctoral dissertation deals with the official Soviet attitude towards Turkey during the years between 1923-1929. It is the aim of this dissertation to elicit the objectives of the Turkish and Soviet foreign policy towards each other during the period in question, and to ascertain what factors played a role in the determination of those policy objectives. During the period between 1923 - 1929, the contiguity of the Turkish territory to the USSR, as well as internal and external weakness of the Soviets, were factors that determined the Soviet policy objectives towards Turkey. The Soviet government desired Turkey to be the State with a friendly manner towards the USSR. Besides, it wished that Turkey would not take part in aggressions against the USSR, and not allow other powers to use the Turkish territory as a springboard for an attack on the USSR. The Soviet government supposed that a friendly Turkey would be a factor of security for the USSR. The USSR was also of great importance for Turkey. The Turkish government aimed at preserving the Turkish national state within certain national boundaries and intended to consolidate its military victory by economic reconstruction of the country. The Turkish government was in need of time in order to recover the economy of the 6 country and to consolidate the regime. Proceeding from this, it was its foreign policy priority to prevent any aggression against Turkey. As it shared a long sea and land frontier with the USSR, the Turkish government also desired the USSR to be the State with friendly attitude towards Turkey. It believed that the USSR with a friendly attitude towards Turkey would be a favourable factor for the security of its north-eastern and eastern parts of the frontier with the USSR. As a result of the Neutrality, Non-Aggression and Non-Participation Treaty of December 17, 1925 and the Ankara Protocol of December 17, 1929, the USSR and Turkey achieved their policy objectives. They also needed the benevolence of each other direly. They knew that only by behaving so, they could achieve their policy objectives. In this sense, the relations between Turkey and the USSR in the period between 1923-1929 were mutually beneficial relations.
Open Access
National identity and regional integration in Central Asia : Turkestan reunion
(Bilkent University, 2002) Karasar, Hasan Ali
The existing conceptual and terminological anarchy in the literature about the Central (Inner or Middle) Asian region was a starting point of this dissertation. Thus, the basic objective for this study was to review the literature as to which terms were used by whom, when and with what kinds of motives? With the final objective of trying to bring some clarifications to the field. This is a historical study with an eventual international relations repurcassions in mind. Historically, the term Turkestan has been used by many. It differs from most of its contemporary alternatives. It is not only a geographic and political term but also a politico-ethnic one, in Persian, Turkestan means “the country of Turks.” The term has also been used in the literature to cover four different names and areas: Western or Russian (then Soviet) Turkestan, Eastern or Chinese Turkestan, Southern or Afghan Turkestan as well as the Greater (Uluğ) Turkestan to encompass all. Extensive review of encyclopedical and primary sources and the researcher’s numerous interviews and long-time field observations on the subject reveal significant findings. First of all, the region was called with different names by different peoples throuought its history. However, from the 7th Century AD on, the name Turkestan has been the longest survived one. Furthermore, toward the end of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th centuries, the rise of Turkestanism among the political elite of Turkestanis was witnessed. It is most likely that the liberal athmosphere of February 1917 Revolution resulted in the declaration of Turkestanist national statehoods in the region, namely Turkestan Autonomy, Bukharan and Khorezmian People’s Soviet Republics and Alaş Orda Government. The 1924 national-territorial demarcation (razmezhevanie) was not totally a product of central planning in Moscow but have had an important native initiative too. During the period between 1924 and 1991, Turkestani intelligentsia at home and abroad continued their Turkestanist stance at different levels while reaching its height when Nazi Germany decided to establish Turkestan Legions to “liberate” Turkestan from the Bolshevik tyranny. Even after 1991, when all five Union Repulics gained their independences, a search for regional integration and strengthening already existing common Central Asian-Turkestani solidarities continued with an increasing degree on the both ruling elite and opposition camps in the regional states. Although, historically, while there exists: no “Turkestani nation” in western meanings of the term, no single “Turkestanish language” in modern terms, no contemporary political entity called Turkestan, and no consensus over its geography; the concept of Turkestan has survived through the centuries and its heritage has been claimed by the modern political cadres of the region. It is hoped that, the study may provide new visions for those bewildered by the complexities of the daily politics of the region. This study explains that history and common Turkestani identity are key to understand inreasing integration efforts of Central Asian leaderships in the post-Soviet period. However, in this process the Soviet legacy and the very definitions of the ethnic identities during the Soviet period are still quite in affect despite the efforts to re-write Turkestani history by the regional administrations in the 1990s. It is also underlined that just like all three Turkestani movements at beginning of the 20th century, Basmacıs, Jadids of Turkestan Autonomy and Alaş Orda and National Communists were all Turkestanists in different levels, in the post-Soviet period, leaderships and oppositions of the independent Central Asian states use Turkestan idea and Turkestanism in different levels as well. Thus, ultimate purpose of this work is to outline the dynamics of the Turkestani regional identity and its reflections on the daily politics of Central Asian states.
Open Access
Search for a common North Caucasian identity : the mountaineers' attempts for survival and unity in response to the Russian rule
(Bilkent University, 2002) Çelikpala, Mitat
Throughout the history, the North Caucasian region has hosted a number of peoples, whose numbers are occasionally limited to some hundreds, and whose mother tongues are quite different from each other. Beyond this ethnic and linguistic complexity, the religious pattern has been an additional factor to complicate the matters. Nevertheless, despite the existence of this great diversity, all the inhabitants of the North Caucasus have come to share the same way of life, traditions, customs, and even the costume dictated by harsh mountain conditions and thus they are unified by broad cultural similarities. It is believed that all these commonalities have created a mode of life, or a common identity encompassing the peoples of the North Caucasus called Gortsy or the Mountaineer identity. As a consequence, the Russians define all these peoples of the North Caucasus with the general name of Mountaineer and then it was accepted even by themselves. These peoples, until the arrival of the Russians to the region, had continued a life in an atomized state and never felt it necessary to form a common, comprehensive organization or state. The feeling of freedom, culture and the iv common way of life were transformed to a conscious bond by the emergence of an alien power –the Russians. By the late 16th century, the long-lasting struggle of the Mountaineers with the Russians had begun. The main concern of this study is, thus, to scrutinize the North Caucasian Mountaineers’ long-lasting struggle of establishing North Caucasian identity and independence, inside and outside their homelands. This thesis, which aimed to analyze the stages of this struggle, intends to be the first comprehensive study on the North Caucasian struggle of independence in this length.
Open Access
The Kosovo crisis and Turkey (1991-2001)
(Bilkent University, 2003) Altunya, Eylem
With the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the post-Cold War period, the disagreement between the Serbs and the Albanians in Kosovo reached a elimax and a erisis emerged in 1999. The eruption of the Kosovo erisis is closely related to the larger Albanian question in the Balkans which started with the establishment of the Albanian state in 1912. Existence of Albanians living dispersed in the Balkans, particularly in Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece has always been problematic for the host states. Whether the Albanians really wished to gather around a single state or not was not questioned by the host states, who always tried to prevent the establishment of a larger Albanian state in the Balkans. 1 The Balkans is a corridor between Turkey and the European continent. Claiming to be a regional power and having historical and cultural bounds with the region, Turkey can not ignore the developmets in the Balkans. Turkey is expected to play an influential role regarding the events of the Balkans.
Open Access
United Nations and unilateral military interventions : admissible justifications in the United Nations' responses
(Bilkent University, 2003) Kınacıoğlu, Müge
This study on the United Nations’ approach to unilateral military interventions is an analysis of the concept of military intervention in the domestic affairs of states and its normative development in international politics. In this context, the main purpose of the study is to discover the normative trends of legitimization in the organs of the United Nations (Security Council and General Assembly) and to assess the permissible state justifications of military intervention as endorsed by the United Nations. More specifically, it aims to expose the principle of non-intervention to inspection and exception, and inquire the extent of United Nations’ contribution to the development of international norms and trends with respect to military intervention in domestic affairs. For this purpose, the primary focus of the study is in general on the stance, and in particular on the decisions and actions taken by the main United Nations organs concerning the legality and legitimacy of military interventions undertaken by a state or group of states in the domestic affairs of another state with reference to individual cases. Examining the United Nations’ responses to individual cases of military intervention, the study finds that the United Nations has consistently declined the permissibility of unilateral military interventions in circumstances other than those stipulated by the Charter. Thus, the study concludes that the United Nations practice indicates substantial adherence to the Charter scheme regarding the prohibition of the use of force and the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs.
Open Access
The role of international institutions in identity transformation : the case of Turkish-Greek conflict within the European Union and NATO frameworks
(Bilkent University, 2003) Oğuzlu, H. Tarık
This dissertation analyses the impact of the dynamics of Turkey and Greece's institutional links with the European Union and NATO on the nature of Turkish-Greek relations from an International Relations theoretical perspective. In undertaking this task the main research interest is to uncover the impact of links with international institutions on the security identities of states. Relevant theoretical approaches, namely rationalist institutionalist theories of neo-liberalism and neo-realism and sociological institutionalist theory of social constructivism, are assessed in terms of their capabilities to explain the relationship between links with international institutions and security identities of states. In this regard, this dissertation mainly draws on the social constructivist approach for the main reason that the rationalist institutionalist theories fall short of offering convincing explanations as to the identity transforming effects of interactions within institutional environments. The main argument is that the contextual environment of Turkey and Greece’s interaction through the EU and NATO has contributed to the perpetuation of realpolitik security identities and practices in and around the Aegean Sea and Cyprus, rather than setting the stage for long-term cooperative bilateral relations based on non-realpolitik security identities. In this sense, the realpolitik kind bilateral security relations are ideational in nature and have been to a significant degree informed by the context of Turkey and Greece's joint membership in NATO and close relations on the margins of the European Union. This dissertation simply tries to unravel the mechanisms through which this outcome has taken place. Assuming that Turkey and Greece would have stable and long-term cooperative security relations if and only if their security identities and interests came closer to each other on the basis of the non-realpolitik security norms of the western international/security community, this dissertation argues that the way the dynamics of Turkey and Greece's institutional relations within the EU and NATO frameworks have unfolded has significantly curtailed this possibility. By way of conclusion, this dissertation has reached the following points: First, the social constructivist approaches are better equipped with the tools to highlight the identity-transforming effects of links with international institutions. Second, the alleged security community identities of the European Union and NATO have not contributed to the emergence of a security community between Greece and Turkey. This was so because NATO has been a collective defence organization of realpolitik kind since its inception. Besides, the European Union members have acted towards Turkey and Greece from an instrumental perspective, highlighting the costs and benefits of their true inclusion in the Union, rather than from the logic of appropriateness believing that their incorporation into the Union would be in accordance with the security identity of the Union. Third, for Turkey and Greece to develop a non-realpolitik security relationship within the framework of the European Union they should approach the EU from an ideational perspective, rather than an instrumental one. They should believe that the resolution of their territorial disputes in peaceful ways would be legitimate in order for them to be considered as real Europeans.
Open Access
Perceptions of the US involvement by Athens and Ankara in the Greek-Turkish Dispute (1954-1999)
(Bilkent University, 2004) Kalaitzaki, Theodora
Greek-Turkish relations became strained a few years after the starting of the Cold War despite that both countries have become parts of the same alliance, NATO, and belonged to the western camp against the Soviet Union. The eruption of the Cypms conflict was the main reason for worsening the relations between the two states. In the decade of 1970s additional problems in the Aegean deteriorated relations further, and both states have almost come to the brink of a war several times. The United States as the most powerful ally has always needed to be involved in order to keep NATO’s cohesion and preserve stability in the southeastern flank of the Alliance. I l l The aim of this study is to analyze the American involvement towards the GreekTurkish dispute which includes the Cyprus problem and the Aegean issues from 1954 until 1999 emphasizing in the most serious Cyprus crises (1963-64, 1967, 1974, 1997) and the Aegean crises (1976, 1987, 1996). Further, this study will attempt to analyze the Greek and the Turkish perceptions of the American involvement, and to evaluate to what extent the United States presence has affected the course of the long-standing GreekTurkish dispute.
Open Access
Ethno-national conflict and international relations : the case of the Kosovo
(Bilkent University, 2005) Abazı, Enika
The end of the Cold War was followed by an increase in the influence of ethnonational conflicts in the world politics. International Relations theories have contributed to the study of inter-state war. The question raised in this dissertation is whether the same logic can be used to study ethno-national conflict. To answer the question this dissertation evaluates the contribution of traditional International Relations theories, post-Cold War approaches and Constructivism to our understanding of ethno-national conflict. It points to their strengths and weaknesses in explaining this conflict. The Kosovo/a conflict is used as a case study to illustrate to what extent different International Relations approaches help us to understand it. This dissertation asserts that traditional theories and post-Cold War approaches help us to examine the context that would encourage conflict. Pointing to the limits of these approaches, this dissertation emphasizes the contribution of Constructivist approaches, which assist us to understand the constructive and relational processes which make the conflict and shape the participants. At the same time, this dissertation shows awareness of Constructivism weaknesses.
Embargo
Diplomacy in the information age: the use of information technologies in verification
(Bilkent University, 2006) Fidan, Hakan
One of the major arguments of this dissertation is that the information revolution has had significant impact on verification of existing international agreements. To support this argument, the relation between information revolution and international relations is tackled by examining systemic and unit level effects as well as impacts of information revolution on security, conflict management and international cooperation, and then the theory and practice of verification is discussed in detail with emphasis on regime theories and issues challenging verification. Finally, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) are selected as two case studies for the purpose of analyzing the impacts of information revolution. At the conclusion, based on the findings from the operations of the IAEA and the CTBTO, it is suggested that verification has become even more useful in international relations since it became more effective in detecting cheating thanks to the new information technologies.
Open Access
Ahıska Turks and Koreans in post-Soviet Kazakstan and Uzbekistan : the making of diaspora identity and culture
(Bilkent University, 2006) Oh, Chong Jin
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all of the newly independent governments in Central Asia aimed at nationalizing or indigenizing the territories under their control and rectifying what many saw as decades of dominance by foreign actors. These states made great efforts to undertake various nation-building projects. For individuals in many nationalizing states in Central Asia, knowledge of the titular language became increasingly important in order to obtain, maintain and advance their career and position in the society. In other words, members of the titular nations had somewhere to go and settle after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the non-titular groups, which included group such as the Jews, the Volga Germans, the Koreans, the Crimean Tatars, Ahıska Turks, had nowhere to go. These diasporas found themselves in the middle of nowhere. These ethnic minorities or diasporas are, perhaps, the main losers in the nation-building process in post-Soviet Central Asia due to their powerlessness and vulnerability. As peoples deported by the Soviet regime, these groups were forced to migrate against their will. By using Korean and Ahıska Turkish diasporas in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan as cases, this study examines, to some extent, how diasporas are influenced by nationalizing states in Central Asia. It attempts to inquire into the factors which influence the existence, nature and intensity of ethno-nationalism in the diasporas’ context. Therefore, it analyzes both the existence and transmission of ethno-nationalism between the diasporas’ settings and homelands and specifically will deal with the transmission of ethno-nationalist sentiments across diasporas’ generations. Above all, the task of this inquiry is to examine the sources of diversity within diaspora relations and to move toward an analysis of the patterns of interaction among trans-border ethnic groups, their traditional ethnic homelands, and the states in which they reside. The comparative content of this investigation will show considerable variations in these practices in different settings and groupings.
Open Access
Weak states and security
(Bilkent University, 2006) Rakipi, Albert
Although the weak 1 failing states have often been deseribed as the single most important problem for the international order s ince the en d of Cold W ar (F .Fukuyaına 2004:92) several dimensions of this phenomenon still remain unexplored. While this phenomenon has been present in the international politics even earlier, only the post Cold W ar period accentuated its relationship with security issues. Following the Cold W ar' s "peaceful" period and the bloody 1990s, the Balkan region today represents a mixture of weak states and international protectorates, positioned equally far from failure as from evcntual success. This study proposcs that there is a strong correlation between the wcak state and security issues. By fuıther investigating this kind of relationship it will analyze ho w state strength impacts security in the post Cold war world. The study will focus on domestic threats to security, concentrating on the Balkans, and in particular, analyzing the range of security problems for Albania and Macedonia. It therefore represents a genuine debate on the security dilemma at the domestic !eve! in the post Cold war environment based on the argument that internal security issues. have gained more importance relative to external threats with the demise of the öipolar international system.
Open Access
The analysis of Turkey's approach to peace operations
(Bilkent University, 2007) Güngör, Uğur
This dissertation aims at analyzing the motivations that lie at the roots of Turkey’s involvement in peace operations, mostly organized under the leadership of the United Nations in the post-Cold War era. The main contention is that participation in such operations has been an identity-constructing activity in the sense that Turkey has tried to reinforce its eroding western identity in the 1990s through this particular way. This dissertation also discusses alternative motivations behind Turkey’s involvement in peace operations, such as security-related considerations in a neo-realist vein and domestic influence of ethnic and religion pressure groups, but argues that these accounts fail short of offering convincing explanations. Methodologically, the research for this dissertation will be thematic, not theoretical. The purpose of this study is not to make value judgments concerning Turkey’s participation in peace operations, but instead to describe, understand, and explain its role. Based on Turkey’s experiences in peace operations, this dissertation reaches the following conclusions. First, Turkey’s western image has improved. Second, Turkey could transform its security identity and interests in line with the changing security conceptualizations in the West. Third, the modernization process of Turkish armed forces has become much easier following Turkey’s presence in such operations. Fourth, the prospects of Turkey’s membership in the EU have increased following Turkey’s cooperation with EU members in various peace operations in different regions of the world. Fifth, participation in peace operations has contributed to the improvement of Turkey’s relations with the United States which have gradually deteriorated in the postCold War era.
Open Access
Clash of discourses: the US national debate on relations with Haiti, 1789-2004
(Bilkent University, 2008) Pakin, Esra
This dissertation is a historical-comparative analysis of the rhetorical forms and frames that have shaped United States-Haitian relations, departing from the predominantly action-oriented perspective of international relations literature. The study expounds continuity and change in official foreign policy discourse as “The United States” and “Haiti” were reinterpreted through time. It also displays how these constructions of “self” and “other” have been contested within the public and political domain. This work is a contribution not only for its elaboration on the mostly unattended public, press and congressional critique of Haitian policy, but also for shedding further light on the role of African Americans in U.S. foreign policy making.