Dept.of International Relations - Ph.D. / Sc.D.
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Item Open Access Ahıska Turks and Koreans in post-Soviet Kazakstan and Uzbekistan : the making of diaspora identity and culture(Bilkent University, 2006) Oh, Chong JinAfter 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.Item Open Access An analysis of the development and the importance of oil and gas resources in Russia and their relationship to the Russian economic growth and foreign policy(Bilkent University, 2008) Kara, GöktuğThis dissertation analyzes the development of the oil and gas sector in Russia with a view to understand the role of these assets on the formation of Russian state interests and consequent policy prioritization, both at the domestic and the international level. The study identifies economic and political issues on which the influence of the oil and gas resources has been significant. The dissertation elucidates the various links between Russian economic development and revenues from the oil and gas sector, and well as explicit and implicit connections between Russian foreign policy and the oil and gas sector. In the changing world order, strategic manipulation, communication, persuasion and economic incentives became as important as military might or an outright threat in order to shape the outcome of international issues. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, oil and gas diplomacy, pipeline politics, subsidised energy deliveries, threats to cut-off energy deliveries coloured Russian attempts to revitalize influence throughout the territory of the former Soviet iv Union. Russia today is wedged between net consumers of energy which are competing to secure best terms for their oil and gas deliveries. As the Russian military capabilities fell after 1991, the policy around these vital resources has become the primary drivers of Russian domestic and foreign agenda. Another aim of this analysis is to contribute to the study of international relations by emphasizing its analysis of a state’s domestic agenda’s effect on the international arena. Domestic factors have a crucial relevance to relationships shared by actors at the international level. This dissertation will use Russia’s development of the oil and gas sector as a case for evaluating and understanding the relationship between domestic and international issues.Item Open Access The analysis of Turkey as a non-Western and emerging humanitarian actor(Bilkent University, 2020-06) Coşkun Türkmen, Efser RanaThis dissertation explores Turkey as a non-Western and emerging humanitarian actor with respect to its humanitarian policies, goals, actors, and practices. In the literature of International Relations (IR), although there are various scholarly works that analyse Turkey’s humanitarianism, they have not been competent enough to explain how and in what terms Turkey is a different humanitarian actor compared to other humanitarian donors. This dissertation includes a comprehensive research on actors, practices and strategic goals of emerging donors to assess Turkey’s operationalisation of its humanitarianism. While the majority of existing scholarly contributions on today’s ‘emerging donors’ investigate China, Brazil and India, this research focuses on Turkey that has engaged with the international development field through using insights from IR, development studies particularly humanitarianism and development aid, and Turkish foreign policy. Existing scholarly works remain limited to explore Turkey’s humanitarianism in detail from a different angle to develop new conceptual understandings. The dissertation analyses Somalia as the single case study to understand Turkey’s growing activism in the country. To this end, this dissertation asks three major research questions: 1) How does Turkey operationalise its humanitarianism and what does it seek to achieve? 2) How has Turkey become an important humanitarian actor in the world despite its middle-income country status? 3) Why and in what terms does Turkey emerge as a significant actor amongst emerging donors in humanitarianism? In doing so, this dissertation unravels operationalisation of Turkey’s humanitarianism with regard to activities, humanitarian emotions, civilizational geopolitics, Turkey’s geopolitical aid, and its liminal identity.Item Open Access The analysis of Turkey's approach to peace operations(Bilkent University, 2007) Güngör, UğurThis 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.Item Open Access Changing alliance and cooperation dynamics : globalization, nation-state and the threat(Bilkent University, 2010) Çağlar, BarışThis dissertation is a study about the form and dynamics of inter-state cooperation and alignment against transnational terrorism epitomized by Al-Qaeda. Since international security is traditionally regarded as the parcel of nation-states, transnational terrorism is a conceptual new-comer to the playground of politics. Its scale of operations occurs in a security environment structurally different from that of the Cold War. The recurrent reason given for debating the role and relevance of alliances in regard to counterterrorism is discussed in the literature to be a systemic change in world affairs marked by the end of the Cold War and globalization. The latter must be disaggregated to determine the essential elements and features of the systemic differences and related threats. Does contemporary inter-state cooperation and alignment against transnational terrorism correspond to the previous alignment behaviors of states that were conducted against other states? Analyzing the evolving forms of cooperation in general and the form of cooperation in alliances is the aim of the study. Through a three-pronged analytical discussion based on the factors of globalization, unit-level preferences and the features of the threat itself, the study concludes that cooperation form in general and in alliances in particular - including the form of cooperation in NATO- is experiencing a shift from a ‘defensive nature’ to a ‘security nature’. Coalitions of the Willing type of cooperation appears to be the re-emergent form of inter-state security cooperation, especially against ambiguous threats such as transnational terrorism that erodes the distinction between internal and external threats.Item Open Access Clash of discourses: the US national debate on relations with Haiti, 1789-2004(Bilkent University, 2008) Pakin, EsraThis 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.Item Open Access Climate change and international institutions: agents of global environmental cooperation(Bilkent University, 1997) Bayramoğlu, BanuThe 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.Item Open Access Coherence and effectiveness of EU Foreign Policy: the cases of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo(Bilkent University, 2018-11) Mutluer, DenizThis thesis aims to analyse the coherence and effectiveness of the European Union (EU) foreign policy by focusing on two crucial cases that shaped the emergence of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the Union: Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. Has the EU foreign policy been coherent and effective in Bosnia and Kosovo? The concept of “coherence” has high explanatory power to analyse the relationship between the EU institutions, the EU member states, and the EU foreign policy instruments. Accordingly, this research examines the coherence of EU foreign policy instruments used in Bosnia and Kosovo by developing a new analytical concept: “perceived coherence” which focuses on the degree of receptivity amongst local agents regarding the coherence of EU policy instruments applied in their country, namely the EU accession process, the CSDP missions and mediation. After analysing the coherence of the EU foreign policy in Bosnia and Kosovo, this study focuses on the factors that come into play between coherence and effectiveness.Item Open Access Collective identity formation and the convergence of brics climate change policy(Bilkent University, 2022-07) Kıprızlı, GöktuğThis dissertation explores what explains the convergence among the BRICS, the acronym standing for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, on climate change, despite their divergent characteristics in terms of leading production sectors, demographic trends, population size, emissions profiles, and roles in the energy market. Based on the methodological principles of the theory testing branch of process tracing, there are three potential arguments driven by the existing theories to understand the phenomenon at hand. Hence, the dissertation utilizes soft-balancing of Neorealism, functional cooperation of Liberal Institutionalism, and collective identity formation of Constructivism. The main argument contends that the increasing interaction among the BRICS states, changes in the material world, and, as a result, the cohesion on the basis of collective identity have expanded the web of intra-group cooperation and collaboration within the club and generated shared ideas, discourse, and values on climate change-related issues over time. Adopting an interpretive discourse analysis, the dissertation also relies on primary textual materials consisting of the declarations of the BRICS platform, high-ranking state representatives’ speeches and statements, and other official documents. The dissertation unravels how their collective identity position the BRICS as emerging powers between developed and developing countries and urge their active involvement in tackling climate change in connection with their overlapping discursive, ideational, and policy frameworks. Thus, the dissertation contributes to the literature by unveiling the roots of the convergence among the BRICS, extending the timeframe for uncovering the shared BRICS positions, and marking the relevance of collective identity formation for BRICS cooperation.Item Open Access Conceptions of modernity in security studies: the study of security in the Global South(Bilkent University, 2019-07) Dikmen Alsancak, NeslihanSecurity Studies has portrayed states in the Global South as a threat to international security and overlooked insecurities experienced by people and social groups in the Global South. In security studies, security in the Global South has been explained in terms of incompleteness of states in the Global South. The dissertation questions how it is possible that security studies has accounted for security in the Global South in terms of a lack. The argument of dissertation is that the study of security in the Global South is related to the conception of modernity shaping security studies, which locates the Global South outside of world politics. This dissertation builds its argument in four steps. First, it identifies three dimensions of modernity, namely, time, ontology and sociality of world politics. These dimensions help to unpack conceptions of modernity in security studies, which vary across these three dimensions. Second, the dissertation unpacks conception of modernity shaping realist approaches to security and Third World security scholars’ analyses in order to examine their respective understandings of the relationship between the Global North and the Global South in security relations. Third, it asks how those, who are critical of these approaches, namely, critical and postcolonial approaches to security have understood the relationship. Fourth, the dissertation shows its argument by illustrating from studies on nuclear non-proliferation in the Global South.Item Open Access The conceptions of “the international” in Turkey(Bilkent University, 2018-03) Küçük, Mine NurIn the last several decades, the discipline of International Relations (IR) has been problematized because of its limitations in engaging with non-core actors. A burgeoning literature in IR has underscored that the prevalent approaches in the discipline have particular understandings of world politics which are based on the experiences of core actors, and ideas and experiences of non-core actors are overlooked in these understandings. This literature has asked what IR would look like if ideas and experiences of non-core actors are also considered. This dissertation’s objective is to contribute to this literature by studying the conceptions of “the international” as found in one of the non-core contexts, namely Turkey. The dissertation develops and offers a novel analytical framework for studying the conceptions of “the international” in any given context. This framework is employed firstly to examine the understandings as found in IR scholarship so as to see what is available in the literature. Then, the framework is employed for analyzing the conceptions of “the international” in Turkey as one example to non-core actors of world politics. The dissertation discusses what IR scholarship captures and overlooks when the conceptions of “the international” in non-core contexts are taken into account.Item Open Access Constructing security in colombia : the case of FARC(Bilkent University, 2017-06) Baysal, BaşarThis study introduces a new framework for critical security studies to examine the production of security issues, particularly in hybrid democracies. Like the other critical security approaches, this new framework has a constructivist ontology and an interpretivist epistemology. On the other hand, this new framework addresses the critics of the already existing approaches. As novel features, the new framework, regards the process of (in)securitization as a whole process and examines it in three phases: definition, construction, and (in)securitization-in-action; it takes both bottom-up and top-down characteristics of the process of (in)securitization into consideration and examines both macro-level decision-making processes and discursive efforts and micro-level security practices; it takes rival voices into consideration and provides a dual framework for analysis which examines nonviolent opposition and counter-(in)securitizations; it integrates new units like the opposition and sufferers; it examines the context of the process of (in)securitization by particularly focusing on the historical background and the level of democracy; it divides the security professionals into three levels: strategic, operational and tactical; it examines the insecuritizing consequences of (in)securitization as well as its process; finally, and most importantly, it eliminates the state-centric approach and it can problematize non-state actors too. In addition to these theoretical contributions, the dissertation applies this new framework to the case of dual (in)securitization of FARC and the Colombia state. By that way, it both present the functioning of the framework and examines one of the longest and deadliest internal conflicts of the last century through the lenses of (in)securitization framework.Item Open Access A constructivist analysis on balancing : the impact of US war on terror on China and Russia(Bilkent University, 2012) Sarı Karademir, BurcuThis dissertation provides a constructivist analysis of balancing under unipolarity by examining the question of how the US war on terror has influenced China’s and Russia’s tendency to balance against the United States. To answer this question, this dissertation looks at how China’s and Russia’s security understandings have evolved as a result of their bilateral relations with the US and US security practices in international relations since the end of the Cold War. It points out that China’s and Russia’s interactions with the US have produced micro-cultures in which rivalry over international status and insecurity have become dominant. The dissertation argues that China’s and Russia’s reactions to the US war on terror were shaped by their security understandings. It states that after a temporary betterment of relations with the US, both states’ concerns about their status in international relations were intensified after US unilateralism in the Iraq war. In addition, the dissertation points out that unipolarity exists in a Lockean culture at macro-structural level in which the US has the primary status empowering it to shape the norms of international relations. It stresses that as China and Russia want to play a role in the rule-making process and management of the international order, they are concerned by US status as the system-maker. The dissertation concludes that China and Russia might balance against the US due to the insecurities produced at macro and microstructural levels.Item Open Access A critique of the international criminal court : The Making of the “International Community” through international criminal prosecutions(Bilkent University, 2015-07) Gözde, TuranIt is not “the state” but a more diffuse and amorphous power which revitalizes the twin legacies of the state of containment and disciplinary supervision of problematic populations at the global level. The International Criminal Court (ICC) as the current leading institution of both formulating and disseminating the international criminal law discourse is not only part and parcel of this progressively evolving global power but also a constituent agent as well as a product of the so-called international community. One aim of this study is to understand how international crimes become salient in the public sphere and what sort of techniques and procedures are applied to prevent and punish them. The effort of creating and developing more detailed and organized webs and networks to deal with the supposedly rising problem of global insecurity in connection to international crimes is subsequently associated with conditions of global political economy facilitating the establishment and operation of the ICC. Notwithstanding the complicated nature of discursive power enabling resistance besides subjectification, the invasive and deepening support given to the ICC within the framework of the current neoliberal discourse brings about a detrimental vision with regard to the international criminal law discourse. A critique of the ICC drawing on both Foucauldian and Gramscian thought projects the intensifying inequalities through the lenses of the international criminal law discourse embedded in a broader neoliberal discourse.Item Embargo Diplomacy in the information age: the use of information technologies in verification(Bilkent University, 2006) Fidan, HakanOne 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.Item Open Access The effectiveness of international regimes in states with low internal capacity : a study of international refugee regime in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan(Bilkent University, 2013) Güler, ArzuNearly one out of the six states in the world is regarded with low internal capacity by the Failed State Index 2012. However, having a priori assumption on states’ internal capacity to take decisions and implement them within their own states, scholarly attention has been given to the factors that shape states’ behaviors towards international regimes, mainly discussing under what conditions states will comply with them. Thus, the literature on international regimes neglected to study the effectiveness of international regimes in the states with low internal capacity. This dissertation deals with the research question of how the presence of states with low internal capacity creates implications for the effectiveness of iv international regimes and how regimes’ institutions can operate in such states to increase regime effectiveness. I examine this research question through quantitative and qualitative analyses and with a specific reference to the 4Rs activities of the international refugee regime in three refugee producing countries, namely Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan. I argue that international refugee regime was not effective in these countries and I propose six tentative principles to UNHCR and its implementing partners to increase the effectiveness of international refugee regime in refugee producing countries with low internal capacity: providing civilian security, overcoming socio-cultural and religious conservatism, increasing government capacity and willingness to cooperate with international community, building trust among local people towards international community and increasing their support for regime activities.Item Open Access Effects of economic sanctions on political beliefs of the targeted countries’ leaders(Bilkent University, 2021-09) Shahin, EvgeniiaInternational organizations, individual states, and groups of states increasingly often use economic sanctions an alternative tool of foreign policy. While there are multiple studies analyzing effectiveness and economic, political, or humanitarian consequences of sanctions, much less attention is given to their psychological impacts. Presenting one of the rare systematic studies of psychological consequences of sanctions, this dissertation aims to analyze the effects of the economic sanctions on the political beliefs of the leaders of targeted states. Using operational code analysis, this research investigates whether economic sanctions lead to a change in operational codes of the leaders of Iran, Russia, and Syria representing the major cases of sanctions in the last two decades. The research demonstrates that while economic sanctions do not correspond to an immediate cognitive change, they are likely to trigger leaders’ more gradual learning. The results show that the leaders’ rhetoric after sanctions reflected multiple belief changes, some of which were similar across cases. For example, in five out of six analyzed instances, the targeted leaders started to perceive ‘other’ international actors less friendly than before. Presenting the first systematic analysis of a specific external shock on operational codes of leaders in different geographical, temporal, and political settings, this dissertation contributes to the political belief change literature. At the same time this study fills the gap in the research on psychological consequences of sanctions.Item Open Access The English school theory of international relations and peacebuilding : an analysis of peacebuilding interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone through the world society framework(Bilkent University, 2015-12) Halistoprak, Burak ToygarAlthough the world society (WS) framework appears to be an important cornerstone in the theoretical triad of the English School (ES), it is the least developed concept amongst others (Buzan 2004). This dissertation's objective is to contribute to the literature which aims to develop and revitalize the WS framework, which is one of the three pillars of the ES of International Relations (IR). It uses this theoretical approach in the analysis of peacebuilding intervention practices. The dissertation proposes three specific parameters which constitute the progress from the international to world society framework. In this regard, changes in the (1) normative context, (2) agency and (3) identity appear as themes which differentiate the WS framework as a distinct theoretical category. The dissertation develops the argument that the progress from the international to world society overlaps with the change in the nature of intervention which have been evolving from traditional peacekeeping to new peacebuilding. The empirical sections of the dissertation focus on the peacebuilding experiences in Liberia and Sierra Leone. These cases are analyzed with specific references to the parameters emphasized in the theoretical chapters. Both qualitative analysis and quantitative content analysis methods are employed in the empirical chapters. According to the results, I suggest that the peacebuilding interventions are better understood and explained through the lenses of the WS framework compared to the international society framework which remains rather state-centric in terms of its normative context and agents. The results also challenge several long established arguments in the peacebuilding literature which suggest that the normative center of the peacebuilding is built upon the understanding of human/individual security.Item Open Access Ethno-national conflict and international relations : the case of the Kosovo(Bilkent University, 2005) Abazı, EnikaThe 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.Item 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, MohammedThis 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.
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