Browsing by Subject "Middle East"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 40

Open Access
Alternative futures for the Middle East
(Pergamon Press, 2001) Bilgin, P.
This paper investigates alternative futures of security in the Middle East in an attempt to discover a path that could take the region from an insecure past to a more secure future. Looking at five scenarios about the future of world politics, namely, globalisation, fragmentation, clash of civilisations, democratic peace and the formation of a security community, the paper argues that although each scenario has its strengths (as well as weaknesses), it is the scenario that foresees the establishment of a security community that incorporates a more explicit consideration for shaping a more secure future for the Middle East.
Open Access
The Analysis of Turkish foreign policy under Justice and Development Party government in the post-9/11 world
(2008) Yanarışık, Oğuzhan
The disastrous attacks on 11 September 2001 signalled the beginning of a new era within which more people believe that Islam is in conflict with the West and western values. Although the Islamic political identity was traditionally based on opposition to the West and the westernization in Turkey, rapprochement between the Turkish Islamists and western values occurred ironically in the same era. The establishment and the rise of Justice and Development Party (JDP) are seen by many observers as an evidence of this transformation in the position of Islamists towards the West. This thesis evaluates the impact of systemic interactions on the identity formation, interest construction, and thus foreign policy behaviours of JDP-led Turkey through constructivist lenses. In other words, it takes the changing international environment in the post 9/11 world as independent variable, within which international norms are interrogated, East-West perceptions are reconsidered and identities are reconstructed. On the other hand, it takes identity, interests and behaviors of JDP-led Turkey and other international actors as dependent variables.
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Başkanlığı sırasında Bill Clinton’ın Türk basınındaki imajı
(Bilkent University, 2021) Hasköy, Aleyna; Dağ, Yağızhan; Canlı, Rüçhan; Durmuş, Cansem; Mustafaoğlu, Ömer
Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nin 42. Başkanı olan Bill Clinton, 1993-2001 yılları arasında başkanlık yapmıştır. Başkanlık yapmış olduğu bu süre içerisinde dünya Soğuk Savaş’ın sonundan yeni milenyumun doğuşuna kadar olan bir döneme şahitlik etmiştir. Oldukça yoğun geçen bu dönem boyunca Bill Clinton’ın Türk basınındaki imajı da inişli çıkışlı olmuştur.
Open Access
Beware of the Wolves! the Turkish versus the European reception of Valley of the Wolves (2006)
(Intellect, 2011-06) Smets, K.; K. Mutlu, D.; Winkel, R. V.
Open Access
Beyond statism in security studies? Human agency and security in the Middle East
(Routledge, 2002) Bilgin, P.
The omnipresence of statist assumptions in security studies renders the role played by human agency almost invisible. The aim of this article is to contest the statist commonsense still prevalent in security studies. The argument will be made in two parts. In the first part, I will look at three studies critical of Cold War approaches to security and argue that even these approaches (that otherwise serve as crucial correctives to Cold War fallacies) privilege the state as the primary referent or agent. As a result, they end up reinforcing statism by way of foreclosing alternative non-statist conceptions of security and the constitution of alternative futures that are not built around states as the primary focus of loyalty, decision-making power and practice. In the second half of the article it will be argued that in order to move away from statism in security studies, it is not enough to contest the primacy of the state as the referent for security; there is also the need to contest the dominant agency of the state by looking at human agency and thinking up alternative (non-statist, non-military, non-violent, non-zero-sum) practices - issues peace research has busied itself with since the 1960s. Towards this end, the article will look at the roles myriad non-state actors have played as agents of peace and security in the Middle East. Here, emphasis will be on the role of the intellectual and the theory/practice relationship in security studies.
Open Access
Clash of interest over northern Iraq drives Turkish-Israeli alliance to a crossroads
(Middle East Institute, 2005) Kibaroglu, M.
Turkey and Israel enjoyed an almost perfect relationship throughout the 1990s that amazed their friends, yet bothered their rivals. The US war in Iraq revealed, however, that the two longstanding allies did indeed have contradictory objectives and concerns with respect to the future restructuring of Iraq. While Turkey fears the emergence of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq, the same possibility seems favorable for Israel from its security standpoint, vis-à-vis threats posed by countries like Iran, Pakistan, and beyond. It appears that the "amazing alliance" is heading toward a crossroads. Such an eventuality may change the nature of the relationship from a "win-win" to a "lose-lose" situation unless proper steps are rapidly taken with a view toward rebuilding confidence on both sides.
Open Access
Cognitive and emotional representations of terror attacks: a cross-cultural exploration
(Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2007) Shiloh, S.; Güvenç, G.; Önkal D.
A questionnaire measuring cognitive and affective representations of terror risk was developed and tested in Turkey and Israel. Participants in the study were university students from the two countries (n = 351). Four equivalent factors explained terror risk cognitions in each sample: costs, vulnerability, trust, and control. A single negative emotionality factor explained the affective component of terror risk representations in both samples. All factors except control could be measured reliably. Results supported the validity of the questionnaire by showing expected associations between cognitions and emotions, as well as indicating gender differences and cultural variations. Current findings are discussed in relation to previous results, theoretical approaches, and practical implications.
Open Access
Countering state-supported terrorism : the PKK and Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East
(2003) Selvi, İsmail
his thesis analyzes the support provided to the PKK by Syria and Iran, and attempts to determine its impact on Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East. Some states have adopted supporting terrorist groups as a means to further foreign policy, even to the extent of pursuing an undeclared warfare against rival countries. Similarly, Syria and Iran have supported and encouraged the PKK hoping that they could gain advantage over issues involving Turkey. In the post-Cold War era, separatist PKK terrorism grew to be the primary threat to the security and territorial integrity of Turkey. Realizing that her low-profile attitude in the region failed to deter the foreign support to the PKK by her southern neighbors, Turkey revised her traditional policies in the Middle East. Consequently, Turkey was forced to pursue more assertive policies in the region, which made her an active actor of the Middle East sub-system despite her Western identity.
Open Access
Crescent marketing, Muslim geographies and brand Islam: Reflections from the JIMA Senior Advisory Board
(2013) Wilson, Jonathan A.J.; Belk, Russell W.; Bamossy, Gary J.; Sandıkcı, Özlem; Kartajaya, Hermawan; Sobh, Rana; Liu, Jonathan; Scott, Linda
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to bring together the thoughts and opinions of key members of the Journal of Islamic Marketing's (JIMA) Editorial Team, regarding the recently branded phenomenon of Islamic marketing - in the interests of stimulating further erudition. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted an "eagle eye" method to investigate this phenomenon: Where attempts were made to frame general principles and observations; alongside a swooping view of key anecdotal observations - in order to ground and enrich the study. The authors participated in an iterative process when analysing longitudinal and contemporary phenomenological data, in order to arrive at a consensus. This was grounded in: triangulating individual and collective researcher findings; critiquing relevant published material; and reflecting upon known reviewed manuscripts submitted to marketing publications - both successful and unsuccessful. Findings: The authors assert that a key milestone in the study and practice of marketing, branding, consumer behaviour and consumption in connection with Islam and Muslims is the emergence of research wherein the terms "Islamic marketing" and "Islamic branding" have evolved - of which JIMA is also a by-product. Some have construed Islam marketing/branding as merely a niche area. Given the size of Muslim populations globally and the critical importance of understanding Islam in the context of business and practices with local, regional and international ramifications, scholarship on Islamic marketing has become essential. Western commerce and scholarship has been conducted to a limited extent, and some evidence exists that research is occurring globally. The authors believe it is vital for "Islamic marketing" scholarship to move beyond simply raising the flag of "Brand Islam" and the consideration of Muslim geographies to a point where Islam - as a way of life, a system of beliefs and practices, and religious and social imperatives - is amply explored. Research limitations/implications: An "eagle eye" view has been taken, which balances big picture and grassroots conceptual findings. The topic is complex - and so while diverse expert opinions are cited, coverage of many issues is necessarily brief, due to space constraints. Practical implications: Scholars and practitioners alike should find the thoughts contained in the paper of significant interest. Ultimately, scholarship of Islam's influences on marketing theory and practice should lead to results which have pragmatic implications, just as research on Islamic banking and finance has. Originality/value: The paper appears to be the first to bring together such a diverse set of expert opinions within one body of work, and one that provides a forum for experts to reflect and comment on peers' views, through iteration. Also the term Crescent marketing is introduced to highlight how critical cultural factors are, which shape perceptions and Islamic practises. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Open Access
The effects of privatization on efficiency: how does privatization work?
(Pergamon Press, 2006) Okten, C.; Arin, K. P.
Uncovering the effects of privatization is difficult, because privatization of a particular firm usually is not an accident. This paper tests the effects of privatization on productive and allocative (market) efficiency using a rich panel data set of 22 privatized cement plants from Turkey in the 1983-99 period. Since, all public cement firms were privatized and we have preand post-privatization data for all, we are able to avoid the problem of endogeneity associated with sample selection. Our analysis goes beyond just examining the privatization effects and explores how privatization really works. Changes in objectives of the firm (ownership effect) and changes in market structure (environment effect) may both be responsible for privatization outcomes. We find that ownership effects are sufficient to achieve improvements in labor productivity. Our results on allocative efficiency, however, are dependent on changes in the competitive environment. While all plants seem to improve labor productivity through works force reductions, plants privatized to foreign buyers also increase their capital and investment significantly. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Open Access
Genomic landscape of the Greater Middle East
(Nature Publishing Group, 2016-09) Özçelik, T.; Onat, O. E.
Study of the Greater Middle East (GME), home to approximately 10% of the world's population, has made invaluable contributions to the characterization of rare genetic disease, especially recessive conditions arising from the tradition of consanguinity and large families with multiple children. A new study now reports 1,111 unrelated exomes from the GME and provides a comprehensive view of genetic variation for enhanced discovery of disease-associated genes.
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Gertrude Bell’in hayatı ve Türkiye’deki arkeolojik çalışmaları
(Bilkent University, 2020) Özcan, Baran Arda; Anıl, Aylin; Boz, Yiğit Sarp; Özlan, Erkin
18. Yüzyıl’a dayanan arkeoloji bilimi, volkanik küllerin altında kalan Pompei ve Herkulaneum kentlerinin tekrardan gün yüzüne çıkarılmasının büyük çaplı ilk kazılar olarak kabul edilmesi ile bir ivme yakalamış, bununla beraber, aynı yüzyılda soyu tükenmiş hayvanların kalıntılarının bulunmasıyla daha da büyük önem kazanmıştır. Bu bilim dalının en zengin kaynaklarının olduğu bölgelerden birisi de Orta Doğu coğrafyasıdır. Orta Doğu coğrafyası, özellikle Mezapotamya ve Anadolu toprakları sayısız uygarlığa ve toplumlara ev sahipliği yapmış, nice beyliklerin ve devletlerin kuruluşuna ve yıkılışına şahit olmuş adeta tarihi bir hazinedir. Türkiye’deki varlığı Osmanlı Dönemi’nde Osman Hamdi Bey zamanlarına kadar dayanan arkeoloji bilimi, öncelikle sanat eserlerinin ömrünün uzatılması ve korunmasına yönelik bilincin artması amacı ile ortaya çıkmıştır. Gertrude Bell Orta Doğu coğrafyasında arkeoloji çalışmaları yapan isimlerde ön sıralardadır.
Open Access
Global disorder and the limits of 'dialogue'
(Routledge, 2008) Salt, J.
Since 2001 (designated as the UN Year of Dialogue Among Civilisations) several initiatives have been developed as a means of resolving problems whose causes have been ascribed, primarily by Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis, to civilisational difference. This article questions responses to the 'clash of civilisations' thesis which seem to accept the postulates on which it is based. It suggests that while dialogue is an indispensable tool of social cohesion, the source of many of the problems that pose a continuing threat to regional and global order is not 'civilisational difference' but the failure of governments to comply with international laws and conventions they have sworn to uphold. The explanation that 'civilisational difference' is the root cause of global disorder allows them to sidestep responsibility for the consequences of their own policies. Manipulation of the United Nations at the level of the Security Council is further evidence that the answer to global problems lies in redressing the failings of an entrenched world system that is based far more on power and state perceptions of self-interest than justice. The clearest evidence of structural weakness in the international system is to be found in the Middle East, where the UN Secretary-General's former special representative to the 'peace process', Alvaro de Soto, has drawn attention to the disjunction between public declarations of good intentions and high-level manipulation of this 'process' by powerful actors from behind the scenes. The article concludes that where dialogue is not the problem, it cannot be the solution.
Open Access
Good for the Shah, banned for the mullahs: The West and Iran's quest for nuclear power
(Middle East Institute, 2006) Kibaroglu, M.
Iran's nuclear program has become a highly controversial issue in international politics since the August 2002 unveiling of the secretly built uranium enrichment facility in Natanz and the heavy-water production plant in Arak. American officials and experts assert that Iran has secret plans to use its nuclear capabilities to develop nuclear weapons. Iranian officials, however, deny such allegations and claim that they will use their capabilities exclusively for peaceful purposes. Notwithstanding the official rhetoric, some Iranian scholars, intellectuals, and even bureaucrats argue that Iran should seriously consider developing nuclear weapons given that they have the necessary skills and capabilities as well as the reasons to do so. The clerical leaders have supposedly not yet decided about weaponizing Iran's nuclear capability. However, the ever-increasing size of Iran's existing nuclear infrastructure, and the achievements of Iranian scientists, who claim to have developed indigenous capabilities, may very well elevate Iran to the status of a nuclear power, even a de facto nuclear-weapons state.
Open Access
The 'greater middle east' as a 'modern' geopolitical imagination in American foreign policy
(Routledge, 2010) Güney, A.; Gökcan, F.
This article aims at analysing how the September 11 terrorist attacks have caused the formation of a new geopolitical vision of an area called the 'Greater Middle East' and how this formation has led to changes in US foreign policy towards this region. To do that, the article first presents a theoretical background against which the modern geopolitical imagination of the USA is formulated. It considers the links between national traumas/myths, geopolitical codes and visions, and foreign policy actions. The article then applies this analysis to the case of the Greater Middle East with respect to how this imagined geography shapes the foreign and security policy of the USA. It concludes that even though this imagined region has been presented in texts as justifying US-led policies with liberal underpinnings, it has in reality laid the ground for and been used for justifying US extra-territorial intervention in the region. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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Hayali Doğu
(1996) Oktay, Ahmet
Open Access
Identities in flux: a cartography of feminist artistic practice in the Middle East
(2023-06) Kayır, Oğuz Kaan
This thesis explores the fluid and relational forms of body and subjectivity in the feminist contemporary art practice of selected Middle Eastern women artists – Sama Alshaibi, Nezaket Ekici, Mona Hatoum, Amal Kenawy, Shirin Neshat, and Lamia Joreige. As interdisciplinary practitioners whose works traverse between different media such as film, video, performance, and installation, these women’s artistic praxes render a mobile, changeable, and interconnected account of identity via a complex and dynamic interplay between the dualisms of self/other, mind/body, nature/culture, East/West, and human/nonhuman. Since these artists engage in non-fixed and non-dualistic forms of female existence, this thesis employs Deleuze and Guattari’s ontology of becoming and the Deleuzian-inflected new materialist feminisms of Rosi Braidotti, Elizabeth Grosz, and Stacy Alaimo as its theoretical scope. Interweaving the process-oriented, durational, and relational vocabulary of the notion of becoming with Braidotti’s nomadism, Grosz’s corporeality, and Alaimo’s transcorporeality, this study discusses the ways in which these Middle Eastern women artists envisage female subjectivity as an open-ended, plural, and transitory composition that is always on the move, through its relational bonds and linkages with divergent bodies, entities, and geographies. Influenced by the cartographic potential of the theories in question, this thesis concludes by presenting a cartographic imagination of the selected artistic canon as a supplementary method for understanding the malleability and rhizomatic interconnectivity of feminist contemporary art in the Middle East.
Open Access
The impact of 2003 us-led invasion on the rise of terrorism in Iraq
(2016-06) Ağalday, Burak
The thesis argues that the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq has created the contributing factors for the rise of radicalism and the rise of violent organizations in Iraq. In this study, military and political aspects of the US practices in Iraq after the invasion are scrutinized to highlight the contributing factors that have led to radicalism and emergence of an alleged state, the ISIS, and violent organizations. The study illustrates how the US-led invasion for "War on Terror" has turned out to be a contributing factor for radicalism and terrorism. Firstly, the conditions that promote terrorism are highlighted depending on the large-N studies in the literature. Secondly, how the US political and military practices in Iraq have paved the way for these conditions are analyzed based on two indicators, namely political discrimination and seeking for revenge. In addition, the problem that how these two indicators influenced people’s decision to join the violent organizations is highlighted. As a result of this study, I find that the US involvement in Iraq in the name of "War on Terror" has contributed to the rise of terrorism.
Open Access
The impacts of Turkey's response to proliferation threats in the Middle East on its integration with Europe
(2003) Udum, Şebnem
After the declaration of its candidacy in 1999, Turkey’s relations with the European Union (EU) assumed a new course, which requires undertaking certain reforms to fulfill the EU accession criteria in order to start accession talks. Now that Turkey’s primary task is meeting these criteria, there is a high expectation that Turkey should do its best to start these talks as early as possible. However, the issues that started to occupy Turkey’s external security agenda in the post-Cold War period are likely to constitute important stumbling blocks in Turkey’s integration with the EU. Turkey is under a real threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems from its neighbors in the Middle East. Turkey’s initial response to the proliferation was to consider involvement in missile defense systems, and to produce its own capability that addressed the threat directly. Experts foresee that these two processes pull Turkish policymaking in different directions and result in a paradox. This thesis is an attempt to find a way to get out of this paradox by addressing needs and interests and to lead Turkey to converge towards satisfying the EU while at the same time upholding its own security interests. To that end, the thesis basically proposes a national nonproliferation strategy that involves all the interested actors of Turkish security and foreign policy making and relevant institutions. It argues that viable strategic political decisions can be a way out of the paradox between Turkey’s security policy and its relations with Europe.
Open Access
The Iraq war, Turkey, and renewed caspian energy prospects
(Middle East Institute, 2008) Williams, P. A.; Tekin, A.
Many have linked the US-led invasion of Iraq to its oil resources, leading some observers to question Caspian energy prospects. This article analyzes how the Iraqi occupation and Caspian oil prospects have been inter-linked, via the evolution of American and Turkish assessments of Iraq and the Caspian region. It shows that, contrary to initial expectations, the occupation of Iraq bolstered the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project as well as a number of other increasingly significant natural gas export pipelines.