Browsing by Subject "Political geography"
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Item Open Access The metamorphosis of metaphors of vision: "bridging" Turkey's location, role and identity after the end of the cold war(2009) Yanık, L. K.During the Cold War, "buffer" or "bastion" seemed a popular metaphor to describe Turkey. After the Cold War, "bridge," (and, to some extent, the "crossroad") metaphor started to dominate the Turkish foreign policy Di{dotless}scourse. This article traces the use of "bridge" metaphor in this Di{dotless}scourse in the post-Cold War period by the Turkish foreign policy elite. It develops two arguments. First, the word bridge is a "metaphor of vision" combining Turkey's perceived geographical exceptionalism with an identity and a role at the international level. As a "metaphor of vision," the employment of the word "bridge" highlighted Turkey's liminality and justified some of its foreign policy actions to Eurasia and then to the Middle East. Second, because the bridge metaphor was used in different context to justify different foreign policy choices, its meaning has changed, illustrating that metaphors are not static constructs. It concludes by Sayi{dotless}ng that the continuous use of "bridge" metaphor might reinforce Turkey's "liminality," placing Turkey in a less classifiable category than the regular "othering" practices. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Restricted Political geography and public policy(1979) Prescott, J. R. V.Item Open Access Religion and ethno-nationalism: Turkey's Kurdish issue(John Wiley & Sons, 2013) Sarıgil, Zeki; Fazlıoğlu, ÖmerOne approach within the Islamic camp treats Islam, which emphasizes overarching notions such as the 'Islamic brotherhood' and 'ummah', as incompatible with ethno-nationalist ideas and movements. It is, however, striking that in the last decades, several Islamic and conservative groups in Turkey have paid increasing attention to the Kurdish issue, supporting their ethnic demands and sentiments. Even more striking, the leftist, secular Kurdish ethno-nationalists have adopted a more welcoming attitude toward Islam. How can we explain such intriguing developments and shifts? Using original data derived from several elite interviews and a public opinion survey, this study shows that the struggle for Kurdish popular support and legitimacy has encouraged political elites from both camps to enrich their ideological toolbox by borrowing ideas and discourses from each other. Further, Turkish and Kurdish nationalists alike utilize Islamic discourses and ideas to legitimize their competing nationalist claims. Exploring such issues, the study also provides theoretical and policy implications. © ASEN/John Wiley & Sons Ltd 2013.Item Open Access The Turkish presidential elections of 10 August 2014(Routledge, 2015) Grigoriadis, I. N.The Turkish presidential elections of 10 August 2014 were the first direct elections in the history of republican Turkey. The election of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the first round illustrated his dominant position in Turkish politics, as well as the inability of opposition parties to provide an alternative candidate who appealed to the Turkish electorate. Growing social polarization and concern about emerging autocratic tendencies, corruption allegations and the multilevel crisis in the Middle East failed to dissuade Turkish voters. Nevertheless, the fulfilment of Erdoğan’s declared intention of introducing presidentialism in Turkey will depend on the result of the upcoming parliamentary elections, to be held in June 2015 at the latest. © 2015, © 2015 Taylor & Francis.