Browsing by Subject "Role theory"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
From good neighbor to model: Turkey's changing roles in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring
(International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK), 2014) Özdamar, Ö.; Halistoprak, B. T.; Sula, İ. E.
The recent Arab uprisings have forced many actors to reconsider their positions regarding Middle Eastern politics. Role theory provides a viable tool to explain changes in actors’ foreign policy behaviors, presuming that states’ foreign policies are shaped by the ruling elites’ foreign policy role conceptions. This article analyzes Turkish foreign policy roles with regard to the Middle East and North Africa before and since the Arab uprisings that began in December 2010. We argue that these uprisings caused Turkey to change its emphasis from roles built on soft power instruments to harder roles requiring material capabilities. We also discuss the implications of this change with reference to theories of international politics.
Open Access
From good neighbor to model: Turkey’s changing roles in the middle east in the aftermath of the arab spring
(Uluslararası İlişkiler Konseyi Derneği İktisadi İşletmesi, 2014) Özdamar, Özgür; Halistoprak, B. Toygar; Sula, İ. Erkam
The recent Arab uprisings have forced many actors to reconsider their positions regarding Middle Eastern politics. Role theory provides a viable tool to explain changes in actors’ foreign policy behaviors, presuming that states’ foreign policies are shaped by the ruling elites’ foreign policy role conceptions. This article analyzes Turkish foreign policy roles with regard to the Middle East and North Africa before and since the Arab uprisings that began in December 2010. We argue that these uprisings caused Turkey to change its emphasis from roles built on soft power instruments to harder roles requiring material capabilities. We also discuss the implications of this change with reference to theories of international politics.
Open Access
Role theory in practice: US–Turkey relations in their worst decade
(Oxford University Press, 2023-07-24) Özdamar, Özgür
Academic and policy debates on alliances are yet to incorporate insights from foreign policy analysis (FPA) literature. Generally, bilateral relations between allies are either analyzed with insights from traditional IR theories (such as realism) or with policy-oriented work that does not engage any scholarly literature (focusing on only the day-to-day issues of international politics). I argue that FPA theories that make linkages between scholarly work and policy-oriented questions in an evidence-based and analytical fashion are capable of accounting for the most significant policy questions of modern international politics. This article analyzes US–Turkey relations in, arguably, their worst decade, with a role theoretic outlook. I claim that despite being close political and military allies since the 1940s, US–Turkey bilateral relations are witnessing their worst decade since the Arab uprisings in the MENA, due mostly to ideational factors that shape foreign policy. The conflictual relations originate from a change in US and Turkish foreign policy-makers’ role conceptualizations vis-à-vis their countries’ roles in the MENA region after the Arab uprisings and the role conflict this has caused with one another. Misaligned interests during the Arab uprisings, especially after 2014 in the Syrian civil war, have exacerbated the bilateral ties further. Drawing insights from elite interviews conducted in Turkey (2014–2016), Washington DC, and Ankara (2018–2020), I explain the sources of conflict in US–Turkey relations with a role theory perspective and offer policy prescriptions in conclusion. Los debates académicos y políticos en materia de alianzas aún no han incorporado ideas procedentes de la bibliografía relativa al análisis de política exterior (APE). En general, las relaciones bilaterales entre aliados se analizan o bien usando ideas procedentes de las teorías tradicionales de las RRII (como el realismo) o mediante el uso de trabajos orientados a las políticas que no involucran ningún tipo de bibliografía académica (centrándose solo en los problemas cotidianos de la política internacional). Argumentamos que las teorías procedentes del APE, que establecen vínculos entre el trabajo académico y las cuestiones orientadas a las políticas de una manera analítica y basada en la evidencia, son capaces de explicar los asuntos políticos más importantes de la política internacional moderna. Este artículo analiza las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Turquía, que están, posiblemente, en su peor década, usando una perspectiva teórica de roles. Sostenemos que, a pesar de ser aliados políticos y militares cercanos desde la década de 1940, las relaciones bilaterales entre Estados Unidos y Turquía están siendo testigo de su peor década desde los levantamientos árabes en la región MENA. Esto se debe, principalmente, a factores ideológicos que dan forma a la política exterior. Estas relaciones conflictivas se originan a partir de un cambio que se produjo en las conceptualizaciones de los roles de los responsables de la política exterior de Estados Unidos y Turquía en contraposición a los roles de sus países en la región MENA después de los levantamientos árabes, así como al conflicto de roles que esto ha provocado entre ellos. La existencia de intereses desalineados durante los levantamientos árabes, especialmente después de 2014 en la guerra civil siria, han exacerbado aún más el alejamiento de estos lazos bilaterales. Explicamos, mediante el uso de entrevistas de élite realizadas en Turquía (2014–2016), Washington DC y Ankara (2018-2020), las fuentes de conflicto en las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Turquía con una perspectiva de teoría de roles y ofrecemos, a modo de conclusión, prescripciones políticas. Les débats académiques et politiques au sujet des alliances n'intègrent pas encore les enseignements de la littérature d'analyse de politique étrangère (APE). En général, les relations bilatérales entre alliés sont analysées au vu des renseignements des théories de RI traditionnelles (comme le réalisme) ou d'un travail visant à la formulation de politiques, qui ne fait intervenir aucune littérature académique—il se concentre uniquement sur les problématiques rencontrées au quotidien en politique internationale. J'affirme que les théories d'APE qui font le lien entre les travaux académiques et les questions à visée politique en se fondant sur des éléments probants et l'analyse peuvent répondre aux plus importantes questions de politique internationale moderne. Cet article analyse les relations entre les États-Unis et la Turquie, probablement au cours de leur pire décennie, en adoptant un point de vue théorique du rôle. Je soutiens que, bien que ces deux pays soient de proches alliés politiques et militaires depuis les années 1940, leurs relations bilatérales connaissent leur pire décennie depuis les soulèvements arabes dans le MENA, en grande partie à cause de facteurs conceptuels qui façonnent leur politique étrangère. Les relations conflictuelles trouvent leur origine dans une modification des conceptualisations du rôle des décideurs de politiques étrangères des États-Unis et de Turquie par rapport au rôle de leur pays dans la région MENA après les soulèvements arabes, et le conflit relatif à leur rôle réciproque qu'elle a entraîné. Les différences d'intérêt lors des soulèvements arabes, notamment après 2014, lors de la guerre civile en Syrie, ont encore compliqué les liens bilatéraux. En m'appuyant sur des informations issues d'entretiens d’élite menés en Turquie (2014–2016), à Washington DC et Ankara (2018–2020), j'explique les sources de conflit au sein des relations entre les États-Unis et la Turquie en adoptant le point de vue de la théorie du rôle, avant de proposer des recommandations politiques en conclusion
Open Access
Turkey's national role conceptions and the implications in the Eastern Mediterranean
(2021-01) Akın, Yazgı Nur
Although many studies prefer using the mainstream international relations (IR) theories nowadays, this thesis utilizes role theory as a foreign policy analysis (FPA) tool for examining national role conceptions of Turkey and the implications of these roles in the Eastern Mediterranean specifically. Following the preliminary works of several scholars as K. J. Holsti, who study the role of beliefs, images and identities of the states, this thesis aims to correlate Turkish national roles with its political and economic aims towards the Eastern Mediterranean region. In order to offer a comprehensive perspective, the thesis examines the data including official foreign policy speeches of highest-level decision-makers since 2018. By using the roles and related keywords, a content analysis which is based on word count was used as a methodology. This methodology was used for both generally presented national roles and their reflections and implications in the Eastern Mediterranean. Most emphasized 10 roles found in the analysis was visualized with graphics according to years of speeches while the same method was applied to show actor-specific roles. As a result, I argue that using role theory makes it possible to plausibly explain Turkey's foreign policy decisions towards the region rather than mainstream IR theories.