Department of International Relations

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Open Access
9/11 was an instance of transnational balancing: An intervention in statist IR theory
(SAGE, 2022) Aydinli, Ersel
With the end of the Cold War and through the start of the 21st century, conventional IR theories were anticipating an eventual balancing against the United States. Puzzled when this phenomenon did not occur, balancing theorists engaged in a lively discussion, bringing with it the development of proposed alternative forms of balancing and a debate over whether the concept itself had perhaps outlived its relevance. This article reengages with this discussion, suggesting that many of the involved theorists were hampered by theoretical blinders based on statism, and that in fact balancing did occur, but in an unconventional manner and at the hands of an unexpected suspect: al Qaeda, a violent non state actor, acting in a transnational manner. In this context, this article treats the 9/11 attacks of the violent Jihadist anti-Western movement as an instance of balancing against the hegemon, a successful one in that the Jihadists arguably aimed not at “winning,” but at revealing the superpower’s weaknesses so that others would subsequently join the balancing effort. By failing to view the Jihadists’ efforts as an ideological balancing effort, the United States responded with force rather than ideational counter-balancing. They waged a war instead of emphasizing efforts to separate the radical violent Jihadist perpetrators from the idea they were championing—a struggle in the name of Muslims/the downtrodden East against the United States—and thus allowing the challenger to rise into a position of "dissident" in the Muslim world, and, arguably, paving the path for today’s state revisionist behaviors. The article proposes a framework based on traditionally state-based concepts of intent and impact/capacity to show how non-state actors can in fact balance superpowers and therefore should be incorporated into balancing theories, and presents the actions of the violent Jihadists as an example of transnational, ideational balancing—a phenomenon as real and consequential as state-balancing.
Open Access
A conceptual history: historical sociological analysis of unipolarity in structural realist literature
(Uluslararası İlişkiler Konseyi Derneği İktisadi İşletmesi, 2023-02-21) Karademir, Burcu Sarı
Unipolarity has been taken for granted and remains unquestioned in the International Relations literature. This article provides the conceptual history of unipolarity by bringing an immanent critique. It shows the evolution of unipolarity literature in the absence of counterbalancing in four stages. It focuses on the use of history in structural realism and brings a historical sociological perspective to the literature to show how tempocentric theorizing impaired the understanding of unipolarity as a distinct structure. The article concludes by underlying the importance of noticing the cost of reification of concepts for theorizing and by highlighting that unipolarity is still understudied both theoretically and methodologically.
Embargo
A poliheuristic analysis of South Korea’s responses towards North Korea’s missile tests
(Routledge, 2023-12-16) Dengiz, Pelin
The North Korean missile program has gained undeniable momentum in the twenty first century, highly sensitive to dialogues within the region. One could argue South Korea is accustomed to these repetitive launches splashing into the Pacific Ocean, at times nearing two dozen in a year, but the republic has its sets of policy alternatives when responding to the neighbor’s aggression. To understand South Korea’s decision-making mechanism, I utilize the ‘Poliheuristic Theory’ developed by Mintz. A decision matrix consisting of three policy alternatives (passive by-standing, reaching out, joint drills) is applied to three crisis moments from 2013, 2017, 2022. Primary and secondary sources like defense ministry press releases and news reports are used for data collection. The North’s tests are closely observed by the South but usually not responded to provocations. When South Korea decides to respond, the tendency is to carry the issue to the international audience by citing U.N. Convention, Armistice Agreement, etc. The presence of the U.S. military in the peninsula plays a crucial role, as seen from the remarkably increased tests after the U.S. declared it would lessen military involvement. Several domestic and regional criteria (the Sunshine Policy, eventual unification possibility, U.S. military presence, asymmetrical capabilities, regional status quo) has possible influence over leaders’ responses. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Open Access
A Turkish mayor goes to Moscow: Vedat Dalokay and development politics in the 1970s
(Sage Publications Ltd., 2023-08-30) Hirst, Samuel John; Khajei, Aydın; Kaptan, Deniz
In 1975, the mayor of Ankara requested Soviet assistance to build a public transportation system and affordable housing in the Turkish capital. This article uses Vedat Dalokay's appeal as a window into international development politics during a transformative decade. The 1970s saw growing leftism in Turkey, and Dalokay hoped that progressive urban planning would solidify voting trends among rural-to-urban migrants. He sought to introduce a new ideological element into Soviet–Turkish exchange, but politicians and academics in Moscow dismissed Dalokay's class-oriented projects. Instead, they increased their investments in the steel mills and electricity plants that were hallmarks of Soviet economic exchanges with the Third World. Whereas Dalokay's aspirations emerged from a Turkish intellectual climate that was being reshaped by dependency theory and by disillusionment in the possibilities for growth within boundaries defined by the political borders of nation-states, Soviet economists and bureaucrats remained wedded to the idea of development defined in terms of the territorial economy. The Ankara municipality eventually turned to Western Europe, but the Turkish government continued to negotiate gas pipelines and nuclear power plants with the Soviet and post-Soviet Russian governments. This article explores the ideological assumptions that have shaped economic exchange across the Black Sea.
Open Access
Abazin
(ABC-CLIO, 2011) Karasar, Hasan Ali; Cole, J. E.
Open Access
ABD'nin Orta Asya politikaları Şatlık AMANOV, (İstanbul: Gökkubbe Yayınları, 2007), 520 Sayfa, ISBN:978-9944-975-06-4
(2008) Yeğin, Mehmet
Open Access
Acceptance and anxiety: Turkey (mostly) embraces Obama's nuclear posture
(Routledge, 2011-03) Kibaroglu, M.
US nuclear weapons have been an important part of Turkey's security strategy since their first deployment on Turkish soil in the early 1960s. Turkey's NATO membership and its close relationship with the United States have been perceived to be integral to maintaining its security. The release of the 2010 US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), with its focus on disarmament and reduced reliance on nuclear weapons, has a number of potential consequences for Turkey. This article provides background on the history of Turkish-US nuclear weapons policy in light of issues ranging from Middle Eastern politics to the development of NATO's new Strategic Concept. It then describes how actors in the government, military, and academia in Turkey have reacted to the NPR, why they reacted as they did, and how the Obama administration's initiatives may be received in Turkey in the future. This article concludes that both military and civilian actors in Turkey have reacted favorably to the NPR and are pleased by its emphasis on nuclear nonproliferation and the maintenance of extended deterrence; however, there is less agreement in Turkey about the emphasis placed by the NPR on the danger of nuclear terrorism.
Open Access
The activities of the "Union for the Liberation of Ukraine" in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War
(Routledge, 1998) Kırımlı, H.
Open Access
Adaptive states and the new transnational security regime
(Routledge, 2010) Aydınlı, Ersel; Aydınlı, Ersel
Open Access
Addressing Kurdish separatism in Turkey
(Palgrave Macmillan, 1999) Müftüler-Baç, Meltem; Ross, M. H.; Rothman, J.
One of the ongoing themes in descriptions of ethnic conflicts and their settlement is that there is a role for a wide range of interveners. The reason for this may be simple: that there is a great deal which needs to occur before hostile groups can find ways to live together in relativepeace. A well-developed theory of ethnic conflict resolution would not only take into account the roles that different actors can play in the process, but would also offer insights into the particular roles each might play at different stages of a conflict.
Open Access
The Aegean disputes
(Foreign Policy Institute, 2004) İnan, Yüksel; Acer, Y.; Karaosmanoğlu, Ali L.; Taşhan, S.
The present study aims at evaluating, in their present situation, the Aegean disputes by reflecting particularly the Turkish views of the issues in an objective manner without a particular effort to judge who is right and who is wrong. The review excludes the disputes over the air traffic service (ATS) and the related ones to that and also over the military conducts within NATO, due to both space limitations and the need to focus on the other issues that draw the attention of the public.
Open Access
Aegean territorial waters conflict: an evolutionary narrative
(Sage Publications Ltd., 2004) Güner, S. Ş.
Delimitation of the territorial waters and continental shelf in the Aegean Sea constitutes a constant source of conflict and produces recurrent crises between Greece and Turkey. This article explores directions that the Greek-Turkish dispute over the delimitation of territorial waters can take through an evolutionary game framework. Crises are found to follow routines and practices involving challenges to the status quo and reactions preceding mutual retreat. Hence, the status quo in the Aegean Sea can persist even in the form of aggressive behavior. It is also possible that the dispute will evolve into a stable state of conflict where no cooperative foreign policy can survive.
Open Access
After Khomeini: The Iranian Second Republic /Author: Ehteshami, Anoushiravan. London: Routledge, 1995. 221 pages+Bibliography+index. ISBN 0-415-10878-0
(Uluslararası Stratejik Araştırmalar Kurumu, 2007) Bilgen, Arda
Iranian Revolution was one of the most significant events ever witnessed. The revolution changed the regime of a big country and affected the region as it affected the whole world. The regional and global impact of Ayatollah Khomeini was so intense that the Islamic movements in Iran made particular regional countries and Western countries worry. The future of the alternating Iran was vague, it became vaguer after the death of Khomeini; everyone wondered how a leader could replace his charismatic leadership. The events after Khomeini, such as changes in foreign and regional policy of Iran, change in economy, security and defense strategy of the Second Republic should be examined carefully in order to understand the maneuvers Iran makes today. Hence, to be informed of this considerable event and able to interpret the stages Iran passed to reach the current status, revolution, Khomeini and post-Khomeini events and figures have to be learnt. After Khomeini: The Iranian Second Republic is the right book to read to inform.
Open Access
Afterword
(The Eothen Press, 1999) Stone, Norman; Shankland, D.
Open Access
Against Eurocentric narratives on militarism
(Routledge, 2023-06-06) Bilgin, Pınar
Aspects of the recent scholarship on militarism, especially those who focus on ‘militarization’ as a post-9/11 development, have met with criticism by scholars who have underscored that the violence incurred by everyday people in the hands of the(ir) state – be it in Belfast, Cairo, İstanbul, Paris, or Rio de Janeiro – is not new insofar as military practices of have always impinged upon everyday life. Even as I agree with the critics, I submit that substituting the notion of ‘militarization’ with ‘pacification’ or ‘martial politics’ may not suffice. For, the problem is not (only) with the concept of militarization but with Eurocentric historical narratives on militarism that have informed this conceptualization. Accordingly, I locate the problem with militarism and militarization at an epistemic level: our approaches to militarization have been informed by Eurocentric historical narratives that consider militarism as a problem that belongs to a past world, which incidentally includes our contem-poraries outside the ‘West’.
Open Access
Aid‐supported governance reforms in Solomon Islands: Piecemeal progress or persistent stalemate?
(Wiley, 2020-05) Şahin, Selver B.; Shahin, Evgeniia
Motivation:Despite seeming donor–recipient consensus on the importance of effective governance, aid‐linked reforms often fall short of the expected outcomes. Solomon Islands provides a highly relevant case to explore the dynamics of institutional reform processes, and understand why, even in a relatively favourable operating environment, structural reforms are difficult to implement. Purpose:This article aims to provide empirically grounded analysis of key factors that hinder institutional change in fragile aid‐receiving countries by addressing the reciprocal (rather than unilateral) constraints and trade‐offs faced by both recipients and donors, and examining their implications for the emerging institutional trajectories in host states. Approach and Methods:This study is based on the use of a single case study that involves in‐depth review of related academic and policy literature, and media reports through the lens of “mutual dependencies.” Findings: Solomon Islands’ recent experience with the regulation of Constituency Development Funds and tertiary scholarships makes it clear that by continuously postponing the implementation of relevant policies, domestic authorities try to avoid the potential costs institutional reforms are likely to create. Similarly, donors concerned about their own strategic interests and power relationships with other actors remain unable to enforce full implementation of such reforms. The process in Solomon Islands further confirms that political trade‐offs facing all actors in different forms have a constraining effect on the achievement of desired policy objectives. Policy Implications: Policy reforms require domestic authorities to develop specific mechanisms that have the potential to secure popular support in favour of proposed structural changes. Donors need new and more evidence‐based approaches that may help balance between their strategic concerns and the achievement of institutional outcomes.
Open Access
Albania: how close is Italy? Albanian-Italian relations in the post-cold war environment: managing threats or opportunities?
(2006) Rakipi, A.
Open Access
An alternative account of the populist backlash in the United States: a perspective from Turkey
(Cambridge University Press, 2019) Esen, Berk; Yardımcı-Geyikçi, Ş.
Scholars tend to assume that consolidated democracies are free from the global retreat of democracy due to their strong institutions and economic development. Yet, populist forces that challenge the liberal democratic model have started to increase their support even in Western countries. However, in no country has democratic backsliding taken scholars by more surprise than in the United States. This article addresses the question of how a populist figure like Donald Trump managed to win the presidential election and subsequently undermined the democratic institutions in one of the world’s oldest democracies. We contend that the upsurge of populist leaders in contemporary Western democracies resulted from the political establishment’s failure to juggle responsiveness and responsibility simultaneously. In addition to our discussion of American politics, we draw parallels with the Turkish case to demonstrate our causal argument and offer suggestions on how to reverse democratic backsliding in the United States.
Open Access
Alternative futures for the European Union-Turkey accession negotiations
(Metropolitni Univerzita Praha, 2013) Güner, S. Ş.
This work proposes a simple two-period interaction model to study EU-Turkey accession negotiations. Turkey perceives the EU as composed of two distinct groups with respect to its accession: traditional supporters and objectors. Supporters opt for either cooperation or defection in period one while objectors consistently oppose Turkish accession. Turkey reacts to cooperation and defection in the second period under its perceptions of EU support. Future uncertainties concerning Turkey's accession do not prevent supporters' cooperation provided that Turkey becomes successful in economics, political reforms, and foreign policy. Turkey continues to negotiate not because it appreciates supporters' cooperation but because no supporter defects. Supporters become concerned about the future interacting with a failing Turkey. Unlike impatient supporters that are less concerned about the future, patient supporters oppose a failing Turkey's accession. Turkey then extremely appreciates supporters' cooperation but quits accession process that becomes highly costly.
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.