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81. Kosovo Independence: An Albanian Perspective

Author:
Enika Abazi
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Kosovo's independence has revealed shifting strategic landscapes, security concerns and domestic developments in regional and international politics with significant implications for all actors in the region. Russia calculated to restore its lost 'superpower' status and control Serbia's strategic oil industries. Turkey's prompt recognition of independence increased its impact and prevented a stronger Greek-Serb- Russian axis in the region, while strengthening its Western identity. Kosovo's independence will be a test case for keeping peace and stability in the Balkans within the new dynamics of regional and international politics.
Topic:
International Relations and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Asia, Kosovo, Balkans, and Albania

82. Hard Power, Soft Power: Towards a More Realistic Power Analysis

Author:
Pınar Bilgin and Berivan Eliş
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This article builds on the insights of critical approaches to the study of power and seeks to lay bare the poverty of power analysis in mainstream International Relations (IR). Part I presents a critical account of prevalent conceptions of 'hard power' in mainstream studies informed by realist IR and maintains that realism's power analysis is rather unrealistic insofar as it over-privileges material forms of power and focuses on the visible dimension of power relations to the neglect of the multiple (visible and non-visible) processes through which power is produced and expressed. Part II scrutinizes the concept of 'soft power'. While Nye's soft power analysis complements realist IR by highlighting non-material forms of power and looking at non-visible forms of power relations, it, too, remains shallow insofar as the production and various expressions of 'attraction' remain unaccounted for. Presenting more realistic accounts of the work power does in world politics requires following Lukes' footsteps to produce three- (if not four-) dimensional power analyses.
Topic:
International Relations and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Turkey

83. A New Power Play in the Balkans: Kosovo's Independence

Author:
Enika Abazi
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This article discusses Kosovo's independence from a framework of political and legal perspectives and assesses regional and global responses to the declaration of independence. Kosovo's independence, it is argued, has revealed shifting strategic landscapes, security concerns and domestic developments in regional and international politics with significant implications for all actors in the region. Russia, for instance, calculated to restore its lost 'superpower' status and control Serbia's strategic oil industries while Turkey's prompt recognition of independence has increased its impact in the region. Kosovo's independence will be a test case for keeping peace and stability in the Balkans within the new dynamics of regional and international politics. The way to escape from regional and international rivalries in Kosovo and its environs is to enhance the forces of cooperation in this volatile region and avoid zero sum games among regional and international actors.
Topic:
International Relations, International Political Economy, and Oil
Political Geography:
Russia, Turkey, Kosovo, and Balkans

84. Russia's Presidential Transition: Implications for Turkey and the Black Sea Region

Author:
Alexandros Petersen
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Russia's new president, Dmitry Medvedev, should be expected to broadly continue his predecessor Vladimir Putin's foreign policy toward Turkey and the broader Black Sea region. Analysts who cast Medvedev as a mere Putin puppet, or those who anticipate a gradual increase in power for the new man in the Kremlin miss the crucial question about decision-making in Russia: how much influence will the siloviki – current and former security service officers – wield to implement policies based largely on mistrust and calculation? Russia's policies in the Black Sea region are unlikely to change much in substance, although Medvedev may adopt a more subtle, effective style in seeing them through. Their exclusionary nature - a product of the silovik worldview - should be expected to continue. Therefore, despite recent significant improvements in Turkey's relations with Russia, over time Turkey may find itself in an uncomfortable middle ground between its Western allies and its new-found friends in Moscow.
Topic:
International Relations and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Russia and Turkey

85. Foreign Trade Specialization and International Competitiveness Of Greece, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the EU 12

Author:
Bahri Yilmaz
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the foreign trade patterns and/or specialization in foreign trade of three EU member countries – namely, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and candidate country Turkey – and to compare the foreign trade patterns with the EU/12 in the period 1995- 2005. The paper is divided into seven main sections. The first section summarizes the export and import developments of the countries in question between the years 1995 and 2005. The second section describes the methodology and data sets. Empirical analysis is found in the third section, where in five subsections we investigate international competitiveness and trade specialization using different indices. In the fourth part of the research we compare the dynamic products in world exports with dynamic products in the exports of the four countries. The final section gives brief conclusions drawn from the results and considers the future position of Turkey within the enlarged EU. In this research we do not intend to explain why the foreign trade patterns are different in the considered countries. We simply try to show whether and where there are any differences in foreign trade specialisation among the four countries and EU/12.
Topic:
International Relations, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Regional Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and South Sudan

86. Exploring Host Country Capacity for Increasing U.S. Study Abroad

Author:
Robert Gutierrez, Rajika Bhandari, and Daniel Obst
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of International Education
Abstract:
According to the Institute of International Education's most recent data, over 223,000 U.S. students annually study abroad for academic credit, and there are widespread calls to double, triple or even quadruple that number in the coming decade, sending students to more diverse destinations around the globe. Where would another 300,000-700,000 Americans go to study abroad? Which university systems, especially in the non-traditional destinations, have the capacity to absorb large increases when countries like India, China, Egypt, Turkey and Brazil are struggling to accommodate the demand for higher education by their own citizens? To begin addressing these important questions, the Institute of International Education launched Meeting America's Global Education Challenge, a focused policy research initiative which explores from multiple perspectives the challenge of substantially expanding the numbers and destinations of U.S. students studying overseas. In May 2007, IIE published its first White Paper in this series, Current Trends in U.S. Study Abroad the Impact of Strategic Diversity Initiatives.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, and Globalization
Political Geography:
United States, China, Europe, Turkey, Brazil, and Egypt

87. The End of Happy Endings in the Post-Cold War

Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
All this year the EU has been grappling with challenges coming from its periphery: Kosovo's fate, Turkey's evolution, and immigration flows north across the Mediterranean. The idea of closer ties among all the countries around the Med was an ambitious attempt to come to grips with the southern problems. The war in Georgia demonstrated that there are hotter issues for the EU to the east.
Topic:
International Relations and Cold War
Political Geography:
Turkey, Kosovo, and Georgia

88. The Evolution of U.S.-Turkish Relations in a Transatlantic Context

Author:
W. Andrew Terrill
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College and the Atlantic Council of the United States conducted a colloquium entitled “The Evolution of U.S.-Turkish Relations in a Transatlantic Context” on March 25, 2007. Additional support for this conference was provided by the Washington Delegation of the European Commission and the Heinrich-Boell Foundation. The colloquium brought together serving and retired academics, diplomats, and military officers from the United States, Europe, and Turkey.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States and Turkey

89. PAK-TURKEY RELATIONS: On the Common Ties

Author:
Munir Hussain
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
After a decade of stagnant relations, Pakistan-Turkey relations seem to be improving in the right direction. Both countries have traditionally enjoyed close and cordial relations. The manifold commonalties between the two countries have been reinforced by the firm resolve of their leadership to further deepen mutual cooperation in all fields.
Topic:
International Relations, International Affairs, and History
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Turkey, Middle East, and Asia

90. Sufism in Central Asia: A Force for Moderation or a Cause of Politicization?

Author:
Martha Brill Olcott
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Sufism is a mystical form of Islam that has flourished in the Muslim world for centuries. Sufism has placed a distinctive stamp on the way the religion has been practiced in many Arab countries, in parts of Africa, in Turkey, and especially in Central Asia.
Topic:
International Relations, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa, Central Asia, Turkey, Kuwait, and Arabia