During the past decade, human trafficking and smuggling grew to a diverse multibillion dollar business across South East Europe and the entire globe. The concern about human smuggling and trafficking extends far beyond matters of security and law enforcement. The cost in human suffering and exploitation that often accompanies smuggling and trafficking cause human rights violations and deplete human capital in origin countries.
Topic:
Human Rights and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Balkans
Security of natural gas supplies has resurfaced on the European energy agenda because of concerns about an anticipated rapid increase in dependence on imports from non-European suppliers–from one-third to two-thirds of demand–over the next 20 years. On a national basis, European import dependence is already an established fact: nine out of 33 European countries are more than 95% dependent on imports; only five are self-sufficient or net exporters.
Civil-military relations in Turkey are changing as the country prepares for EU membership, and they will continue to change as accession draws closer. The contributors to this book have all been involved in the international project on governance and the military in Turkey, which ran from June 2004 until the end of May 2006. In this introduction, we will bring together some of the principal points they will make in the following chapters and add some observations and comments of our own.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Substantial progress in macroeconomic stabilisation and institutional reform has laid a foundation for strong GDP growth. However, the recent inflation shock and turmoil in the financial markets highlight Turkey's on-going vulnerabilities. A further comprehensive programme of structural reform would increase productivity growth, expand the formal sector of the economy and consolidate macroeconomic stability.
In the post Cold War era, a number of crises and armed conflicts threatening the international security have accrued, and most of them are needed to be intervened by international community and international organizations. International peace support operations are realizing not only by UN-led, but also in other international and regional organizations (such as NATO, OSCE etc.) or coalitions of the willing. The number of activities or operations in which Turkey has participated has significantly risen in recent years. In the post Cold War era, Turkey's contribution to international peace support operations has remarkably expanded. In this meaning, Turkey has been actively contributing to several peace support operations with different formations from Kosovo to Afghanistan, from Palestine to East Timor, from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Georgia. The aim of the first section of this paper is to trace Turkey's record in peace support operations that she has participated so far. In the second section, Turkey's contribution and role in peace support operations will be analyzed.
Topic:
Cold War, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Turkey, Palestine, and Georgia
Joseph Soeters, Erhan Tanercan, Kadir Varoglu, and Ünsal Sigri
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This article examines cooperation between the Dutch and the Turkish armed forces during two peacekeeping missions, respectively in Kosovo (KFOR, 1999-2000) and Kabul (ISAF, 2002-2003). It is based on a literature survey and interviews with officers and NCOs of both sides. The article deals with the collaboration between the two armed forces as well as the interaction with the local populations in both areas of operation. Differences in style and modes of operation are analysed, leading to some thoughts for reflection with respect to intercultural military cooperation and peacekeeping in Muslim countries. It is argued that commanders at all levels should be prepared for the intercultural dimension of working with military from other nations, especially if they are deployed in areas that are culturally distant from their own. In addition, it is stressed that the scope of CIMIC-activities may be expanded in order to win the hearts and minds of the local population.
This article analyses the rapprochement process between Turkey and the EU which has been developing since the 1999 Helsinki Summit and especially in the wake of the US invasion of Iraq. As a result of differing perceptions of Turkey and the EU in the post Cold War, the Turkey-EU membership process had faced a deep "structural" crisis. However, after some important changes in the years from 1999-2003, Turkey and the EU rediscovered, and approached eachother in such a way that it is incomperable with the past. The basic character of this rapprochement is the strategic transformation in perceptions.
This study aims at evaluating the dynamics that paved the way for the inception of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) initiative, which was lauched by Turkey taking advantage of the impact of the changes in the international system generated by the ending of the Cold War period. For the evaluation of the success and perenniality of the BSEC initiative, organizational structure and perceptions of member countries are also studied. In addition to important economic cooperation, initiatives aimed at security cooperation in the Black Sea, are also analysed by taking into account their impact upon the regional and international arena. Finally, the achievements of BSEC since its inception in 1992 are evaluated and some suggestions are provided.
This study aims to analyze the impact of globalization processes on the leading Turkish business association in Turkey, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association, TÜSIAD. It is believed that there is a need to focus on globalization processes within the context of Turkish business life by taking TÜSIAD as a case since the Association has played an important role in linking the Turkish economy to the global market, and acting as a strong internal actor of globalization in Turkish politics and the economy. It is argued that, in the TÜSIAD case, the impact of globalization revealed itself as the transformation of a business association, in terms of its role as a pressure group concerned with the particular interests of businessmen, to a civil society organization concerned with the general interests of the country, with its emphasis on democracy and EU membership.
This article is based upon the assumption that the European Union has a goal of resolving certain problems pertaining to globalization that its members face, and that Turkey views the membership procedure as a solution of such problems. The awakening sub-identities and the erosion of dividing borders are causing nation-states to face a series of problems concerning sovereignty and identity, such as ontological security and identity fragmentation. To solve such problems, the nation-states compromise their single-centered and assimila¬tionist identity management policies in favor of multi-centered identity governance. With identity governance, not only the national governments, but also the local authorities and the European Union have a word on identity issues. Identity governance, despite dwindling sovereign rights, is performed successfully within the European Union, and is recommended to the Turkish government. From Turkey's side, as a solution to the problem of identity fragmentation, the membership process provides a common, unifying and shared goal for groups with different identities.