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691. Avrupa'daki Radikal Sağ Partiler ve Balkanlı Kuzenleri: Çanlar Türkiye İçin Çalıyor

Author:
Nazif Mandaci
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Avrupa'daki radikal sağ Balkanlı ortaklarına memnuniyetle kucak acmış gorunmektedir. Her ne kadar farklı coğrafyalarda, farklı etmenlerin etkisinde doğmuşlarsa da Avrupalı radikal sağ ailesi yeni uyelerin katılımıyla sesini daha gur cıkarmaya hazırlanmaktadır. Ote yandan hem Avrupa'da hem de bu bolgede radikal sağ hareketlerin yukselmesi Turkiye'nin Avrupa'ya dair dış politika hedefl eri acısından bazı sorunlar yaratacak gibidir. Bu calışma, bir bakıma tam uyelik muzakerelerini başarıyla sona erdirmesinin ardından, uyeliği artık AB uyesi ulkelerin referandumlarının sonuclarına ve Avrupa Parlamentosunun kararına kalmış bir Turkiye'ye Avrupa'daki radikal sağ hareketlerin ne tur engeller cıkarabileceğine dair bir fi kir vermeyi amaclamaktadır.
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

692. Levant'ta Büyük Oyun: Doğu Akdeniz'in EnerjiJeopolitiği

Author:
Volkan Ş. Ediger, Balkan Devlen, and Deniz Bingöl Mcdonald
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Levant Bolgesi'ndeki ticaret sisteminden başlayarak bolgenin hidrokarbon jeopolitiğine geciş surecine kadar uzanan tarihsel gelişimin uzun erimli (longue duree) bakış acısıyla incelendiği bu calışmada, bolgenin gunumuzdeki durumu, petrol ve doğal gazın arama, uretim ve ihracı konusunda ozellikle 2000'li yıllardan bu yana yaşanan gelişmelerle değerlendirilmiştir. Bolgenin hidrokarbon jeopolitiğindeki catışma ve iş birliğinin sabit ve değişen boyutlarına, uluslararası ilişkilerin guc politikaları ve gucler dengesi gibi kavramları cercevesinde ozel bir yer verilmiştir. Bu calışma sonunda test edilerek doğrulanan iki temel hipotezden bir tanesi, zaman icinde ticaretten enerjiye evrimleşen Levant jeopolitiğinin, kuresel başat guc ve uluslararası devletler sistemindeki guc dengeleri icin onemini uzun tarihi boyunca koruduğudur. Buna bağlı olarak geliştirilen ikinci hipotez de, Levant jeopolitiğinin kontrolunun başat gucun elinde olduğu zamanlarda bolgesel ve kuresel captaki barış ve istikrarın arttığıdır. Guc dengelerindeki kaymalardan oturu Levant'taki jeopolitik kontrol tek bir gucun elinden cıkmaya başladığı zamanlarda catışmalar artmakta, iş birlikleri azalmaktadır. Doğu Akdeniz'in enerji konusunda gunumuzde karşı karşıya kaldığı tehdit ve fırsatların incelenmesinin ardından bolgedeki catışma ve iş birliği olanakları konusunda cıkarımlar yapılarak, bolgesel aktorlerin temel stratejileri değerlendirilmiştir. Levant'ta one cıkan yeni enerji jeopolitiğinin bolgenin onemli bir gucu olan Turkiye icin oluşturacağı tehdit ve fırsatlar tartışılmıştır.
Political Geography:
Turkey

693. The Euro Area Crisis and Turkey in the First Half of 2012

Author:
Evrydiki Fotopoulou and Erdal Tanas Karagöl
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
It has been almost four years since the global financial crisis started in 2008 and it has become an inherently European affair. One after another, weaker European economies seeing their growth plummeting have become unable to recover on their own and are resorting to loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Union (EU). Already, Ireland, Greece and Portugal have requested full bailouts with Southern Cyprus as the newcomer, still under negotiation, while Spain has requested only partial assistance not acknowledging it may soon need full support. Many experts predict that Italy will follow suit as it is quite possible that it will be the next which without any access to credit markets to finance its needs. This policy analysis sheds some light on the current status of these countries: how the crisis was brought about, what measures they took, how have they performed thus far and what are the prospects for them. The role of the European Union is also being discussed in reference to the hesitant way it has addressed the problem and the cracks that appeared in the European establishment due to lack of mutual understanding and cooperation. In contrast to the weaker European economies, neighboring Turkey has managed to recover fast and exhibit positive signs that the economy is moving towards more sustainable growth rates while dealing with domestic vulnerabilities. This comparison serves as a reminder to reconsider both the usefulness of the single currency as well as whether Turkey's economy would benefit from closer ties with it, given that Europe faces a continued slowdown at least until 2014.
Topic:
Markets, Global Recession, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

694. The Evolution of Azerbaijani Identity and the Prospects of Secessionism in Iranian Azerbaijan

Author:
Emil Souleimanov
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom has it that Azerbaijanis, the largest ethnic minority in Iran, have historically tended to identify themselves with notions of Iranian statehood and Shiite religion rather than ethnic nationalism, a fact that has made them loyal subjects of Persian states. Yet recent years have shown a considerable growth of their Azerbaijani Turkic self-consciousness as part of their effort to achieve ethno-linguistic emancipation, an emancipation sometimes bordering on separatism and irredentism. Recent developments over the Tabriz-based Tractor Sazi football club (TSFC) and Lake Urmia have provided a further impetus to such developments that offer the potential to endanger the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This article is an attempt to highlight the evolution of self-consciousness of Iranian Azerbaijanis in recent decades, shedding light on the key issues that have caused this evolution with the aim of exploring the prospects of Azerbaijani secessionism or anti-regime sentiments in the strategically important northwest region of Iran inhabited by ethnic Azerbaijanis.
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Persia, and Urmia

695. Editor's Note

Author:
İhsan Dağı
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Another hot summer in the Middle East... Tens of thousands of Syrians continue to flee the violence inflicted upon them by Bashar Assad's regime by seeking refuge in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Now desperate, the regime is using its airplanes to punish the opposition in Aleppo and other cities of Syria, and is threatening to use its chemical weapons.
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

696. Turkey's EU Journey: What Next?

Author:
Amanda Paul
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Since EU membership negotiations began in 2005, Turkey has faced a range of obstacles, which have led to an impasse in the talks. As a consequence, domestic reforms have slowed, support in the country has dropped as Turks have become increasingly disillusioned with the process, and trust between the two partners has been eroded. Moreover, all this has happened at a time when Turkey has become increasingly self- confident and the EU is suffering from an economic and political malaise. With an economy much stronger than a number of EU member states, and with Ankara playing an increasingly important role on the global stage, many Turks believe that Turkey is better off staying outside the EU. In an effort to rebuild trust the EU has launched a “new positive agenda” that includes taking steps to implement visa liberalization, and a change in leadership in France has also increased hope in a improvement in relations.
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

697. The Positive Agenda and Beyond: A New Beginning for the EU-Turkey Relations?

Author:
Cengiz Aktar
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
What do Turkey's democratic transformation, its future EU membership and its growing position in the Middle East signify for a Europe which is experiencing severe difficulties in its relations with Islam? Answers to these questions will determine the EU's future policy towards Turkey both as a candidate for membership and as a full partner of the EU and its Member States. Only after such a soul searching can a new era of genuine partnership start between Turkey and its future European partners. Recently the European Commission, in consultation with Turkish authorities, the European Council, as well as members of Turkish civil society, has launched a brand new initiative called the Positive Agenda. The objective is to revive the stalled relationship between the EU and Turkey by rebuilding confidence and normalizing the process. If successful the Positive Agenda could let the EU revisit its basic principles that have made recent enlargement rounds beneficial to the stability in Eastern Europe. To that end it may consider proposing to Turkey a clear date for accession without which no initiative could be conclusive and sustainable.
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

698. Turkey and the Arab Spring: Between Ethics and Self-Interest

Author:
Ziya Öniş
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Turkey redefined its geographical security environment over the last decade by deepening its engagement with neighboring regions, especially with the Middle East. The Arab spring, however, challenged not only the authoritarian regimes in the region but also Turkish foreign policy strategy. This strategy was based on cooperation with the existing regimes and did not prioritize the democracy promotion dimension of the issue. The upheavals in the Arab world, therefore, created a dilemma between ethics and self-interest in Turkish foreign policy. Amid the flux of geopolitical shifts in one of the world's most unstable regions, Turkish foreign policy-making elites are attempting to reformulate their strategies to overcome this inherent dilemma. The central argument of the present paper is that Turkey could make a bigger and more constructive impact in the region by trying to take a more detached stand and through controlled activism. Thus, Turkey could take action through the formation of coalitions and in close alignments with the United States and Europe rather than basing its policies on a self-attributed unilateral pro-activism.
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Turkey, and Middle East

699. The "AKP Model" and Tunisia's al-Nahda: From Convergence to Competition?

Author:
Stefano Maria Torelli
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
More than a year after the start of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolts, the question of how political Islam will return to regional politics is still open. This article explores the differences between the AKP's Turkish model and the Tunisian al-Nahda movement. The Tunisian and the Turkish case studies are examined and compared on three levels. First of all the historical and structural contexts of the two countries and the relationship between the state and Islam are taken into account. Secondly the two models of political Islam that have developed in Tunisia and Turkey are analyzed. Finally, the two different views of the social, political and economic life proposed by al-Nahda in Tunisia and by the AKP in Turkey are compared. By examining the structural differences between these two contexts, and consequently by looking at the two distinctive ways of understanding Islam in public life, the article will also demonstrate how and why the “Turkish model”, as represented by the AKP, cannot be applied to Tunisia, although the al-Nahda has itself embarked on a process of “de-radicalization.”
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia

700. The Applicability of the "Turkish Model" to Morocco: The Case of the Parti de la Justice et du Développement (PJD)

Author:
FERIHA PEREKLI
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
The “Turkish model,” in the form of a marriage between moderate Islam and democracy, the AKP's electoral success and the economic growth witnessed in the last decade, has become the ultimate allure to which Arab Islamists aspire. This study focuses on the main premises of the Islamist PJD (Parti de la Justice et du Développement) of Morocco in order to understand what the “Turkish model” signified for them. By not confining the “Turkish model” solely to the AKP policies, but stretching it instead to the pre-AKP Islamist parties, the idea is to uncover which features of the “Turkish model” are espoused by the Moroccan Islamists and which features are not appreciated. After a brief introduction regarding the AKP's understanding of secularism and how it differs from radical secularism, the emphasis is given to the PJD's position on secularism. The following section explores lessons gathered by the PJD from Turkish parliamentarian Islamism in regards to engagement in political participation in the face of state repression. The last section examines the transition of the PJD's discourse from being moralistic-based to policy- oriented, in which the Turkish experience once again formed a reference point.
Political Geography:
Turkey and Libya