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761. Turkey: An Emerging Energy Transit State and Possible Energy Hub

Author:
Gareth Winrow
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Officials in Ankara are pressing for Turkey to become a key energy hub for the transportation of hydrocarbons from the Caspian region and the Middle East to Europe. It appears that they are seeking to secure certain strategic and economic advantages. Turkey's increasing energy needs could be satisfied, re-export rights obtained, and ambitions to become a significant regional state fulfilled which could facilitate accession to the EU. It seems more likely, though, that Turkey will become an important energy transit state, especially for the Southern Gas Corridor. Here, Turkey could still diversify its gas imports and reduce dependence on Russia.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Turkey, and Middle East

762. Avrupa Birliği-Türkiye İlişkilerine Postyapısalcı Yaklaşım: Almanya Örneğinde Dış Politika ve Söylem Analizi

Author:
Senem Aydın Düzgit
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
In line with the poststructuralist approach that theorises identity as relationally constructed through discourse, the purpose of this article is to shed light on the different visions of Europe that are constructed in debates on Turkey’s accession to the EU among German politicians. The article focuses on the political party debates on Turkish accession in Germany, a key member state in EU integration and the debate on Turkish membership to the EU, and subjects them to critical discourse analysis. In doing that, it also brings forward the importance of the concept of discourse from a poststructuralist perspective.
Topic:
International Relations, Political Theory, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Germany

763. Turkey: New Policies in the Middle East

Author:
A. Lukmanov
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
IN THE 15TH CENTURY, Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin driven by business interests traveled to the arab east, Iran and India, a highly risky enterprise at that time. he went to “bring goods to the Russian land” but after three years of wandering had to admit with a great deal of bitterness: “There is no way from the hormuz to horasan; no way to Chagatai; no way to baghdad; no way to bahrain, no way to yezd, no way to arabia – everywhere the princes are fighting.” This was written five centuries ago; the intrepid traveler is nearly forgotten, probably because of continued instability and the consistently failing attempts to bring peace to the region (instability was responsible for the failure of the first Russian commercial project in the near and Middle east).
Political Geography:
Russia, Iran, Turkey, Middle East, India, and Baghdad

764. The Interaction between Theories of European Integration and the Literature on Turkey: Rethinking the Europeanization Research Program through the Case of Turkey

Author:
H. Tolga Bölükbasi, Ebru Ertugal, and Saime Özçürümez
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This article argues that the evolution of the Europeanization research program and that of the literature on Turkey has come evolved incongruously. The article identifies the limits of this interaction, investigates the conceptual, theoretical and methodological origins of these limits, and concludes that such incongruence may be overcome by cross-utilization of the conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and research design tools offered by the Europeanization research program more effectively in studying Turkey. Doing so will allow studying the exclusive impact of the EU on the processes of transformation in Turkey by isolating its transformative role from the impact of other domestic dynamics and international factors.
Topic:
Political Theory
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

765. Kurds of Modern Turkey: Migration, Neoliberalism and Exclusion in Turkish Society

Author:
Alper Kaliber
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Being a national security issue since the establishment of Turkish Republic in 1923, the Kurdish question has several and deep rooted connotations for politics and society in Turkey. Even if it was excessively securitized and long classified as a national taboo by the Turkish state, the Kurdish question has increasingly occupied a central status in Turkish politics since the 1980s. As a consequence of excessive securitization, academic or otherwise any work problematizing the official state line was subjected to silencing, marginalization or even ban. The intellectuals, academics, civil society activists demanding recognition of a separate Kurdish identity and cultural/collective rights of the Kurds were often blamed as being traitors and prosecuted and punished in some cases. In the 1980s and 1990s researching and publishing on the Kurdish question amounted to assuming grave risks or confronting fierce public reaction for researchers. Thus, there was an acute lack of academic research concerning the most important issue of Turkish politics.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Turkey and Kurdistan

766. From Endearment to Estrangement: Turkey's Interests and Concerns in Syria

Author:
Yigal Schleifer
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Turkish relations with the Syrian regime have developed at a dizzying pace over the last 15 years, going from outright hostility to close cooperation and back to estrangement. Prior to the current uprising, Turkey looked at Syria as a cornerstone in its plans to become a political, economic and “moral” leader in the Middle East. Ankara has deep concerns regarding developments in Syria, particularly in terms of the domestic repercussions of any Syrian political instability or social upheaval. These concerns shaped Ankara's initial caution in completely breaking with Damascus and could still limit the scope of Turkish action against the Assad regime.
Topic:
Regime Change and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Turkey, Arabia, and Syria

767. Disappointment at the United Nations: The Failure of the Palmer Report

Author:
Richard Falk
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
After the Israeli attack of May 31, 2010 on the Freedom Flotilla led by the Mavi Marmara, the UN Secretary General appointed a panel of inquiry to resolve the sharp legal dispute that had emerged between Turkey and Israel. The panel was chaired by Jeffrey Palmer, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, and it was hoped that the report issued would clear the diplomatic air between the two countries. In fact, the publication of the report in May had exactly the opposite effect, enraging Turkey, straining diplomatic relations still further. Turkey seemed fully justified in its response, given the departures from appropriate interpretations of international law. This commentary critically examines the process from the formation of the Palmer panel through the release of its conclusions, looking at the legal and political implications.
Topic:
United Nations
Political Geography:
Turkey and Israel

768. Torpedoing the Law: How the Palmer Report Justified Israel's Naval Blockade of Gaza

Author:
Norman G. Finkelstein
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
On May 31st, 2010, Israeli commandos killed nine passengers aboard a humanitarian flotilla destined for Gaza. Eight of the nine were Turkish citizens, while one was a dual U.S.-Turkish citizen. On August 2nd, 2010, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed a Panel of Inquiry (POI) to “examine and identify the facts, circumstances and context of the incident,” and to “consider and recommend ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future.” In September 2011, the POI's final report was unofficially released. In a finding that shocked the international community, the report concluded that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was legal. Moreover, the report vilified the passengers aboard the humanitarian flotilla because they sought to publicize the illegality and inhumanity of Israel's blockade. A careful analysis of the POI report shows that it is probably the most mendacious and debased document ever issued under the aegis of the United Nations.
Political Geography:
Turkey, Israel, and United Nations

769. Israel: Quo Vadis, Turkey?

Author:
Oded Eran
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
The Mavi Marmara tragic affair is viewed in Israel as part of a Turkish political maneuvering which gained momentum following the Arab Spring. According to this view Turkey under Prime Minister Erdogan has identified a vacuum created by the US phased withdrawal from the region, a decline in Egypt's traditional role and the growing European and American need for Turkey's involvement. In these circumstances, Turkey can assert itself as a regional power with domestic, regional and international political and economic returns. Championing thePalestinian cause and criticizing Israel bears hardly any price tag. Israelis and, especially, those who decide whether to accept Turkey's demand for ending the Mavi Marmara affair and restoring normal relations, question whether this is Turkey's strategy. The Arab Spring may produce major changes in the region's political map that would also affect Turkey and Israel. This is a time when a dialogue, rather than rupture and confrontation, would better serve their long term interests. Yet both governments are now entrenched in their positions. This calls for a nongovernmental initiative to prevent further deterioration and search for a process to heal the relationship.
Political Geography:
Turkey, Israel, and Palestine

770. The Arab Spring and Turkey: The Camp David Order vs. the New Middle East

Author:
Taha Özhan
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Over the past decade, Turkey has been experiencing a decisive transition that North Africa and the Middle East only recently have begun to feel. It will be misleading to interpret the changes in the Arab world as unique and isolated developments taking place in each country, on a case by case basis. “The Camp David Order,” that took shape after 1978, based on Western support for authoritarian Arab leaders, has dominated Middle Eastern affairs for the last three decades. The US invasion of Iraq intentionally or unintentionally shook up the status quo of the regional order. Turkey has been seen as a success story for those countries suffering from a lack of democratization, economic development and a more equitable distribution of income, while enduring a “Cold Peace” with Israel. Just as Turkey had a role in the transformation of the Arab world, the Arab world will also play a significant role in the formation of the “New Turkey.” Turkey will remain an actor helping to build this new democratic and more prosperous regional order, as long as it deploys its comparative, historical, and strategic advantages.
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East