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Begin New Search Topic Foreign Policy Journal The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development

11. Continuity or Change in Turkish Foreign Policy? Analyzing the Policy Fluctuations during the Justice and Development Party Era

Author:
Murat Ulgul
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
For decades, change in Turkish foreign policy has remained as “a neglected phenomenon” in the literature while continuity is explained with two main pillars: Westernization and preference for the status quo. The topic started gaining popularity at the end of 2000s when some conflicts of interest emerged between Turkey and its traditional partners. Scholars mainly explained this change as the result of the new Turkish leadership under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). While the debate in this period provided extensive literature on the subject, the arguments created could not explain the policy fluctuations during the AKP era. In this article, the change in AKP foreign policy is examined during three time periods that show different characteristics in terms of domestic and international opportunities/constraints. It is argued that while Westernization still remains an important pillar in Turkish foreign policy, the main change seems to be in Turkey’s traditional preference for the status quo.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, Arab Spring, and Civil-Military Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Asia

12. Nigeria’s Leadership Role Quests: The Race of the Crippled

Author:
Ebere R. Adigbuo
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
There is no doubt that Nigerians conceive their country as the giant state in Africa, principally for the country’s human and material endowments. In the realm of foreign policy, it is Nigeria’s status more than that of any other black African country, that most determines Africa’s collective future. Nigeria is determined not just to play its leadership role in Africa, but to also build upon it.1 It is against this background that Nigeria’s problem of capability comes in. A country that utilizes less than 10% of total steel used in Africa, less than 12% of all the power generated in Africa, a country that is associated with institutional failings and where social upheavals threatens the polity because of inept and corrupt leadership, it is doubtful if Africa will entrust its destiny to the crippled state. Using the “leadership role conception”2 as the theoretical framework, this paper examines the successes and challenges in this monumental task of leading Africa in the 21st century.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Corruption, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

13. Hard Power in a Soft Package: The ‘True’ Conservatism of Obama Leadership in Foreign Policy

Author:
Matthew Crosston
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Analyzing President Obama’s foreign policy and its global impact is no easy task. The early presidency of Obama has been marked by vicious attacks from the right, deep disappointment from the left, and something like indifference from the international community. This is understandable when the main argument is entertained: the ex- pectations of Obama’s global positions have not met reality mainly because they are more closely aligned with a cautious and considered ‘true’ conservatism, something no side (left, right, international) anticipated. The consequences of this becomes more than just about election results but has significant potential influence on the funda- mental debates between soft and hard power.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, Elections, Leadership, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

14. Constraints on Aid Conditionality: The case of the European Commission and the Palestinian Authority

Author:
Guy Burton
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Donors tend to be perceived as more powerful actors than the recipients in relation to foreign aid. However, this article presents a contrary example through the donor- recipient relationship between the European Commission (EC) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) during 2006-07. Drawing on previous scholarship and the EC-PA case, the article notes the roles played by recipients, third parties and donors in limiting conditionality. In addition to these actor-oriented explanations, the article draws attention to the constraining effect that structure (in the form of constant and changing local political contexts and actor preferences) can play to limit aid conditionality. The article concludes with an observation on the continuing relevance of conditionality in general and a recommendation for further research on the role of structure in limiting conditions in relation to aid.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Territorial Disputes, Hamas, and Palestinian Authority
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

15. The Cosmopolitan Epics of 2004: A Case Study

Author:
Saverio Saverio Giovacchini
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
In 2004 Hollywood produced three purportedly blockbuster epic films: Troy, King Arthur and Alexander. Many critics suggested a direct link between the 1950s “sword and sandal” epic and this new crop of movies. Similarities between the two cycles certainly exist but in this essay I want to emphasize a crucial difference between the contemporary, cosmopolitan, epic and the previous, more nation-bound, 1950s cycle. Rather than being in tune with key elements of American foreign policy, the new cycle of “sword and sandal” films offers a somber assessment of American imperial adventures. I shall contend, in fact, that the new crop of epic films had to choose between two generic conventions that are, at present, not compatible. On the one hand, epic films had traditionally been the bearers of the foreign policy vision of the country that produced them. On the other, their inflated budgets made them dependent on an international market. Deeply aware of a globalized and rising opposition to US foreign policy and of the fact that foreign box office now exceeds the domestic take of a blockbuster, it may be no wonder that the makers of these films chose to craft them into citizens of the world.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States and America

16. China's Naval Policy off the Coast of Somalia: International Participation, the Preservation of Strategic Interests, or Security?

Author:
Dr. Jean-Paul Gagnon
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:
This work will try to analyse China's naval policy off the Somali coast. The main contribution this work will attempt to make is to offer evidence concerning whether China's anti-pirating policies in the Gulf of Aden are more for the benefit of the international community, China's own strategic interest (a political economy outlook), or diplomatic growth. This work may be important as it could contribute to our understanding of China's current foreign policy to a slightly better degree. This will be attempted in the first instance by analysing the literature concerning China's humanitarian policies in Africa to establish a sense of the literature on this subject. In the second instance, we will examine the official foreign policy stance provided to the international community by the current administration in China. And finally, in the third instance, we will comparatively analyse if the policy statement is logically compatible with the extant literature. The analytical structure used to do so is Charmaz's (2006) grounded theory methodology. This study shows that China's foreign naval policy off the coast of Somalia is probably a mix of humanitarian, economic, and international diplomatic goals.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
China and Somalia