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202. The Armenian road to democracy – Dimensions of a tortuous process
- Author:
- Maria Raquel Freire and Licínia Simão
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at the Armenian transition towards democracy, focusing on the internal and external dimensions of the process. Internally, we consider the decision-making structure, with particular emphasis on the role of leadership, the development of political parties and changes in civil society. Externally, our attention is focused on neighbourly relations and external actors, including international organisations, particularly the European Union (EU), and its specific instrument, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The paper aims to shed light on the democratisation process in Armenia and the role of the EU in this process, by looking at the relationship between Brussels and Yerevan, at the instruments and strategies in operation, and at the international context in which these changes are taking place.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Brussels
203. The Politics of Incirlik Air Base
- Author:
- Selin M. Bolme
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- The adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, doubled with the highly criticized US policy towards the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has placed the İncirlik Air Base at the top of the Turkish political agenda. The İncirlik Air Base has always played a key role in the Turkish-US relations due to its strategic location in the region. The base has been used by the U.S. in many regional events and operations. In every case, its use has brought the status and functions of İncirlik to the fore. However, it is difficult to find any research that particularly focuses on the İncirlik Air Base and its history. Hence, there are many speculations on the status and the functions of the base. The purpose of this article is briefly trace the history of the İncirlik Air Base and describe the obligations of Turkey and the rights of the US under the existing agreements. In the final part, the last crises will be analyzed to assess its impact on Turkish-American relations.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Turkey, and Armenia
204. Decoding the Rise of Euroskepticism in Turkey
- Author:
- Mehmet Bardakçı
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Since 2004 there has been a dramatic drop in the support expressed by the Turkish public for the EU and the Turkish membership. Many factors were at work for this downward trend of Turkish people's perceptions of the EU including the Cyprus policy, the Armenian genocide claims, the EU's treatment of Turkey as a special case, vocal objections raised by the EU leaders as well as the public to Turkey's EU membership, the economic costs of the accession process, nationalist backlash as a result of the resumption of PKK terrorism, mutual rise in negative perceptions of the Muslim and Western world at large in the post-September 11 process. Therefore, amid growing anti-European sentiments in domestic politics it became increasingly difficult for the ruling AKP to sustain the EU reform agenda.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Armenia
205. Book Reviews
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Salwa Ismail, Political Life in Cairo's New Urban Quarters: Encountering the Everyday State University of Minnesota Press, 2006, 264 p, $22,50, ISBN 0-8166-4912-X by Joanna Odencrantz M. Hakan Yavuz (ed.), The Emergence of a New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Party University of Utah Press, 2006, 368 pp., $25, ISBN 978-0-87480-863-6 by Barış Kesgin Guenter Lewy, The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide The University of Utah Press, 2005, 370 p., $23, ISBN 978-0-87480-890-2 by Fatih Balcı and Arif Akgül Jillian Schwedler, Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen Cambridge University Press, 2006, 276 p., $29.99, ISBN 0-521-85113-0 by Hüseyin Alptekin
- Topic:
- Islam
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Armenia
206. Javakheti after the Rose Revolution: Progress and Regress in the Pursuit of National Unity in Georgia
- Author:
- Hedvig Lohm
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- Javakheti is situated in the South-East of Georgia, and is densely inhabited by Georgia's second largest national minority, Armenians. In most respects, Javakheti has been more dependent on Russia (in socio-economic terms) and Armenia (in cultural terms) than on its proper state, Georgia, since Georgia gained independence in 1991. Throughout the 1990s the region was often described as a 'potential hot-spot', yet another possible breakaway region in the Caucasus. This working paper will look into whether the situation has started to change in terms of whether Javakheti is now closer to becoming an integrated part of Georgia, given that territorial unity has been one of the main priorities of the Georgian government since the 'Rose Revolution' of 2003. The aim of this paper is thus to create a better understanding of the challenges that Javakheti faces, in order to facilitate an informed debate on the current situation and the future development of the region.
- Topic:
- Government, Nationalism, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Caucasus, Armenia, and Georgia
207. Central Asia and the Caucasus: A Vulnerable Crescent
- Author:
- Anna Matveeva and Thomas de Waal
- Publication Date:
- 02-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- The Caucasus and Central Asia – eight countries of the former Soviet Union stretching to the south of Russia and to the west of China – form a chain of weak states, vulnerable to conflict, extremism, and spillover from potential instability in the Middle East, Iran and Afghanistan. Once on the path of the Silk Road, these countries are still transit routes in the world economy rather than major economic players. The overarching problem for the Caucasus countries situated on the eastern fringe of Europe – Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as well as the Russian North Caucasus – is unresolved conflicts that hamper development and poison politics. The Caucasus has become a field for latter-day Great Power battles of influence, in which competing policy agendas, sometimes even from within the same state, make for a fragmented international response that hampers regional integration and development. The autocratic states of Central Asia by contrast risk isolating themselves from the wider world, becoming a source of danger because of their deliberate remoteness. Here the globalized threats of drug trafficking and militant Islam are the biggest potential source of instability. Multilateral organizations such as the UN are still struggling to articulate a coherent response to the two regions as a whole, tending to make more narrow interventions that have limited impact.
- Topic:
- Security and Development
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Russia, China, Europe, Iran, Central Asia, Asia, Soviet Union, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia
208. Georgia's Armenian and Azeri Minorities
- Publication Date:
- 11-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Georgia is a multinational state, building democratic institutions and forging a civic identity. However, it has made little progress towards integrating Armenian and Azeri minorities, who constitute over 12 per cent of the population. Tensions are evident in the regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo-Kartli, where the two predominantly live and which have seen demonstrations, alleged police brutality and killings during the past two years. While there is no risk of these situations becoming Ossetian or Abkhaz-like threats to the state's territorial integrity, Tbilisi needs to pay more attention to minority rights, including use of second languages, if it is to avoid further conflict.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Georgia
209. Nagorno-Karabakh: A Plan for Peace
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Settlement of the long running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict -- the most significant obstacle to stability in the South Caucasus -- remains elusive, despite more optimistic noises recently from Azerbaijan and Armenia. Eleven years after the 1994 ceasefire, burgeoning defence budgets, increasing ceasefire violations, and continuing demonisation by each side of the other side are ominous signs that time for a peace agreement is running out. But a compromise can now be constructed around an approach that, while addressing all the matters in dispute, leaves the core issue of Nagorno-Karabakh's ultimate status open for later resolution, after other measures have been put in place.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus
210. Nagorno-Karabakh: Viewing the Conflict from the Ground
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh is the most significant obstacle to peace and stability in the South Caucasus. Eleven years into a ceasefire, the parties have been unable to sign a single document bringing them closer to a settlement. Whatever is being done at the internationally mediated negotiations, at ground level resumed war appears a real possibility. There is need to counter the hate propaganda and demonising engaged in by both sides and unlock the potential for confidence building and dialogue between average Azeris and Armenians before the memories of cohabitation fade and the divide becomes virtually unbridgeable.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus