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20171. From Innovation to Revolution

Author:
Clay Shirky and Malcolm Gladwell
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
AN ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE Malcolm Gladwell While reading Clay Shirky's "The Political Power of Social Media" (January/February 2010), I was reminded of a trip I took just over ten years ago, during the dot-com bubble. I went to the catalog clothier Lands' End in Wisconsin, determined to write about how the rise of the Internet and e-commerce was transforming retail. What I learned was that it was not. Having a Web site, I was told, was definitely an improvement over being dependent entirely on a paper catalog and a phone bank. But it was not a life-changing event. After all, taking someone's order over the phone is not that much harder than taking it over the Internet. The innovations that companies such as Lands' End really cared about were bar codes and overnight delivery, which utterly revolutionized the back ends of their businesses and which had happened a good ten to 15 years previously.
Topic:
Communications
Political Geography:
Iran

20172. The War Over Containing Iran

Author:
Andrew Krepinevich, Shahram Chubin, Karim Sadjadpour, Eric S. Edelman, Dima Adamsky, Diane De Gramont, and Evan Braden Montgomery
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
How would the Israeli defense establishment respond if Iran went nuclear? Is Washington focusing too much on military containment at the expense of political containment? And is a grand bargain with Tehran possible?
Topic:
Cold War and War
Political Geography:
Iran, Washington, and Israel

20173. The 'New Turkey' and American-Turkish Relations

Author:
F. Stephen Larrabee
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
The United States has to deal with a very different Turkey today than the Turkey during the Cold War. The disappearance of the Soviet threat has reduced Turkey's dependence on the United States for its security and deprived the U.S.-Turkish security partnership of a clear unifying purpose. At the same time, Turkey's geographic role and interests have expanded. Turkey now has interests and stakes in various regions it did not have two decades ago. It is thus less willing to automatically follow the U.S.'s lead on many issues, especially when U.S. policy conflicts with Turkey's own interests. This does not mean that Turkey is turning its back on the West or the United States. Turkey still wants—and needs—strong ties with the United States. But the terms of engagement have changed. Ankara is a rising regional power and is no longer content to play the role of junior partner.
Topic:
Security and Cold War
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Turkey

20174. The Rise of Turkish Gaullism: Getting Turkish-American Relations Right

Author:
Ömer Taşpınar
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Turkey is becoming more independent and self-confident. Yet, the current analysis on Turkey in most American circles tirelessly refers to the tension between secularism and Islam or Eastern versus Western proclivities. Such focus often comes at the expense of the most powerful force driving Turkish foreign policy: nationalism and self-interest. Turkish-American relations are witnessing a paradigm shift that can be best defined as the rise of Turkish Gaullism. A Gaullist Turkey may in the long run decide to no longer pursue an elusive EU membership. It may even question its military alliance with the United States. Burdened by a sense that it never gets the respect it deserves, Turkey may increasingly act on its own in search of full independence, full sovereignty, strategic leverage and, most importantly, Turkish glory and grandeur.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Islam, Nationalism, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:
America and Turkey

20175. U.S.-Turkey Relations: Model Partnership as an 'Empty Signifier'

Author:
Nuh Yilmaz
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This commentary attempts to make a conceptual evaluation of the phrase “model partnership” as a definition of US-Turkey relations. Against the background of much debate about the “viability” or “possibility” of “model partnership,” it argues that “model partnership” as an empty signifier does not represent either the ideal or the fully accomplished state of Turkish-American relations. The current problems in the bilateral relations derive from the gradual transformation in the nature of Turkish-American relations from a hierarchical relationship into a complementary one, i.e. from a “strategic partnership” to a “model partnership.” As we are going through a structural change, “policy recommendations” alone will not suffice to remedy the broader problem of necessary adjustments. The option for a “model partnership” is still on the table, however, it requires a serious, engaged, and conceptual discussion as the two sides adjust to and negotiate the new form of the relationship.
Political Geography:
United States and Turkey

20176. The Congressional Elections 2010 and Turkish Interests in the Congress

Author:
David L. Wiltse
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Republicans, in a classic midterm “wave election,” supplanted the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives with a large majority of their own and substantially reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. Yet, despite their electoral success, this victory should not suggest to Republicans that the electorate has granted them any sort of broad policy mandate. Such mandates are illusory in the American political system. As such, President Obama's impressive string of legislative victories in the past few years will most likely remain in place, though his relationship with Congress will undoubtedly become more complicated. Moreover, the Turkish-American relationship should be largely unaffected. In fact, the new majority in the House may be more sympathetic to Turkish interests than the previous Congress.
Political Geography:
America and Turkey

20177. Turkey's Response to the Global Economic Crisis

Author:
Ibrahim Turhan and Zubeyir Kilinc
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Turkey was not affected by the financial crisis as much as the advanced economies and managed to rapidly exit the turmoil. The reasons behind the strong response and quick recovery of the Turkish economy were its low country risk and low currency risk premiums. This study shows the foundations of these low risk premiums and compares some measures of these risks of the Turkish economy with peer countries. Second, this paper demonstrates that all of Turkey's economic sectors were very strong before the crisis and sustained this strength during the course of the crisis. Finally, it discusses the policies that have already been taken and planned to be taken by Turkey's economic authorities. The government seems to be very determined in keeping fiscal discipline as tight as necessary while not being excessive.
Topic:
Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Turkey

20178. Multiple Faces of the "New" Turkish Foreign Policy: Underlying Dynamics and a Critique

Author:
ZİYA ÖNİŞ
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
The “axis-shift” discussions on Turkish foreign policy activism over the last couple of years have attracted remarkable international attention. Some pundits have attempted to place Turkey's increasing relations with its neighbors within the context of an ideological and identical reshuffling of Turkish foreign policy principles. While finding the “shift of axis” argument a rather crude characterization, the paper nevertheless argues that there are subtle shifts in Turkish foreign policy orientation. In this context, the paper aims to identify both the elements of continuity and rupture in the style and behavior of Turkish foreign policy. In fact, there are solid political economy fundamentals and legitimate reasons for Turkey to pursue a multi- dimensional and more assertive foreign policy in the emerging multi-polar world system. However, the present paper underlines that Turkey's multi-dimensional foreign policy activism with no firm axis may have potentially counterproductive consequences regarding Turkey's long- term national interests as well as its ability to play a stabilizing role as a pro-active and benign regional power.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Turkey

20179. Economy as the 'Practical Hand' of 'New Turkish Foreign Policy': A Political Economy Explanation

Author:
Mustafa Kutlay
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Turkish foreign policy activism during the last decade has attracted widespread international attention. As a result, scholarly literature on the issue has expanded noticeably. If one makes a general categorization, the literature on the new Turkish foreign policy has mainly concentrated on “security-based” and “identitybased” explanations. The role of the changing economic dynamics in Turkey and the transformation of Turkish financial and industrial capital, however, are not adequately addressed in the existing literature. This study aims to contribute to the recent debates from a political economy perspective with reference to the functionalist and interdependence approaches. It is argued in this paper that the bifurcation within the financial capital in Turkey in the post-2001 period and the internationalization of the 'Anatolian tigers' have turned out to be the 'practical hand' of Turkish foreign policy. In addition, this study argues that there are certain limits and constraints of employing political economy factors as a driving force in the Turkish foreign policy activism.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Turkey

20180. Turkey's Neighborhood Policy: An Emerging Complex Interdependence?

Author:
Kadri Kaan Renda
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
In this paper, I argue that a fuller understanding of the recent activism in Turkish foreign policy, and in particular the changing nature of relations with its neighbors, requires us to engage in the study of the increasing economic interdependence and the analysis of broadly redefined national interests. Therefore, this paper aims to explain Turkey's relations with its neighbors through the neo-liberal theory model put forth by Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, which underlines the importance of interdependence and cooperation among states. I argue that recent developments in Turkish foreign policy, particularly Turkey's relations with its neighbors, resemble the characteristic features of complex interdependence. The new activism in Turkish foreign policy facilitates international cooperation among regional actors and creates a “complex interdependence”.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Turkey