Rise of Think Tanks: Foreign Policy and National Security Culture in Turkey

In the recent decade, the number of think thanks in Turkey skyrocketed. Those numbers should not cause overexcitement since along with the serious think tanks many others consist solely of a catchy name and an internet website. Indeed, the think tank sector is a fledgling one in Turkey. The position of think tanks in the policymaking process has not yet been consolidated. They do not have billion dollar budgets as their counterparts in Europe and the Americas. Thus, they mostly do not have the ability to recruit fulltime researchers that allocate their priorities according to their research agenda. Along with these problems, their reputation is not as well established. Since the think tank culture is new in Turkey, some people are questioning their value and influence, while others are more cynical about their purpose and international links. 

Nevertheless, the reports and analyses of these think tanks have the ability to chart out the direction of debates in Turkey. The in-depth information and recommendations of these think tanks dominate the debates since most universities in Turkey are not interested in policy recommendations and the bureaucracy is unable to be critical. Despite their shortcomings, the think tanks in Turkey are pretty much performing activities similar to their counterparts in Europe and the Americas. They are also influential, especially in foreign policy issues and internal problems that need new perspectives and viewpoints informed by social science theories. 

Then how can we situate the think tanks in Turkey’s current context and to what ex- tent are think tanks influential in Turkey? The Rise of Think Tanks: Foreign Policy and National Security Culture in Turkey, written by Bülent Aras, ŞuleToktaş and Ümit Kurt, unravels this complicated picture of think tanks in Turkey. The book is published in report format. Bülent Aras is currently the head of SAM, the official think tank of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and worked for SETA as an expert as well. He actually is an insider of the think tank sector. Toktaş and Kurt write on security matters and civil-military relations. In the book, the authors argue that think tanks are part of the securitization and de-securitization processes, yet their influence is limited since the traditional actors still dominate the process. 

The book provides a detailed picture of think tanks and national security culture in Turkey. The authors first introduce different approaches to security by certain theoretical schools and come up with their own theoretical framework. Since the authors reject the state being a black box, they put aside the rational actor model in their re- search. A hybrid framework consists of a social constructivist approach along with agent-structure relations, and a policymaking process in a pluralist platform is employed in the study. The authors also borrow the “speech act” and “securitization” terms from the Copenhagen School. 

In the second part of the book, there is an overview about think tanks in general and current Turkish think tanks. The authors provide information about the functions and typologies of think tanks in the world. Then, they give information on the traditional national security culture and recent changes in Turkey. In this portion, Turkish think tanks, particularly the prominent ones that are currently in the sector, are viewed through a historical perspective. 

The third and fourth sections consist of a presentation of the data gathered from the field study. The field study includes a sample of fourteen think tanks in Turkey. The third section delineates the detailed profile of the think tank sector in Turkey such as the structure, activities of think tanks, and their relations with one another. The authors underline the competitive nature of the sector in terms of recruitment and influence on policies. The fourth section deals with their perspectives on national security and foreign policy issues, so as to portray the national security culture of the think tanks. 

Lastly, in the conclusion, classification is provided along with the summary of all the research. The authors group the think tanks into three categories. The first group is critical and vocal about the traditional security perspective in Turkey, yet it does not have the capacity to direct the public agenda. The second group is open to change to the extent that it does not challenge the red lines of the traditional security perspective. The last group acts as the public diplomacy channel of the traditional security perspective. 

The book neither overestimates the influence of the think tanks by portraying them as the primary actors nor underestimates their effects by omitting them from the process. It suggests a well-balanced argumentation by channeling the views of both the think tank representatives and bureaucratic bodies. Another positive aspect of the book is an up-to-date theoretical framework along with field research which makes the book one of the rare and out- standing ones on the issue. Furthermore, the excerpts from the interviews enrich the study. The readers get the opportunity to observe firsthand information and perspectives from people in this sector. 

I raise two points in terms of the book’s shortcomings. First, the theoretical framework used in the book could include the construction of identities as well. The think tanks are prominent addresses for foreign missions and think tanks to learn about Turkey. They also have strong influence on the construction of the other countries’ identities in Turkey as well. Thus, they contribute to the construction of the identities of the countries in which they reside as well as others’ which is an important aspect of foreign policy. Second, the theoretical framework and field study does not appear as a strong whole. More references to the theory in the field study and evidence from the field study in the theoretical framework would make the two better intertwined. 

Overall, the book is an important source in furthering the understanding of the national security culture and think tanks in Turkey. It portrays the nature of change and pluralization in the security sector in Turkey. It also provides useful information about think tanks in general as well. Thus, I think it is quite a beneficial study for scholars interested in these issues.