Insight Turkey / issues

Guest Editor's Note | Winter 2011

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:27:00 GMT

Turkey’s rejuvenated foreign policy activism firmly constructed on novel conceptual parameters, such as “strategic depth,” “zero problems with neighbours,” “maximum cooperation” and “balance between security and freedom”, attracted ever-increasing academic and popular attention over the course of the last decade.

The ‘New Turkey’ and American-Turkish Relations

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:37:00 GMT

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.

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

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:51:00 GMT

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.

U.S.-Turkey Relations: Model Partnership as an ‘Empty Signifier’

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:04:00 GMT

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.

The Congressional Elections 2010 and Turkish Interests in the Congress

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:15:00 GMT

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.

Turkey’s Response to the Global Economic Crisis

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 13:12:00 GMT

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.

Multiple Faces of the “New” Turkish Foreign Policy: Underlying Dynamics and a Critique

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 13:39:00 GMT

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.

Economy as the ‘Practical Hand’ of ‘New Turkish Foreign Policy’: A Political Economy Explanation

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 13:54:00 GMT

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 “identity-based” 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.

Turkey’s Neighborhood Policy: An Emerging Complex Interdependence?

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 14:15:00 GMT

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”.

Businessmen as Diplomats: The Role of Business Associations in Turkey’s Foreign Economic Policy

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 14:46:00 GMT

Research on state-business relations has traditionally focused on business associations’ lobbying activities. However, as these organizations started to assume a more active role in their country’s economic life, scholars began to look at another distinct role of business associations: their formal participation in policy making. This article examines to what extent Turkish business associations are taking part in the foreign economic policy-making process, which, in turn, leads to two sub-questions: (1) Through what kind of mechanisms is a pattern of interaction established between the state and the business associations? (2) Does the state transfer a part of its administrative functions to the private sector? This article examines the institutional setting established during the liberalization wave of the 1980s and has gradually evolved up to the present, through which the state has maintained its role as the policy maker yet has allowed the private sector to play a role in the process because it is deemed to be capable of administering specific functions more efficiently than the state.

Whither an Axis Shift: A Perspective from Turkey’s Foreign Trade

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:04:00 GMT

Our analysis will discuss Turkey’s changing direction, if any, in terms of its trade orientation. This paper argues that Turkey’s trade sector has maintained its long-standing direction towards the major European Union (EU) member countries with only minor setbacks, while new dimensions in bilateral trade have emerged not only due to Turkey’s changing foreign policy considerations but also global economic transformations. Moreover, this paper argues that Turkey’s trade partners are subject to these changes, as the epicentre of the global economy shifts, i.e. to the East. In the first section, a brief introduction with regards to Turkey’s foreign trade under the AK Party’s administration -since 2002 will be provided. The second section will discuss the scope of regional and worldwide changes in trade patterns and analyze the recent shift in Turkey’s trade orientation in the context of Asia’s economic and political rise in early 21st century. The Third section will focus on the role of political dynamics in Turkey’s trade sector and structural issues.

Turkey-GCC Relations: Is There a Future?

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:34:00 GMT

The historical solution to the security problem in the Persian/Arabian Gulf, that is, the active military protection of a super power, is no longer sustainable as the unipolar world gives way to a multipolar one and the credibility of the United States to provide military security is being increasingly questioned. This paper addresses a question neglected by both international and regional analysts: can Turkey play any role in the future Gulf security architecture? The paper argues that Turkey can help the GCC states develop effective state institutions and build regional institutional mechanisms to solve potential crises and alleviate the security dilemma in the Gulf. It can deliver this public good to the region precisely because Turkey has strong economic and political interests to have good relations with all sides concerned with the Gulf security.

Global Transformations and the MENA: A Comparative Political Economy Analysis

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:47:00 GMT

The regional geographical entity known as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been at the epicenter of global power struggles over the course of the last centuries with an ever-increasing intensity. While the region has been a popular subject in the literature of political science and international relations due to the sheer volume of conflicts raging within the parameters of its borders, writings on international/comparative political economy focused on alternate regions such as East Asia characterized by a sustainable economic growth potential. This study aims to make a critical contribution to the political economy literature by conducting a theoretically and historically informed analysis on the transformation dynamics in the MENA region. To this end, the multi-faceted legacy of colonialism; the role of oil as a strategic resource; structural changes in the world economy; and divergent politico-economic reform trajectories in the wake of economic globalization will be evaluated.

Turkey’s New European Era: Foreign Policy on the Road to EU Membership

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:26:00 GMT

The European Commission, once asserted that “even before Bulgaria and Romania joined the Union, Turkey and Croatia, had begun joining the EU. Negotiations with Croatia may be concluded within a few years, while those with Turkey are expected to take considerably longer.”[1] Yet the crux of the matter is that Turkey’s full membership negotiation in the EU was not fruitful over the previous four decades.

Archaeology of Religions, Cultures and Their Beliefs in Worldwide Context

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:00:00 GMT

The archaeology of religion has generated increased interest among social scientists involved in the scientific study of religion. Sharon Steadman recognizes that most of the cultures discussed in this interesting text did not recognize the existence of “religion.” It is largely Western intellectuals who have sought to elevate “religion” as a phenomenon of human society in need of clarification by social scientists. However, Steadman rightly explores the world views of ancient cultures insofar as they overlap with what contemporary anthropologists recognize as religion.

Speaking of Jews: Rabbis, Intellectuals, and the Creation of an American Public Identity

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:53:00 GMT

Speaking of Jews chronicles how Jews explained themselves to non-Jews in the United States from World War I through the Civil Rights era. The basic thesis is that in considering how to talk about being Jewish to non-Jews, the Jews were also searching to find a definition for themselves as to what exactly it meant to be Jewish in contemporary America.

Honored by the Glory of Islam: Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:02:00 GMT

Drawing on contemporary archival and manuscript sources, Marc Baer unfolds the most fascinating story of Sultan Mehmed IV. Although his reign was remarkably long (1648-87), he has almost been forgot- ten or depicted dismissively as weak and foolish. Aiming to retrieve that lost history, the book’s central theme is conversion – of Muslims to “proper” Islamic practices, of Christians and Jews to Islam, and of space. Thus, the reader encounters the Kadızadeli movement that first rose to prominence in the 1650s.

The Shiites of Lebanon under Ottoman Rule, 1516-1788

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:11:00 GMT

Stefan Winter’s recent study is a truly revisionist reading of the history of Leba- nese communities under the Ottoman Em- pire. It is the product of a problem-oriented and well-organized research; an earlier ver- sion had been submitted as a doctoral dis- sertation to Chicago University in 2002.

From Hellenism to Islam, Cultural and Linguistic Change in the Roman Near East

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:14:00 GMT

This is an important addition to the mounting literature on the cultural and especially the linguistic mix in the east- ern provinces of the Roman Empire in the period before the Arab conquests. It arose from a conference and a related research theme on epigraphy and cultural and linguistic change in the Near East “from Hel- lenism to Islam,” organised by the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew Uni- versity of Jerusalem in the year 2002-3.

Economic Liberalization and Turkey

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:18:00 GMT

“Economic Liberalization and Turkey” provides comprehensive information relat- ed to liberalization of trade in agricultural and industrial goods, the liberalization of services, and the role of regulatory intu- itions in trade liberalization. The book is divided into three parts. Part I consist of two chapters.

The Broken Olive Branch: Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and the Quest for Peace in Cyprus

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:22:00 GMT

The Broken Olive Branch is a two vol- ume book wherein the author analyses the Cyprus question through the prisms of ethno nationalism. In the first volume, through his interpretation, the author eval- uates the historical origins of the Cyprus issue. According to the author, the uncriti- cal adoption of ethnocentric nationalism is an fundamental factor in evaluating this conflict.

The Unmaking of the Middle East, A History of Western Disorder in Arab Lands

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:31:00 GMT

The term “global war on terror” is no longer fashionable. Lip service is now paid to the idea that diplomacy and development are essential components of the effort to counter Islamic extremism, and the realization is growing that making armed force the “default option” for dealing with terrorism perpetrated in the name of Islam is probably strengthening the hand of the terrorists.

Lebanon, Liberation, Conflict and Crisis

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:36:00 GMT

This reviewer wonders why Palgrave Macmillan decided to publish this book. Was the point to produce a neo-conservative distillation of anti-Syrian, anti-Hizbullah, and anti-Iranian prejudices in one volume? If that is the case, it has succeeded admirably. There are one or two good contributions, notably Mark Farha’s short but balanced study of Lebanese demographics and Charles Paul Freund’s disquisition on Lebanese popular music.

Spies in Arabia, The Great War and the Cultural Foundations of Britain’s Covert Empire in the Middle East

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:40:00 GMT

Spies in Arabia is a much awaited book on the British in the Middle East during and in the aftermath of the First World War. It avoids focusing on Lawrence alone and gives a fine and comprehensive picture of the cultural background of British agents employed in the Middle East and in Iraq in particular.

Gatekeepers of the Arab Past: Historians and History Writing in 20th Century Egypt

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:48:00 GMT

To study historiography as a prism that elucidates a society’s wider developments has experienced a remarkable upsurge over the last decades and has produced a number of fascinating works. In the Middle East, it is especially history writing in modern Egypt that has been studied by authors such as J. Crabbs, Y. Choueiri, and I. Gershoni. Consequently, the work under review raises the question of why we need yet another study on this subject.

Turks in Europe, Culture, Identity, Integration

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:04:00 GMT

Turks in Europe, Culture, Identity, Integration, is a book of collected works comprising 23 articles written by experts from a variety of fields such as sociology, political science, anthropology and cultural studies. It is the largest collection of articles printed so far based on original research and field work about residents of Turkish origin residents in Europe.