Insight Turkey / issues

Editor's Note | Spring 2018

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 12:13:03 GMT

The Gulf is a sub-region consisting of Saudi Arabia and five small states, namely Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. This sub-region emerged after the British recognized the independence of the above-mentioned small entities between 1961 and 1971. Having an abundant amount of natural resources, i.e. oil and natural gas, the Gulf States are among the richest countries in the world; therefore, they do not share the poverty and political instability widely found in the Middle East.

Lessons and Legacies of the Blockade of Qatar

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 12:25:00 GMT

The diplomatic and economic blockade of Qatar launched on June 5, 2017 has gravely weakened the Gulf Cooperation Council and raised questions in the United States about the reliability of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as reliable political and security partners. This has important implications for socio-political stability and regional security in the Gulf against a backdrop of a generational transition of leadership and a far more assertive and unpredictable thrust of policymaking coming out of regional capitals.

The Regional Geo-sectarian Contest over the Gulf

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 15:05:00 GMT

Sectarianism in the Middle East has intensified since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the outbreak of the Arab Spring, and has transformed into local sectarian and regional geopolitical confrontations among some Gulf States and Iran. The nature of this conflict is disputed. Is it a geopolitical regional rivalry or a purely sectarian conflict? This paper argues that it is a geo-sectarian contest over the Gulf. Therefore, firstly it argues that the nature of the conflict is fundamentally geopolitical. Secondly, it traces and analyzes the factors that led to the rise of sectarianism. Finally, it discusses the legitimacy of the emergence of a Sunni camp against the Shia camp.

The Gulf Crisis: The U.S. Factor

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 16:03:00 GMT

The election of the U.S. President Donald Trump played a key role in reigniting the Gulf crisis. The blockading quartet (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt) took advantage of the election of a more sympathetic U.S. president to resume the 2013-2014 diplomatic crisis with Qatar, trying to get Doha to agree to their demands. However, divisions within the Trump Administration hindered the quartet efforts to get a much-weakened Qatar to comply. The Defense and State Departments helped balance out the president’s more negative attitude towards Qatar in order to prevent any negative fallout of the U.S. interests in the region

It’s a Family Affair: Religion, Geopolitics and the Rise of Mohammed bin Salman

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 16:53:00 GMT

Over the past year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has experienced a period of rapid transformation under the direction of a new Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the son of the current King. Domestically, Bin Salman has overseen political reform in the upper echelons of the al-Saud ruling family, whilst embarking on a more pro-actively anti-Iranian foreign policy. This article looks at the actions of the new crown prince to explore the impact of Bin Salman’s influence on both the Kingdom and the Middle East more broadly.

Turkey’s Leadership in the Jerusalem Crisis

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 0:45:00 GMT

This commentary analyzes the factors behind Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the embassy therein, arguing that the decision was motivated mainly by internal politics. It also discusses the prominent role Turkey assumed in bringing the issue to the international community’s attention. Turkey played a key role in the process, convening the OIC and then working for a reversal of the decision in the UNGA. Its efforts rallied both Muslim and Western countries in a firm rejection of any sudden changes in the city’s status.

Iran’s Nuclear Agreement: The Three Specific Clusters of Concerns

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 10:41:00 GMT

When Iran’s nuclear agreement was signed, critics raised questions about the terms of the agreement, its duration and especially about whether the deal would prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons. However now, three years since the agreement was signed, one might be able to judge whether or not it is a good deal and what are its future implications. This research intends to review three specific clusters of concerns that critics had, and tries to find out whether or not these concerns have materialized. The first was that under the guise of the JCPOA Iran would commence a clandestine weaponization to produce a bomb. The second concern was that regional actors would respond to the JCPOA by developing their own nuclear arsenals. The third concern was that Iran would use the money it would receive from the sanctions relief to expand its regional ambitions.

Diffusion in the Arab World: Turkey and Iran as Models of Emulation on the Eve of the ‘Arab Spring’

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 10:30:00 GMT

The literature about factors that promote growth and change presents models of diffusion that are based on societies’ attempts to learn from the success of other societies and adopt their models. The stepped-up protests and calls for change that led to the Arab Spring were strongly influenced by Arab society’s exposure to the successes of the non-Arab Muslim states in the region: Turkey and Iran. In this article, we identify the focal points of the discussions about the models that the Arab world should adopt from Turkey and Iran, as proposed by leading public intellectuals, leaders, and think tanks, during the period between 2002 and 2012 prior to the eruption of the Arab Spring and during its first stage.

Domestic Determinants of the U.S.-Iran Rivalry

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 14:29:00 GMT

Recent studies of diversionary theory focus on domestic determinants of conflict between interstate rivals as well as the strategic behavior of potential targets of diversion. This paper addresses both issues by analyzing the tendency of the U.S. and Iran to use their rivalry for diversionary purposes from 1990 to 2004. Throughout the study, I seek to answer the following questions: Do the U.S. and Iran use their rivalry to divert attention away from domestic political and economic problems? Second, does Iran reciprocate hostile actions from the U.S. or act more conciliatory to avoid becoming the target of diversion. My findings demonstrate that U.S. Presidents appear to be more hostile toward Iran as there is a decline in their approval ratings. The same conclusion cannot be drawn for Iran. The findings suggest that Iran neither uses hostility toward the U.S. to divert attention away from domestic problems nor behaves strategically to avoid becoming the target of a potential U.S. diversion.

Traditional Rivalry or Regional Design in the Middle East?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 1:30:00 GMT

The repercussions of the Arab Spring and new polarization between Iran, Israel and the Gulf States means the Middle East faces multiple rivalries and conflicts. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the United States seem to have reached an agreement on certain issues in an attempt to redesign a fractured regional order. This vision is yet to be realized on the ground given the uncertainty around Washington’s global role. In assessing regional stakeholders and their potential capabilities as well as several scenes of regional conflict, the paper argues Turkey plays a traditional role in balancing tensions between Iran, the Gulf and Israel. While Turkey does not have a silver bullet, it provides ‘balancing’ support to the region, preserving neutral, middle ground.

Quo Vadis Turkey-GCC States Relations? A Turkish Perspective

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 20:46:00 GMT

With the growing need for more cooperative relations in the face of Iran’s assertive foreign policy following Saddam’s fall, Turkey’s importance as a counterbalancing country in the region increased in the eyes of the GCC states. In a similar vein, Gulf markets, and energy resources offered great opportunities for Turkey’s expanding economy. Both sides, therefore, managed to keep cordial relations despite some diverging interests following the Syrian crisis. However, the Qatar crisis brought the existing problem areas between Turkey and the GCC states, to the surface. This article will focus on these problem areas by taking into consideration the reasons for dramatic changes in both sides’ relations following the coup attempt in Turkey and Trump’s visit to Riyadh.

The Saudi Intervention in Yemen: Struggling for Status

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 22:14:00 GMT

On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on Yemen with the aim of restoring the rule of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and destroying the Houthi movement. Scholars and policy analysts moved quickly to examine the Yemen war as a sectarian struggle and a byproduct of Saudi-Iranian rivalry in the region. However, these traditional explanations fall short of unravelling the Saudi motive behind launching a large-scale operation in Yemen, its severely weakened and politically divided neighbor. This paper offers an alternative explanation for the abrupt Saudi aggressiveness toward Yemen. It argues that this intervention is driven by a non-material need: Saudi leadership aims to assert the Kingdom’s status as a regional power in the Middle East.

Military Bases in the Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 23:22:00 GMT

The United Arab Emirates is one of the leading countries in the Middle East in terms of active foreign policy. One of the most striking instruments of Emirate’s active foreign policy is the establishment of military bases abroad, which are located notably in the Horn of Africa. These bases are considered a sign of the UAE’s increasing military activities and its willingness to use hard power. This study, therefore, aims to make sense of why the Emirati leadership has pursued such an aggressive foreign policy that involves the use of military capacities. While the study focuses on understanding the foreign policy dynamics of the UAE, it also aims to analyze the real motivations behind the Emirati leadership’s decision to establish military bases.

American Foreign Policy toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Strategic Transformations

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 0:17:00 GMT

The shifts in U.S. foreign policy toward the Palestinian cause reveal the fact that this policy varies from one period to another, and from one president to another, and that its role and its impact on the conflict contribute greatly to the progress of the peace process. The region has witnessed increased tension since America made the Palestinian cause its second priority. Whether its involvement is active or not, the U.S. role remains strong and influential in achieving peace and spreading security and stability in the Middle East. The essay concludes with recommendations for concluding the long-standing conflict.

Arts, Market and the State: Cultural Policies in Introspect

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 13:40:00 GMT

The field of cultural policies is novel and burgeoning; it harbors diverse and even contradictory approaches, with no universally recognizable principles; it has no common language of its own nor any unified theoretical perspective. The field is fragmented and heterogeneous in nature and bound to the interaction of multiple actors in different institutional settings. Although it began initially as a western academic and institutional endeavor, and developed mostly in the U.S. and Western Europe, cultural policies has turned out to be a common good for the entire world both as an academic discipline and as a bureaucratic and institutional enterprise.

Bullets and Bulletins: Media and Politics in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 14:04:00 GMT

Research on the role that the media has played in the Arab uprisings highlights the liberating potential of the media as a medium for self-expression and democratization. However, little research has focused on questioning the premises and the theories which are adopted to frame this research. This is the concern addressed in Bullets and Bulletins: Media and Politics in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings. This edited volume critically evaluates the conceptual framework that research adopts to explore the development of a public sphere within the Arab World.

Democratic Uprisings in the New Middle East: Youth, Technology, Human Rights and Foreign Policy

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 14:49:00 GMT

Mahmood Monshipouri’s Democratic Uprisings in the New Middle East: Youth, Technology, Human Rights and Foreign Policy fills the gap by providing a substantial analysis of the “extraordinary events of the 2011 Arab revolts and beyond. The role of the youth, new media technologies, rising demand for open politics, open society and human rights.”

What is Russia up to in the Middle East?

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 14:57:00 GMT

Dmitri Trenin, the current director of the Moscow based think-tank the Carnegie Moscow Center, raises a question that has been the interest of many nowadays, owing to recent developments in the Middle East. A turbulent region shaken by constant political and military conflicts and outside interventions, the Middle East is now witnessing an ongoing war, namely the Syrian civil war, which has welcomed Russia to meddle in defense of the Assad regime through military intervention. Moscow’s interest in the region is not new; the Middle East drew Russia’s attention during the Cold War and even before.

Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest over Ukraine and the Caucasus

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 21:15:00 GMT

Near Abroad is a must-read book for scholars and other readers who are interested in better understanding the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Without ignoring the importance of other chapters, the introduction, the first and the last chapter are outstanding. Not only do they provide a new approach concerning West/U.S.-Russian relations, but most importantly they create a new framework that can be applied in other cases, such as the Balkans or other secessionist movement in Europe and beyond.

The Making of Salafism: Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 21:24:00 GMT

The book is a conceptual journey through the concept of Salafism, which removes ambiguities for the readers, particularly saving readers from being trapped in the conceptual chimera which emanates from the presumptions inherent in the prevailing, mis-constructed history of Salafism. Lauzière reconceptualizes Salafism and makes it clear for the 21st century readers.

The Iranian Revolution

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 21:44:00 GMT

This book is a great source of information about the events that occurred in 21st century Iran, which changed history as well as beliefs about the role of Islam in political affairs.

An Introduction to Non-Traditional Security Studies: A Transnational Approach

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 21:54:00 GMT

In An Introduction to Non-Traditional Security Studies: A Transnational Approach, the contributors explore the post-Cold War concept of non-traditional security and argue its importance in order to understand the emerging non-military issues states must face. In the light of various crises which have no explanation from the Realist schools of thought, the authors argue that the issues have to be considered from a different point of view, specifically from a human security perspective.

World Politics: International Relations and Globalization in the 21st Century

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 22:39:00 GMT

Navigating through the exciting and complex realms of global politics, the book begins by providing basic information about what international relations means in the context of globalization. This has remained one of the most discussed themes of international politics over the previous two decades. World Politics talks, with certain precision, about the development of international society, often reflecting on the need for such a system to maintain global peace and equilibrium.

The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 22:50:00 GMT

In a philosophy-themed book series pandering to a general audience and including pop cultural phenomena ranging from Harry Potter and Twilight to House and Game of Thrones (all relatively recent bestsellers, blockbusters, and hit TV series), Star Wars takes an honorary place, with its die-hard fan base spanning generations.

Freemasonry in the Ottoman Empire: A History of the Fraternity and its Influence in Syria and the Levant

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 22:59:00 GMT

This book is about the freemasons of the Ottoman Empire, especially in the areas of Tripoli, Beirut and Mount Lebanon around the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The book analyses the masonic lodges and their social networks to provide an insight from their influence on politics and social life in the Empire. The thesis of the book is that freemasonry developed in Tripoli and its surrounding area with the intent of strengthening the unity of the society by dissolving the denominational and religious divisions under masonic ideology.