Insight Turkey / issues

Guest Editor's Note | Summer 2015

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:16:00 GMT

In a radio broadcast in 1939 Winston Churchill defined Russia in a famous quip as ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.’ The chain of metaphors in Churchill’s famous maxim was to point the difficulty of making sense of the great political transformation Russia had gone through.

Obama’s Missed Opportunity to Pivot Away from the Middle East

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:40:00 GMT

Washington’s Middle East policy is a shambles. The region’s turmoil fundamentally stems from the George W. Bush Administration’s disastrous decision to invade Iraq in March 2003. In the wake of that debacle, President Barack Obama’s policy has been contradictory and ambivalent. President Obama rightly concluded that the United States needs to extricate itself from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars started by his predecessor, and avoid a third war in Syria. Although his instinct is to wind down the American military role in the region, he has given in to pressure from the U.S. foreign policy establishment to re-engage. Consequently the United States has probably lost its best chance to extract itself from the Middle East’s intractable conflicts.

Palestine After the Arab Spring

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:30:00 GMT

Many expected the Arab uprisings to strengthen official and popular Arab support for Palestinian self-determination, and, for a time, they did. Since then, internal strife, the return in several Arab states of the ancien regime, and an intensified regional Cold War have left the Palestinians isolated and vulnerable. But historical precedent as well as existing tendencies counsel against despair.

Groundhog Day and the Repetitive Failure of Western Counterterrorism Policy in the Middle East

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:20:00 GMT

This commentary discusses the ways in which Western counterterrorism policy in the Middle East resembles the Hollywood Film, Groundhog Day, in that it appears to be caught in a repeating loop of mistakes and self-fulfilling prophesies. Some of the reasons why Western states are unable to break free of this destructive cycle are analyzed, and it is concluded that a new language and paradigm –a new discourse– about the Middle East is necessary before alternative, more progressive policies can be adopted.

The Iranian Nuclear Deal: Long-Term Implications for the Middle East

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:13:00 GMT

The Iran nuclear deal has the potential to become a game changer in the Middle East by providing the opportunity for rapprochement between Iran, the preeminent power in the Gulf, and the United States, the preeminent global power, thus reducing the strategic importance of both Saudi Arabia and Israel. Israel’s virulent opposition to the deal has also demonstrated that it has become a strategic liability for the United States.

The “Arab Spring’s” Effect on Kurdish Political Fortunes

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:00:00 GMT

The Arab Spring offered Kurdish political actors in the region significant opportunities to advance their goals. Particularly in Syria and Iraq, Kurdish parties took advantage of the weakening of central governments there. The Kurdish political movement in Turkey, along with its sister movement in Syria, has likewise used the struggle against the “Islamic State” to gain a lot of international sympathy and even support. At the same time, instability in the region has brought increased immediacy to the very real threats faced by Kurdish political actors, whether from hostile central governments or groups such as ISIL.

The New Middle East, ISIL and the 6th Revolt Against the West

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:50:00 GMT

This paper aims to provide an analysis of the ‘new’ in ‘the new Middle East.’ We argue that what is ‘new’ is the revolt against the West currently underway in the contemporary Middle East, challenging the dominant values of Western statehood and personhood. The paper identifies the novelty in the politics of radical antagonism, apocalyptic geopolitical imagination, the re-birth of extra-territorial subjectivities and the politics of resistance, which together shatter the existing political logos. Two particular empirical cases animate our discussion; namely the Arab Spring and the ISIL. By providing such groundwork, the paper also hopes to point to new avenues for further research that would go beyond the confines of narrow, ethnocentric accounts of ‘the new the Middle East.’

The Demise of the Authoritarian Bargain in the Arab Middle East

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:40:00 GMT

This paper conceives of the Arab Spring as a leap forward that has relegated the established order to the status of a ‘walking dead.’ The ‘old’ Middle East is dead in so far as that the Arab elites hold no bargaining chip with which to consolidate a stable domestic rule. Hence they are walking dead or zombies, as they have no sense of purpose, will or chances regaining livelihood. This is because, firstly, the repressive character of Arab states has no sympathy to gain from their impoverished and powerless masses. Secondly, such oppressive practices are coincident with the IMF’s austerity programs, which constitute the greatest obstacle to Arab economies’ serving their key purpose: social cohesion. Unfortunately these two arguments are insufficient to support the belief that a bright new day has dawned for the regional people, the ‘old’ Middle East is one of the proverbial ‘walking dead’.

Is an “Islamic Political Economy” in the Making across the Middle East and North Africa?: A Path-Dependent Institutional Change Analysis

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:30:00 GMT

The Arab Uprisings and their transformational impact across MENA have generated immense debate about the future of the region’s countries during a period of reorganizational crisis in the international political economy. At this stage of the unfolding region-wide transition in the MENA, this paper performs a two-step theoreticopractical examination of the processes between and after the Uprisings. Firstly it crystallizes the ambiguous manifestations between the theory of Islamic political economy and the praxis of these Muslim-majority countries: the high-income Arab Gulf States, upper-middle-income Tunisia, and lower-middle-income Egypt. Secondly it contextualizes the evolving continuities and discontinuities in these countries between economy, polity, and society using the eight patterns of path-dependent changes that the author develops. A discussion will ensue on the prospective changes these nations will face in terms of the potential trajectories of systemic change between the embedded path-dependencies of the established regimes and the patterns of change demanded by the subversive Islamic factions.

Nuclear Deterrence, Missile Systems and the Security of Turkey in the “New” Middle East

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:20:00 GMT

This article explores Turkey’s changing regional security and Ankara’s pursuit of a missile defense shield. We assess three options available to Turkey’s strategic policy makers. The first avenue is maintenance of the status quo and continued integration into NATO’s ballistic missile defense systems. The second is a break away from NATO systems, to pursue an indigenous system, based on Chinese technology, but developed as part of the T-LORAMIDS program, under full Turkish control. The third involves the development of military dimensions to its nascent civilian nuclear program, in order to provide a strong deterrent in this problematic region. The article wraps up its finding by coming to the conclusion that Turkey is attempting to maximize its security position by pursuing a multilayered combination of the three options above.

Law, Ethics, and Justice in the Emerging International Order: A Study of Turkish Diplomacy under the AK Party Government (2002-2014)

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:10:00 GMT

This paper draws on the ‘moral’ dimensions of Turkey’s ‘new’ foreign policy as it became manifest after the Justice and Development Party rose to power in 2002. This article first discusses ‘ethics’ and ‘justice’ in the context of international politics and states’ foreign policy. It then delves into Turkey’s behavioral posture vis-à-vis a number of key issues and policy areas, such as global economic and social inequality, disarmament, military aggression, the degree of respect for international law and human rights, protection of the environment, self-determination, and attitude towards and within international institutions, first and foremost being the United Nations, to demonstrate how this new outlook has played itself out in the game of international politics. Based on the findings regarding these key issues, I argue that, in the course of 2002-2014, Turkish behavioral posture within the prevailing international order was strongly colored by ethical concerns and the search for a more just and peaceful international order.

Broadening the Nongovernmental Humanitarian Mission: The IHH and Mediation

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:00:00 GMT

The IHH delivers relief aid to 140 countries worldwide. Quite recently, as a novel humanitarian practice, the IHH has begun acting as a mediator in intra-state conflicts and even accumulated considerable experience in it. In the Bangsamoro peace process, for instance, the IHH was invited to play a mediator role as part of the internationally crewed Third Party Monitoring Team. Similarly, the IHH has been called upon to play mediatory roles in resolving kidnapping incidents in Syria and Pakistan, and has done so by negotiating with armed groups for the release of kidnapped and captive civilians. This paper, therefore, aims to explore the dynamics of and the motivations behind the IHH’s extension of its international humanitarian mission beyond providing relief and to examine the place of such civilian mediator role in the broader humanitarian turn in Turkey’s contemporary foreign policy.

Secularism, Modern State, and Homo Religiosus Societies

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:31:00 GMT

Religion has always been an overriding theme among social scientists, politicians, diplomats and laymen. While the importance attached to it has changed over the course of time; its significance has never ceased for society and states. Although the paradigm of secularism or secularization has been prominent and prevalent in the social sciences, religion has recently gained strong momentum in western academia.

Ottoman Imperial Diplomacy: A Political, Social and Cultural History

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:05:00 GMT

Doğan Gürpınar’s most recent contribution to Late Ottoman History places the formation of modern Turkish nationalism not in any externally imposed ideology diametrically opposed to all that the Ottoman identity stood for, but rather he finds it emanating from the reformist trends within the Ottoman diplomatic service.

A Question of Genocide: Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:11:00 GMT

The book under review is the product of the research findings and discussions of the Workshop for Armenian and Turkish Scholarship (WATS) initiated by a group of faculty, including Professors Fatma Müge Göçek, Gerard Libaridian. and Ronad Sunny. In addition, they are also contributors to the book and graduate students at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Divided Nations and European Integration

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:17:00 GMT

Divided Nations and European Integration is a coherent collection of essays analyzing the effects of expanding European institutions on the politics of nations divided by state borders.

Extremism in America

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:27:00 GMT

One does not have to look far to be reminded that the most feared form of extremism among Americans today is that of radical Islamists.

Islam in Europe: Public Spaces and Civic Networks

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:33:00 GMT

Towards the end of Chapter 7 “Is there a space for European Muslims?” which is a concluding chapter of the volume, Spyros Sofos and Roza Tsagarousianou quote from E. P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class (1963)

Latin America’s Turbulent Transitions: The Future of Twenty-First Century Socialism

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:06:00 GMT

The surge of left governments in Latin America since the early the 2000s has not gone unnoticed. The region has made great strides in consolidating electoral democracy since the days of violent coups.

Politics of Modern Muslim Subjectivities: Islam, Youth, and Social Activism in the Middle East

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:10:00 GMT

Yung, Petersen, and Sparre’s Politics of Modern Muslim Subjectivities presents an interesting case-study of the extent to which the use of modern social theory can be useful in studying societies at various levels of conceptualization, but also of the risks involved in this process.

Democracy Disrupted: The Politics of Global Protest

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:21:00 GMT

In a 1994 book, “The Twilight of Democracy,” American analyst Patrick Kennon examined various negative trends in contemporary politics and concluded

Political Islam in the Age of Democratization

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:33:00 GMT

In Political Islam in the Age of Democratization, Kamran Bokhari and Farid Senzai explain the complex and diverse nature of Islamism by underscoring the primary role it plays in the context of democratization in the wider Middle East region.

Saudi Arabia and Iran: Soft Power Rivalry in the Middle East

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:37:00 GMT

Recently, the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran has become an interesting topic to study because of the rise of sectarian politics. However, there are few scholarly studies exclusively addressing Iran-Saudi Arabia relations.