International Relations

Despite member states are mostly in favor of keeping counter-terrorism policies as national security phenomen and reluctant to give additional powers to EU on counter terrorism measures; following the terrorist attacks EU has become the platform of Europeanization of the internal security agendas of the member states. 9/11, Madrid, London and Paris terrorist attacks were securitizatized across the EU in order to get more managed border control, intelligence sharing from other member states and more cooperation on counter terrorist meausers.

Despite member states are mostly in favor of keeping counter-terrorism policies as national security phenomen and reluctant to give additional powers to EU on counter terrorism measures; following the terrorist attacks EU has become the platform of Europeanization of the internal security agendas of the member states. 9/11, Madrid, London and Paris terrorist attacks were securitizatized across the EU in order to get more managed border control, intelligence sharing from other member states and more cooperation on counter terrorist meausers.

ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is considered a radical Islamist terrorist organization which tried to build a state and "Caliphate" benefiting from the power vacuum in Iraq and Syria. Although they desire to "turn back to the roots of Islam" in the 7th century, they benefitted from modern technology as propaganda methods and benefitted from the globalization like the internet and social media. Their ideology and propaganda methods based on eschatology which necessitates apocalyptic views and the final battle against Romans and Salafi Jihadism that means "roots back to Islam" in the 7th century and also securitizing the Shia’s is one of the main tools for ISIS. Also despite the fact that their network goes back to Al Qaeda in Iraq, they are different from the Al Qaeda as methods and priorities.

It is argued that in the era of globalisation the new type of warfare has come to exist. Mary Kaldor put the concept of new kind of wars that wars has change by the logics such as actors, goals and economics of warfare. This concept is problematic as well as has opened new discussions in the field. She seperates ‘old’ and ‘new’ wars that as network wars, new wars are very different than old wars, these are post-Clausewitzean and these wars are not contest of wills but mutual enterprise. It could be seen that this sharp distinction is not valid and exaggrated. The nature of war has not changed and in history the forms of ‘new wars’ can be seen.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan entered politics at the Welfare Party, which could be described as an Islamist and anti-Western Party. The Welfare Party's 'National Outlook' ideology merged pan-Islamism with religiosity and antiwesternization. The party was banned by the constitutional court because of its anti-secularist activities. Erdogan, who was the mayor of Istanbul at that time, was also convicted because of reading a poem that was nationalistic and religious. The AK Party won the elections and became the governing party in Turkey for the first time in 2002. Early in his leadership at the party,  Erdogan pursued more pragmatic, centre-right policies which were consistent with Turkey's traditional pro-western, secular foundings. After Erdogan succeeded in elections for the third time with a vote around 50% in 2011, his rhetoric and foreign policy direction seemed to turn into a more religious, nationalistic and assertive one. Because the political incidents in Turkey, and the external constraints put unbearable pressure on Erdogan. The PKK's terror attacks in Turkey, the failed coup attempt and judiciary obstacles against Erdogan's party can be considered as domestic incidents affected Erdogan's rhetoric and foreign policy direction. After changing Turkey's constitution three times, Erdogan had new powers that enabled him to tackle pressures put on him both within Turkey and abroad. After a brief survey of these institutional and individual factors, this paper will answer the question “How did external constraints and domestic dynamics transformed Turkish Foreign Policy in recent years?”. It will be argued in this article that Erdogan has been pursuing a more nationalistic foreign policy because of external constraints and domestic dynamics affecting his leadership and Turkey's political stability. The Turkish foreign policy executive also have a more assertive and nationalistic foreign policy orientation. 'Yenikapı Spirit' which took place after the failed coup attempt was transformed into a political alliance, and it changed Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system of governance. Such transformation may also affect Turkey's place in the international system.

This paper examines the relationship between international migration and its effects on the development process of the developing countries, or the so called Global South. The role of remittances, the concept of brain drain and the difference between voluntary and forced migration are focused on to show whether international migration is a way to development for the Global South or not.

This paper provides an overview on the history and evolution of the economic and trade relations between China and the EU. Place of China in the global economy and its history is followed by the discussion on bilateral trade relations between the EU and China. Moreover, the realtionship of the actors in global governance of trade, finance and energy is generally discussed and the strategies used by the EU in regard to China is also focused on.

In this paper, I examine the continuities and transformations of the identities of Israel and Palestine. The particular identities of states allow and disallow certain actions to be taken according to the interests that have at specific times been subjectively made meaningful and materialized. By understanding the historical construction of Palestinian and Israeli identities we can trace continuities that are still pertinent to the conflict today. Specifically, my aim is to understand how these identities impact issues that have been discussed at the negotiations between the two states. Although many issues are of significance to this conflict, I examine two critical disputes that have been central throughout the negotiations: Jewish state recognition and the right
of return of refugees. I argue that the Palestinian and Israeli identities that have been constructed through historical social interaction between the two states/peoples have been in opposition to one another. In addition, each has subjectively interpreted the events in a manner that has created a limited atmosphere in which to resolve the issues of concern. My claim is not that other factors do not play a role in limiting a peaceful resolution, but that identity and interests driven from it are a significant element in the negotiation processes which restrain actors from taking positive action
towards peace.

A simple reading of the Ottoman history during the 19th century displays a diverse ray of intellectual thought and discussion. The so-called clash between Islam and European political structures was a serious debate within the Empire: one that was usually polarized along the lines of progressives and conservatives. Namık Kemal through his writings aimed to overcome the dichotomous view between Islam and European political and social concepts through a reversion to what he called “true” Islamic understanding and principles. Namık Kemal throughout his writings touches upon and interprets many different European concepts and their relationship with Islam. This paper examines Namık Kemal’s observation of three European ideals: “sovereignty of the people”, “nation”, and “parliamentarianism”. The study argues that Namık Kemal understands and interprets these concepts in a manner that creates a harmonious relationship with Islam. The paper utilizes different writings of Namık Kemal to comprehend how he understands the above-mentioned concepts. The study is mainly based on Namık Kemal’s primary works and specifically on Kemal’s writings on sovereignty, nation, and parliamentarianism in the Ibret Gazette.

This thesis focuses on explaining the influence of social media on public opinion in
relation to foreign affairs and analyses the alternative consciousness, which is the
confusion that social media and the internet create in people. With bans and other
restrictions imposed by the Turkish government, the internet has increasingly been
perceived as an effective field for opposition. Examining the reception, intepretation
and dissemination of views and messages through Twitter about the shooting down
the Russian fighter plane by the Turkish air forces near Syrian border in 2015, this
thesis investigates to what extent the social media has become a novel platform to
discuss various political issues and to produce alternative opinions and to what
extent the social media merely has turned into another tool of propaganda to
manipulate public opinion in Turkey.