Insight Turkey / issues

Editor's Note | Winter 2018

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 19:24:00 GMT

Today, the world system is in a transition and experiencing a deep international crisis. The U.S. has begun to oppose the basic international institutions such as the United Nations and its subsidiary organs and specialized agencies, even though most of these were established with American motivation. The hegemon state, the U.S., has been alienating most of its partners and even allies. The U.S. governments have begun to focus on the national setting and to underestimate the international one; to favor unilateral policies over multilateral ones. The presidency of Donald Trump has expedited this process. American rejection of providing global public goods such as international security and free trade has led to a systemic crisis.

China and India: The Struggle for Mastery in Eurasia

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 19:00:00 GMT

This article examines the economic and strategic rivalry between China and India along with a number of dimensions: infrastructure, border disputes, sea power, and trade. The two countries increasingly pose a strategic challenge to each other, as India, fearing Chinese encirclement, emerges as an obstacle to China’s projection of power. Insufficiently studied, the clash of visions and interests between China and India is now a central feature of global politics and the most volatile element of Chinese foreign policy. The evolution of this rivalry will dramatically impact the rest of the world.

The United States and China: Strategic Rivalry in Africa

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 17:00:00 GMT

This commentary underscores the strategic rivalry taking place in Africa between the United States and China, sparked by the latter’s massive political, economic, and socio-cultural engagement with the continent. It argues that the reasons for the ongoing rivalry between the two is related to their clashing worldviews, and their focus on accessing Africa’s energy/oil and other strategic natural resources. The strategies both global superpowers are utilizing have the effect of diluting each other’s influence on the continent. Their rivalry has progressed from mild, to moderate, to intense, with both powers increasing their activities on the continent and decreasing Africa’s erstwhile marginalization.

Beyond the Nominal and the Ad Hoc: The Substance and Drivers of China-Russia Military Cooperation

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 18:00:00 GMT

Post-Cold War China-Russia relations have always been a matter of debate. Since the end of the Cold War, the China-Russia strategic cooperation has progressed consistently, showing immunity to exogenous shocks. This paper explores the international-systemic incentives for the China-Russia alignment and examines the actual mechanisms of the China-Russia military cooperation to identify the foundations for a military alliance. The paper argues that China-Russia relations are “on the verge of an alliance,” meaning that a strong basis for an alliance is in place, and only minor steps are needed for a fully-fledged alliance to materialize; the occurrence of such steps is still an open question.

Turkish-German Challenges in the Light of German Federal Elections

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 16:30:00 GMT

There are few, if any, examples of two countries, without common state borders, that possess such an intense relationship as that of Turkey and Germany. Nowadays, the relationship of the two states while closely intertwined, and however paradoxically, seems to be as bad as it has ever been. This commentary provides a brief analysis of the bilateral relations since 2005 to conclude with the latest German federal elections in 2017 and their impact on Turkish-German relations. Accordingly, it is argued that it is more likely that essential Turkish-German disputes will persist in the short and medium term.

Jerusalem’s Deal of the Century

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 16:00:00 GMT

U.S. President, Donald Trump, could not have gone ahead with his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel had it not been for the support he secured from three Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. The acquiescence of those Arab states, unthinkable until just a few years ago, would not have happened had it not been for the success of the counter-revolution in ending the Arab Spring uprisings, a development that was most detrimental to the Palestinian cause. Yet, Trump’s deal of the century seems to have been born still.

An Illustration of Sino-Turkish Relations: The Cyprus Question

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:32:00 GMT

This article analyzes China’s foreign policy within the framework of debates on the rise of China in the international relations literature by focusing on Sino-Turkish relations and the Cyprus question. The main drawback of theoretical arguments about the rise of China is the lack of concrete evidence they provide when examining the implications of China’s national power for its foreign policy behavior and diplomatic positions in international crises. Therefore this article proposes concrete evidence regarding Chinese foreign policy toward Turkey by analyzing the Cyprus question.

History and Victimhood: Engaging with Rohingya Issues

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 20:00:00 GMT

Since the late 1990s, the public representation of the Muslim minority of Rakhine State (Myanmar), widely known as Rohingyas after the 2012 communal violence, has focused on their status as victims of state oppression following an extended track record of human rights violations. As Rohingyas form huge migrant and refugee communities in several countries of the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, victimhood has increasingly come to define their identity as a persecuted minority. The present article argues that, while victimhood does not preclude the agency, the hegemonic role of a postulated passive victimhood invariably posits one community (and the state) against the other and hampers the possibility of open conversations about rivaling perceptions of the past and ultimately the prospect of political dialogue.

Is Pakistan a Failed State? An Assessment of Islamist Ideals, Nationalist Articulation and Ground Realities

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 18:04:00 GMT

Like most Muslim nation-states, Islamic ideals inspired Indian Muslims during their struggle against colonialism and potential prejudiced Hindu domination. These Islamic ideals entailed recognition of individual dignity and rights, equality and justice for all citizens in an independent nation. After independence, Pakistan deviated from those ideals and an independent Bangladesh emerged. Although Pakistan survived, jihad movements in Afghanistan and Kashmir gave rise to extremism in the name of Islam which has led to ethnic and sectarian clashes challenging the very existence of the country. This paper examines the significance of Islamic ideas in contemporary Pakistan.

OSCE Minsk Group: Proposals and Failure, the View from Azerbaijan

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 16:27:00 GMT

The OSCE Minsk Group was created by the Conference on Security and Cooperation for finding a political and peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Since its creation, the Minsk Group organized several meetings and initiated various proposals. However, despite its “great efforts,” parties to the conflict have not come to an agreement and are still insisting on their position of ‘territorial integrity’ and right of ‘self-determination,’ therefore there has been no progress in the settlement of the conflict. The aim of this research paper is to give a general overview of the OSCE Minsk Group and investigate its mediation efforts, and analyze the question: Why does Azerbaijan accuse the OSCE Minsk Group of being biased in the settlement of the conflict?

Iran’s Educational Diplomacy in the Muslim World: Activities of Al-Mustafa International University in Malaysia and Afghanistan

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 15:10:00 GMT

Ayatollah Khomeini after the 1979 Revolution contemplated the promotion of Shia core doctrinal values in the Muslim world. A strategy to instill these values in young minds and academic community in the largely Sunni majority Muslim states was needed. Khomeini used ‘exporting revolution’ instead of ‘exporting Shia core values’ to avoid resistance in the Sunni dominant communities. The Islamic Republic of Iran founded al-Mustafa International University (MIU) with branches across the Muslim world. The MIU’s strategy and activities in Malaysia and Afghanistan suggest that it is engaged in proselytizing followers of Sunni theology and recruiting Sunni academia as propagandists and sympathizers of Shiism. In Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic also aims to penetrate policy-making circles.

From Secularism to Laïcité and Analyzing Turkish Authoritarian Laiklik

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 12:02:00 GMT

Turkish secularism called laiklik which derived from the French laïc term, was transferred from Frances’ laïcité in the late Ottoman period via the Young Turks to achieve western modernization. The implementation of the laik institutions in Turkey, contrary to the secularism in the United States, and laïcité in France, did not originate from its own historical, social, and political circumstances. To create a new form of the western secular model onto the framework of the new Republic of Turkey, laiklik has articulated as a political Kemalist doctrine to protect itself and, especially translates itself to the totalitarian context. This article argues that Turkey’s own secular model laiklik was not aimed at the separation of religion and state but first to control it and finally to try to minimize it from the public sphere.

The Role of Political Islam in Tunisia’s Democratization Process: Towards a New Pattern of Secularization?

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 10:00:00 GMT

As far as the discussions on the Muslim world have been concerned with the process of secularization, a major focus has been the question of whether Islam and democracy are compatible. The religious-oppositional-civil movements that have been revived since the 1980s, has prompted a reformulation of the question as follows: “are secularization/laicism and democracy compatible?” or, put differently, “are the enemies of democracy in the Middle East, not the Islamic parties, but the secular regimes” From this perspective, there has been a shift from the dominance of the French type of authoritarian, exclusivist and monopolistic laicism to a pluralistic understanding of secularization, influenced by the resurgence of political Islam in Tunisia after the Jasmine Revolution.

Globalization in Theory and Practice in a Post-Globalization Era

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 23:32:00 GMT

Over the years, the term ‘globalization’ has acquired notoriety in all forms of intellectual exchanges in the social sciences and other disciplines. But, its common usage and definitions have ubiquitous references in matters bordering on trade or economic relations among countries of the world.

China’s Asian Dream: Quiet Empire Building Along the New Silk Road

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:48:00 GMT

Written as an outcome of two years of wandering around China’s border regions and far-away parts of Asia, China’s Asian Dream is an interesting book covering a very contemporary issue. Although it seems much more related to Asia and the Euro-Asian world, China’s rising economic power is indeed worrying many nations. The big ones are worried that they are going to lose their current economic and consequently political and military power, while the small countries need to think about the trade-off they face between the economic and commercial benefits that are presented by China in gold plates which cannot be resisted, and their autonomy, which China is possibly going to take over quiescently.

How the West Came to Rule: The Geopolitical Origins of Capitalism

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:41:00 GMT

Over the course of the past 300 years, how does leadership compare from ‘East’ to ‘West’ in terms of both economic and military power on a global scale? What sort of processes did the West witness to transform into the capitalist center that has led Western Europe to ascend to a position of global dominance at the expense of the East?

Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:40:00 GMT

The dominance of European scholars and a Euro-centric framework in social sciences, including history, has both stemmed from and perpetuated ignorance about the perspectives and feelings of colonized people in writing about the colonial period. Such narrations portray colonial rule as an inevitable and progressive stage in the economic, political and social development of Asian and African countries.

Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:39:00 GMT

Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse, edited by Ruth Wodak, Majid KhosraviNik and Brigitte Mral, compiles theoretically and methodologically rich articles analyzing the rise of radical right movements, discourses and political parties in Europe. More than twenty scholars with different academic backgrounds focus on examples of right-wing populisms (RWP) in different socio-political and cultural contexts.

Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:38:00 GMT

There is no doubt that Zionism is a heavily-loaded concept involving fierce debates over Jewish identity, as well as the impacts it has made on the course of events in world history, particularly the State of Israel and the Palestinian conflict. Although it is a relatively new aspect of the issue, the strong ties between the United States and Israel is given a central position here, considering the effective influence of the Jewish community on the American political scene.

Conflicts in the Middle East Since 1945

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:37:00 GMT

Conflicts in the Middle East Since 1945 outlines the key low and high intensity conflicts that occurred in the Middle East (ME) from 1947 to 2007. The content is oriented toward the diplomatic, political, religious, social and economic developments in the region. Its scope is very specific, and includes the internal, state-state, regional and global orientations of conflicts ranging from North African Algeria to Iran, the last corner of Middle Eastern country.

Legislating Reality and Politicizing History: Contextualizing Armenian Claims of Genocide

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:36:00 GMT

Although the relocation of Armenians as a historical event occurred over 100 years ago, it still remains on the agenda of policymakers and academics today. It is accurate to say that the Armenian question is one of the important issues limiting Turkey’s role in international politics, and deeply impacting relations between Turkey, Armenia and the Armenian diaspora, whose respective discourses on the relocation of Armenians clash with each other and prevent the development of good relations between the Turkish and Armenian people.

International Human Rights Law: Returning to Universal Principles

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:35:00 GMT

We live in a world where developments in one state impact the others. Human rights violations taking place in or by a state affect other states as well. The issue of human rights law has long been a matter of debate, and scholars have sought to validate their stand using moral or legal perspectives. Human rights and violations thereof is an ongoing issue of relevance, one which attracts a large audience at major international political and economic forums.

The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:34:00 GMT

Azeem Ibrahim’s The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide traces the genealogy of the problem that Rohingyas are facing in Myanmar–the government’s refusal to acknowledge them as an ethnic minority thereby denying them civic rights. The very first line of the “Introduction” clearly states “the reality facing the Rohingyas…is the threat of genocide” (p. 1).

Non-State Challenges in a Re-Ordered World: The Jackals of Westphalia

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 13:33:00 GMT

The world felt the shock of various types of non-state actors (NSAs) such as the ETA, IRA and PKK, with their ethnic, separatist, leftist ideology, as they carried out terrorist attacks against nation-states in Europe and beyond in the 1970s and 1980s. However, recently, NSAs exerting regional and global influence and coming from under-developed regions like the Middle East and Central Africa have become widespread.