Insight Turkey / issues

Guest Editor's Note | Summer 2020

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 22:01:00 GMT

Through a wide range of articles and commentaries, this issue aims to bring to its readers a comprehensive framework on the transformation of Turkey’s Defense Industry and changing patterns of its military strategy.

Turkey’s Military and Defense Policies

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 22:53:00 GMT

In the post-9/11 era and now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meaning of security and the means of ensuring it have radically changed. As a NATO member state situated in a geography that poses multiple threats to its security and even existence, Turkey seeks to maintain its own domestic and regional security while contributing to a global environment of peace and order. The unique threats posed to Turkey by domestic and regional terrorism and the ongoing conflict in Syria in particular have prompted Ankara to invest in projects focused on the development of new technologies and, more broadly, in improvements in the country’s indigenous defense industry. This commentary highlights a number of these projects, along with the factors that contribute to Turkey’s present security outlook.

Hagia Sophia: Symbol of Peace and Diversity

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 0:02:00 GMT

On July 10, 2020, the Council of State revoked a 1934 Cabinet decree that had turned Hagia Sophia into a museum, thereby paving the way to restoring its former function. The decision was welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Turkish people, government or opposition supporters alike. Some criticized the decision by creating a false impression that Turkey is turning its back on religious tolerance and diversity. The functional change of Hagia Sophia will have no effect on Turkey’s centuries-old tradition of promoting tolerance, harmony, and diversity. Hagia Sophia will continue to embrace and unite everyone as a symbol of tolerance, peace, and dialogue between cultures and religions.

Turkey’s Management of COVID-19: Measures and Strategies of Health Policies

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 10:44:00 GMT

Pandemics and related problems have been an important public health issue throughout history and will continue to be so in the future. Soon after its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 was declared as a global pandemic which caught many countries unprepared with exceptions. Turkey was one of them. Having worked on plans and preparations for a possible pandemic since 2004 the Turkish Ministry of Health performed well in curbing the initial spread of the virus after its entrance into the country and has played an important role in Turkey’s successful fight against COVID-19 since then. Turkey’s successful management of the crisis has been marked by its idiosyncratic approach to the crisis and the robustness of its healthcare sytstem which have helped taking COVID-19 pandemic under control and preventing its devastating consequences.

The Evolved Security Dynamics of South Asia: Challenges to Pakistan’s Nuclear Threshold

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:44:00 GMT

The longstanding unresolved issue of Kashmir serves as a nuclear flashpoint between India and Pakistan. Since 2019, the prevalent security environment of the region has dominated the discourse surrounding the regional and global security architecture. India’s policies during the Pulwama-Balakot crisis and the revocation of Kashmir’s constitutional status demonstrate the country’s intentions of dominating the escalation ladder in the region and marginalizing the muslim community of Kashmir. Because of the conventional disparity in South Asia where India is big interms of size, economy and military build-up, Pakistan has been further threatened by India’s aggressive policies and provocative military modernization. Consequently, Pakistan may be compelled to further revisit its nuclear threshold level to overcome India’s aggression.

The Logic Beyond Lausanne: A Geopolitical Perspective on the Congruence between Turkey’s New Hard Power and its Strategic Reorientation

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:46:00 GMT

Turkey’s new expeditionary capability, resting on enhanced naval capacity and new forward bases, is the logical result of Turkey’s post-Cold War strategic reorientation. Moving beyond the Cold War framework, Turkey's strategic goal is to become an interregional power that will set the terms for a new pattern of connectivity between Europe, Africa and Asia. ‘Reclaiming’ a foreign policy prerogative exercised by the Ottoman Empire but discontinued after Turkey’s founding following the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey's policymakers are seeking to move beyond the Lausanne orientation that informed Turkey’s 1952 NATO accession and persisted throughout the duration of the Cold War. This study examines Ankara's challenge of calibrating the use of its hard power instruments to serve its post-Lausanne strategic orientation toward establishing a Turkey-centered, interregional connectivity.

Transformation of the Turkish Defense Industry: The Story and Rationale of the Great Rise

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:10:00 GMT

Tracing the evolution of the Turkish defense industry through five major periods of development, this article draws attention to crucial turning points such as the Cyprus crisis of 1974, the establishment of SAGEB in 1985, the ongoing fight against terrorism, the restructuring of the Turkish political system and the steadfast commitment of the AK Party governments under President Erdoğan to invest in Turkey’s indigenous defense industry. Since the early 2000s, the Turkish defense industry has shifted from a procurement model largely dependent on foreign imports to a far more self-reliant model with a strong research and development foundation and a growing number of exports. Thanks to the commitment, determination and resilience of Turkey’s engineers, technicians, workers and companies, the Turkish defense industry has transformed into a multi-billion-dollar industry characterized by technological depth and global effectiveness.

Deciphering Turkey’s Assertive Military and Defense Strategy: Objectives, Pillars, and Implications*

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 18:30:00 GMT

This article argues that the change in Turkey’s defense and military strategy stems both from Turkey’s changing security landscape following the post-Arab spring regional disorder and Turkey’s quest to be an assertive regional player. The reasons behind the change in Turkish defense and military strategy also include a desire to gain political influence in the international arena and improve Turkey’s military capabilities to deter emerging security threats near its borders and abroad. The article seeks to unpack Turkey’s growing assertive military and defense strategy by taking into account its main drivers, primary objectives and essential pillars, as well as its tangible repercussions on the military mindset. The article has two main sections. The first section contextualizes Turkey’s new military and defense strategy by taking into consideration its main drivers, objectives and pillars. The second empirically scrutinizes Turkey’s military strategy by focusing on its military activism in extra-territorial domains. In this section, Turkey’s military interventions in Syria following the failed military coup and its strategy of power projection are examined to explain the question of how Turkey operationalizes its new military and defense strategies.

Turkey’s Burgeoning Defense Technological and Industrial Base and Expeditionary Military Policy

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 19:04:00 GMT

As the incumbent Turkish administration strives to pursue more aspiring goals in foreign affairs, Turkeys military policy is fast developing in line with this vision. The nations defense technological and industrial base can now produce various conventional weaponry. Of these, without a doubt, Turkeys drone warfare assets have garnered the utmost attention among the international strategic community. In tandem, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have gradually gained an expeditionary posture with forward deployments across a broad axis, ranging from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf and the Mediterranean. Turkeys proxy warfare capabilities have also registered an uptrend in this respect. Nevertheless, Ankara will have to deal with certain limitations in key segments, particularly 5th generation aircraft and strategic weapon systems which, together, represent a severe intra-war deterrence gap in Turkeys defense posture. The Turkish administration will have to address this specific shortfall given the problematic threat landscape at the nations Middle Eastern doorstep. This study covers two interrelated strategic topics regarding Turkeys national military capacity in the 21st century: its defense technological and industrial base (DTIB) and its military policy, both currently characterized by a burgeoning assertiveness.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: How to Make Sense of Turkey’s S-400 Choice?*

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 22:41:00 GMT

With the wrap-up of the S-400 deal with Russia in December 2017, critics argue that Turkey is caught between a rock and a hard place due to the adamant opposition of its NATO allies, the United States in particular, which has threatened Ankara with imposing severe sanctions. Would this be the correct representation of the situation at hand? Does it make any sense for Turkey to engage Russia, an archrival nation, to enhance the security of the country? Is the S-400 deal worth the risk of alienating the allied nations whose projected sanctions may have wide-ranging political, economic and military repercussions? With these questions in mind, this paper will try to shed light on the specifics of the S-400 deal that make one think that it may indeed make sense for Turkey to bear the brunt of engaging Russia. In the same vein, the paper will assess the impact of the S-400 deal on Turkey’s defense industries. The paper will also present the author’s conception of the current “international political non-order” as an underlying factor behind the deal. Finally, the paper will suggest that the S-400 deal must be approached from a wider perspective so as to grasp the extent of the service it has done in bolstering Turkey’s military-industrial complex.

The Future of Turkey’s Airpower: The Fifth Generation Challenge

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 10:32:00 GMT

Rapid advances in technology enable incremental developments in the aerospace and defense sector, the most well-known example of which is the evolution of air power. Since the end of the Second World War, the aerospace industry has been constantly developing and providing more capabilities to air forces around the world. These developments can be grouped under ‘generations’ and today, the latest iteration is the fifth generation. Fifth generation combat aircraft or, in more general terms, fifth generation air power is the product of various technological elements and innovations. To fully exploit these developments, air forces need to have interdisciplinary vision and the capability to absorb, deploy and develop skills ranging from requirement definition to program management. This study aims to provide an understanding on the features of the next generation of air warfare, while presenting the status of the Turkish Air Force and offering suggestions on several challenges and opportunities.

The Future of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Light of Trump’s Deal of the Century

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 11:24:00 GMT

U.S. President Donald Trump declared his long-awaited and debated Middle East ‘peace plan,’ the so-called ‘deal of the century,’ in January 2020, standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With regards to al-Aqsa Mosque, the plan puts forth the Zionist prospect and point of view, while undermining the Islamic importance of the area. It also would, in practice, lead to three main changes that would undo the centuries-old status quo completely: the transfer of the site to Israeli sovereignty, the repealing of Jordan’s apparent custodianship over it, and the expiry of the ban on non-Muslim prayer. This, in turn, would give Israel full control over the site of al-Aqsa Mosque compound, something it could not achieve during the 1967 occupation of the city. Such changes would not only mean that Muslims lose further access to their mosque, but would also allow people of other faiths, particularly Jews, to share the site with Muslims in preparation for a full Jewish monopoly over the site and the building of a Jewish temple on its site.

Impact of Turmoil and Gas Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean on Jordanian Energy Security and Foreign Policy

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 11:58:00 GMT

The Mediterranean region has witnessed a lot of turbulence in the last decade. On the one hand, the Arab uprising changed the shape of the regional relations towards more rivalry. On the other hand, the discovery of natural gas resources has opened up a valuable chance for cooperation and settling the long-standing disputes. Jordan is affected by what happens in the Mediterranean region in more than one aspect. The recently discovered Eastern Mediterranean gas is an attractive energy resource for Jordan. Nonetheless, a fear of its influence on the Jordanian foreign policy in the Palestinian context has grown. This article discusses the impact of the recent turmoil in the Mediterranean region on Jordan energy security, as well as the potential implications of Jordan’s decision to import the Mediterranean gas through Israel on Jordanian energy security using the proposed energy security framework.

Turkey’s Military Spending Trends: A Reflection of Changes in Defense Policy

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 14:08:00 GMT

The existing body of research on defense spending contains two main theses that appear in the much-debated discourse of “guns versus butter.” The first major theoretical issue that has dominated the field for many years concerns ‘security.’ In order to keep the country safe, primacy should be given to security within the grand strategy. The other argument gives priority to ‘butter,’ since defense spending is considered as a wasteful and inefficient investment. Apart from these major arguments, scholars have also long debated the long-term political, military, economic, commercial, diplomatic, social and cultural consequences of reducing versus increasing military spending. In light of these debates in the literature, this paper attempts to show that the prioritization of defense spending during the AK Party era is specifically the outcome of a political preference—a pragmatic shift in the political landscape from idealism to realism.

Africa’s Development Trajectory: Lessons from China

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 17:08:00 GMT

Africa has been experiencing an appreciable measure of economic growth since 1995. This palpable improvement in the African condition has meant that the Afro-pessimism of the previous decade had to be jettisoned for the more positive narrative captioned as Africa rising. Made in Africa by Carol Newman, et al. is the outcome of a research program on Learning to Compete (L2C) sponsored by the African Development Bank, the Brookings Institution, and the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) with the objective of identifying why there is so little industry in Africa despite the impressive record of economic growth being posted by the continent.

The War for Syria: Regional and International Dimensions of the Syrian Uprising

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:30:00 GMT

The civil war in Syria, now ongoing for 10 years, does not appear to be ending soon given the continuing conflicts among the domestic and global actors invvolved. The War for Syria: Regional and International Dimensions of the Syrian Uprising (2020), a follow-up to The Syrian Uprising: Domestic Origins and Early Trajectory (2018), focuses on external factors, as its name suggests. Accordingly, regional power conflicts and global actors are scrutinized in terms of how the latter affected both the emergence of the conflict environment in Syria and the evolution of the war in their favor.

America’s Covert War in East Africa: Surveillance, Rendition, Assassination

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:34:00 GMT

America’s Covert War in East Africa discloses the hidden face of security policy violations in the dark prisons of the CIA, and how much “War on Terror” complexity exists not only in the region but also in the world. War on Terror issues in regions like East Africa and around the world share some common themes across territories, although these themes manifest in different ways.

Denktash in the South: Normalization of Division in the Greek Cypriot Side

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:36:00 GMT

Discourses, even though they seem so different and opposing, can be quite similar and serve for the same purpose. Gregoris Ioannou’s book is a recent contribution to the field. Denktaş Güneyde (Denktaş in the South) is the Turkish translation of Ο Ντενκτάς στον Νότο (O Denktas ston Noto), published in Greek in 2019.

Modernist Reformers in Islam, Hinduism and Confucianism, 1865-1935: Peripheral Geoculture in the Modern World-System

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:38:00 GMT

The history of religious reform movements across the world represent the specific socio-political requirements of different time and space. Christian Lekon’s Modernist Reformers takes the reader on a deep journey into the makings of the various realities of present day religious understandings of Islam, Hinduism and Confucianism with the help of concepts such as the Weberian Ideal type and Immanuel Wallerstein’s notion of geocultures in Modern World Systems (MWS).

The Global Transformation: History, Modernity and the Making of International Relations

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:40:00 GMT

In The Global Transformation: History, Modernity and the Making of International Relations, Barry Buzan and George Lawson argue that the basic structure of modern international relations was generated during the ‘long nineteenth century’ (1776–1914) through a global transformation rather than a turning point such as 1648 or 1919. The impact of this transformation was not limited to the 19th century and has influenced subsequent centuries.

Global Responses to Conflict and Crisis in Syria and Yemen

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:41:00 GMT

Global Responses to Conflict and Crisis in Syria and Yemen focuses on the humanitarian crises and international intervention in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. This book also endeavors to explain why the former has received more media attention, given the fact that the crisis in Yemen is equally severe and thus deserves the attention of the international public. In order to do so, the book compares the responses to each conflict through an examination of the coverage each conflict has received from the media, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations (IOs) (p. 2). At the outset, the authors subtly account for the reasons why the conflicts in Syria and Yemen differ both in scale and scope from the rest of the tensions in the region triggered by the popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia in December 2010.

The Politics of Healthcare Reform in Turkey

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:43:00 GMT

Healthcare reform has been a significant issue across the world for some time. In my humble opinion, diffirent countries have a lot to learn from each other in terms of healhcare, especially developed countries from developing ones. Healthcare reform in Turkey has become a platform for critics, politics, academics and policy makers, as the political system in Turkey was undergoing a significant transformation at the time the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) in Turkey was being implemented in 2003.

Shooting a Revolution: Visual Media and Warfare in Syria

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:45:00 GMT

A researcher who wrote her thesis about television series (musalsalat in Arabic) aired in Syria, and unluckily faced the grim reality of the Syrian Civil War, Donatella Della Ratta gives us a solid and undeniably unique work about transforming aesthetics of propaganda videos, TV shows, and images circulating in new media and the cross-referencing, reviving and everchanging modern myths of a postmodern revolution. Even if her intentions were not related to writing a book about the transformation of new media in a civil war, she states that her deep emotional bond with the Syrian people living in agony, her long-running ethnographic research about visual culture in Syria and her first-hand testimonies from the very first days of peaceful protests in 2011 would have made her write a book about it. Shooting a Revolution offers readers a broad theoretical discussion about the transformation of contemporary conflicts in the age of networked visual culture and helps to frame a more informed debate on the current situation in Syria.

Sinai: Egypt’s Linchpin, Gaza’s Lifeline, Israel’s Nightmare

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 23:58:00 GMT

The Sinai Peninsula has for years witnessed intense political and military clashes, and rebellions and even politically minor developments have attracted great attention among the countries neighboring the peninsula including Egypt, Israel, Gaza, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Web Panel | Transformation of Turkey’s Defense Industry

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 12:07:00 GMT

Insight Turkey coordinated a panel with the contribution of distinguished speakers, in which a comprehensive framework of Turkey's Defense Industry transformation and the changing patterns of military strategy were discussed.