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With the rise of ISIS in eastern Syria after 2014, there was a discussion among Western powers about the possibility of arming Arab tribes to lead the fight against ISIS on the ground. This paper challenges the assumption that tribes are cohesive units and argues that internal differences and contested leadership run counter to the image of tribes as unified groups. While tribes are fragmented, one can, however, observe some examples that testify to the existence of tribal solidarity during the course of the Syrian civil war. Overall, this paper attempts to answer the following questions: What caused fragmentation among members of the Syrian tribes during the Syrian Civil War? What inspired cohesion in other instances? It argues that multiple factors, such as violence, patronage networks with internal and external authorities, and competition among leaders to represent the group internally and externally, can have a fundamental effect on the processes of cohesion and fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a comparison between Romanian communist counterinsurgency (1944–1962) and similar campaigns fought by Western and Eastern governments in the early Cold War, in particular those waged by the British and French governments in their African, Asian and European colonies and those of the Soviet Union in its borderlands. The comparison focuses on three main components, population control, intelligence and military operations. Highlighting both similarities and differences across different cultural, economic, geographical, ethnic and political landscapes, the perspective laid out in this paper is an argument in favour of systematic and sustained comparative approaches to asymmetric warfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China launched the 16 + 1 initiative 10 years ago to facilitate interaction and cooperation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The paper argues that the geopolitical landscape has dramatically changed since 2012 when the initiative was announced, and this seriously affects the possibilities for further deepening of the relations between the CEE countries and China. Nowadays, the world is deeply divided, with growing competition for influence and exacerbating relations not only between Russia and the West but also between China and the Western countries. The rising geopolitical confrontation between the major powers in the international system (in the current situation with the war in Ukraine) strongly affects China’s relations with the CEE countries. Applying the instruments of the geopolitical analysis, the paper will seek to explore the impact of the changing international environment on China’s engagement in Central and Eastern Europe and draw conclusions about the prospects of China–CEE cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the population decline in Balkan countries in the last three decades, since 1990. It researches the scale of depopulation in the Balkans and analyses the causes and possible consequences of the population decline. It argues that the failure of imposed neoliberal economic policies in the Balkan countries in the 1990s caused deindustrialization, GDP stagnation and high unemployment rates, especially of young people. Together with the shift in values from traditional to neo-liberal ones which promote materialism, hedonism, consumerism and liberal middle-class feminism, it caused dramatic reduction in fertility (live births per woman) as well as a significant brain drain and economic emigration from the Balkan countries in the last 30 years. Depopulation is becoming a limiting factor for sustainability of Balkan societies. It imposes a long-term danger for demographic survival of these societies, and generates an array of other negative economic, social and political consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkish foreign policy during the AKP era has been under academic scrutiny for a long time, but the outcome of the analyses has often varied considerably. Yet most of this research agrees upon one thing, which is that Turkey under the AKP has become more active and more influential, both in its region and in the international arena. While accepting Turkey’s continuing relevancy, this paper argues that, although Turkey still could be considered as a regional power, its capacity for influencing regional and global politics had been eroded considerably in the last decade. At first glance, Turkey’s recent U-turns and failures in foreign policy under Erdoğan’s personalized style could be identified as the main reason for this erosion. However, building on Ruy Mauro Marini’s conceptualization of subimperialism, this paper contends that it is actually conditioned by the neoliberal restructuring of the Turkish economy in the last four decades, which has transformed Turkey’s economic structure in a very profound manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on evaluating and proposing ways for a breakthrough from the ongoing crisis in Greek–Turkish relations. In particular, the paper adopts a constructivist approach to the Greek–Turkish case and tries to trace the international and domestic actors and the socio-psychological variables in both countries that can contribute to the initiation of a new reconciliation—conflict management procedure—between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper offers a fresh and nuanced perspective by re-examining the concept of authoritarian neoliberalism in the context of the first decade of the AKP’s rule in Turkey. The study addresses two main research questions: Firstly, it explores the factors that transformed the 2000s, often seen as a period of democratization, into an era of authoritarianism. Secondly, it investigates how the AKP effectively established an authoritarian neoliberal state during this time. To tackle these questions, the paper argues that the AKP’s authoritarian neoliberal project rests on two key pillars. The first pillar involves creating a depoliticized technocratic state structure that allows for the implementation of policies aligning with the interests of the dominant capital faction. The second element involves weakening labor opposition, which plays a crucial role in shaping the authoritarian neoliberal state. The paper suggests that the waning influence of the labor movement played a central role in driving the shift toward authoritarianism in the 2000s, granting the government more flexibility in shaping policies. This paper enhances our understanding of the political and economic transformation in Turkey during this significant period, shedding light on the development of the authoritarian neoliberal state and its crisis after 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the impact of Turkey's embassies on trade with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It uses a panel data set that covers 28 African countries for the period of 2002 to 2020 in order to measure if the opening of an embassy increases Turkey's exports to relevant countries. The study found a positive relationship between exports and diplomatic representation via embassies. More precisely, the empirical results indicate that the presence of an embassy in an African country increases Turkey's exports to this country by 108%. The study also found that the presence of business councils has the same positive effect on Turkey's export performance albeit at a moderate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, summits have gained great importance in developing relations with African countries and they have become useful tools to understand intersecting roadmaps on the continent. China, India, Japan, the United States, European countries and Russia conducted various summits and business forums targeting to develop their political, economic and military relations with Africa. In this vein, FOCAC (Forum on China–Africa Cooperation), European Union–Africa Business and Investment Summits, Japan's Africa Development Summits and Russia–Africa Summit provide some details of these powers' Africa policy. Turkey has also emerged as a new actor and summit organizer in Africa since it opened a new page for Africa in its foreign policy in 2005. After being a strategic partner to the African Union in 2008, Turkey has conducted three Turkey–Africa summits, Istanbul (2008), Malabo (2014) and Istanbul (2021), to form its roadmap in Africa. This work aims to analyse the role of Africa–Turkey summits in the development of Turkey's Africa policy and its relationship with African countries. The paper looks at all declarations comprehensively to evaluate Turkey's foreign policy discourse on Africa. Moreover, it examines Turkey's Africa policy implementations and achievements on the continent through the lens of summits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey's defence industries have shown significant development in recent years. But the limited domestic market and the financial crisis created sustainability problems for the industry. To increase its arms sales, Turkey began to search for potential markets to expand, and Africa emerged as an excellent market to enter. Turkey had already invested in Africa through its multi-track diplomacy, a necessary condition for arms sales. While the multi-track diplomacy and increased engagement helped Turkey's arms exports, they are insufficient to explain the recent rise of Turkish arms exports, which have been showing an upward trend since 2021. This paper argues that the increase in arms exports is the function of multi-track diplomacy, no-strings-attached arms export policy and the demonstration effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the factors for the 'big moment' of the far right, its Big Bang, i.e, when far-right parties transform from marginal 'groupuscules' into considerable political players. It is the moment when political supply and social demand interact, like two elements in a chemical reaction, and are transformed into far-right vote; the far-right redox. What are the conditions and the catalyst that allow the far-right redox to take place? Discussing the importance of the media as a resource for all political actors, and especially the far-right party family and analysing examples from three Balkan countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia), Greece and France, the working hypothesis is that a necessary and sufficient condition is the occurrence of a media-induced event that acts as a catalyst, leading to their rise from the political margins to the political mainstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper analyzes the activities of the Ford Philanthropic Foundation in Yugoslavia during the Cold War with a special emphasis on Ford's Education Programme through which a significant number of Yugoslavs had the opportunity to study and work in the United States. Using the Ford Foundation archives, this research reveals the foundation's intentions to expose influential individuals from Yugoslavia to Western ideology and culture with the goal of suppressing communist ideology at the beginning of the Cold War. With enormous financial resources and reputation among the Yugoslav population and leadership, the Ford Foundation during its ten years of intense activity in the country (1959–1969) was completely subordinated to the official foreign policy of Washington, which was based on support for an independent Yugoslavia within the communist bloc. Ford's operational activities reduced the stereotypes of Yugoslavs about the United States and greatly contributed to the cultural rapprochement of the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the interrelations between migration, agricultural production, class, and cultural belonging, focusing on the economic and demographic transformation of Gemlik, an Ottoman district that underwent substantial change over the course of the nineteenth century. Based on the mid-nineteenth-century population and tax registers of the town of Gemlik and of two villages in the district, Kurşunlu and Kumla-i Sagir, we demonstrate that the agricultural economy in the district was heavily shaped by commodity production in the context of the district's increasing integration into global markets. By tracing specific patterns of mobility and settlement over time, we show that the process of global integration was entangled with class and cultural differentiation in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1950s was an era when Turkish-US relations were developing in various arenas. In addition to hard power instruments, such as NATO membership, the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid, elements of soft power were also being used to promote the relationship between the two states. One element of this latter power was jazz which became tool of US public diplomacy used to export its cultural values. This paper explores how jazz was used as such in Turkey–US relations in the 1950s. The original aspect of this article lies in its dealing with the influence of jazz music, a relatively little mentioned soft power element in Turkey–US relations of this period. The main finding of the article may be conceptualized as follows: Turkey's relationship with the US was based not only on economic and military interests, but also cultural ties between the two which were also crucial to strengthening their bilateral relations. In this context, musicians were key agents of cultural diplomacy with their music and songs legitimizing a new and different 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractOn 15 September 2020, Turkish and Greek women declared their commitment to peace. They said: “As peace-loving women of the two countries, despite the dominant patriarchal system threatening the world, we are determined to work towards peace by developing our common culture, cooperation, and friendship in the Aegean.” They have demanded a just resolution of controversies surrounding the relations through diplomacy and international law. By underlining that feminism offers essential insights into understanding cooperation and conflict dynamics, this article will analyse the last two decades of Turkish-Greek relations through a feminist reading. Feminism, with its critical and holistic approach, will contribute significantly to the understanding of Turkish-Greek relations during the periods of cooperation but more so during entranced conflicts. Post-1999 represents the beginning of collaboration and dialogue in Turkish-Greek relations. Various mechanisms such as regular political consultations, exploratory contacts, High-Level Cooperation Council meetings, were held. Until 2019, relations remained somehow amicable. However, since then, the refugee crisis, the Cyprus issue, and the dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean have deeply marred the relations. Going beyond the state level, this paper aims to analyse the significant cooperation and conflict periods from a feminist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short paper provides an overview of the complex and often turbulent relations between Greece and Turkey, focussing on recent developments and the challenges in their bilateral relationship. It discusses the historical context, including attempts at reconciliation, and examines the role of perceptions, geopolitics, and historical grievances in shaping the current situation. It emphasises the cyclical nature of Greek-Turkish relations, with periods of calm followed by tensions and crises. It highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to resolving the existing disputes between the two countries, including the importance of confidence-building measures and a political settlement. Overall, it underlines the complexity of Greek-Turkish relations and the challenges in achieving lasting peace and stability in the region, calling for a new paradigm in bilateral relations that addresses historical grievances, promotes mutual understanding, and fosters cooperation for the benefit of both countries and the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greece has faced since 2009 one of the most significant crises in its modern history. Unique in its intensity, at least during times of peace, the financial crisis impacted the country’s economy, politics, and society. Despite the country being under the international spotlight for several years, one cannot help but notice that little has been written on the issue of Greek foreign policy, especially, on whether there is a necessity for adaptation to the limitations imposed by the new realities which have augmented the sense of marginalization and the challenges presented by a continuously complicated international arena amid systemic change. Similarly, Turkey has undergone substantial changes during the past years. Following the July 2016 failed coup attempt and the April 2017 referendum, the country has been in the midst of both administrative change and a change in its foreign policy approach, while its leaders have challenged long-held foreign policy orientations and priorities, in search of a new outlook for the country’s international relations. Our paper aims to explore whether there is a need for Greece and Turkey to adopt a new role in the international system, and therefore, the necessity for the two states to adjust their respective foreign policies accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1990s witnessed a shift in the makeup of Turkish industry. Many small firms rose to fortune throughout Anatolia by finding a niche in the ever-expanding global commodity chains of the era of neoliberal globalization. The union movement, though, failed to adapt to this new pattern in industrial relations. This paper analyses the social dynamics and political mechanisms of this union inertia and argues that the traditional unions that were built during the era of state-led industrialization and then import substitution developed an ingrained inability to organize in the small industrial firms typical for the nodes of global commodity chains dispersed throughout Anatolia. However, recently a new type of labour militancy has emerged, creating sporadic opportunities for the labour movement's revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hundred-year history of capitalism in Turkey can be discussed in different contexts. This study addresses this process by focusing on economic crises. It argues that the history of capitalism in Turkey can be interpreted as a transition from one crisis to another. This paper suggests reading the crises in the context of the two main accumulation processes: the commercial capital accumulation process and crises (1929 and 1954-8) and the crises of industrial capital accumulation (1978/79, 1989, 1994, 2001, 2008, 2018/2019). The 1978/79 crisis is considered as a crisis of inward-oriented capital accumulation, 1989 as a crisis of export-oriented capital accumulation, and 1994, 2001, 2008, and 2018/2019 as the crises of capital import-oriented accumulation. This study reads these crises that have occurred in different periods as a result of the foreign exchange production and acquisition problem stemming from the peculiarities of late capitalist development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]