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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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

This paper analyses discourses and policies of citizenship and immigration in Croatia, with a special focus on marketization and culturalisation of citizenship. Along with many other Central and Eastern European states, Croatia is commonly studied as a model case of ethnonationalism. This study seeks to warn that in an ethnocentric state, there can also be other important notions of deservingness that structure one's route to membership today, showing us that we need to move beyond an exclusive focus on ethnonationalism. The paper explores how socioeconomic status and (ethno)cultural origin impact the ability of non-ethnics to claim and receive citizenship rights. The research focuses on two cultural groups: traditional immigrant populations coming from post-Yugoslav states and the new immigrant groups coming from countries in the Middle East. [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]

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]

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 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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

At a time of authoritarian drift in many parts of the world characterizing a post-liberal order, this paper aims to contribute emerging literature on how domestic and international factors interact in shaping the foreign policy preferences of middle powers in this new epoch. Hinging on a synthesis of linkage and regime survival theories, the article argues that as the ‘inner-directed linkage’ of the West to those authoritarian regimes weakens, those regimes’ ‘outer-directed linkage’ with emerging Asian authoritarian centres strengthens. Having been ruled for more than 20 years by authoritarian leader Erdoğan of the JDP (Justice and Development Party), Turkey is an interesting case as an authoritarian middle power with its incrementally intensifying ties with Russia and China. Drawing on the Erdoğan regime’s statements and acts departing from the liberal order, especially after the Gezi Park protests in 2013 and the failed coup attempt in 2016, the article concludes that Turkey has recalibrated its domestic and foreign policy, replacing its Europhilism with Eurasianism as a part of his regime survival strategy. [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]

Given that China and Türkiye are direct successors of former empires, i.e., the Qing and Ottoman Empires, they share common feelings of century-long Western humiliation, constrained maritime space, and unfinished territorial unification in modern times. However, the two countries chose divergent paths of modern national building, which result in their turbulent bilateral relations in the 20th century. While the old structural disagreements are not completely fading away, China and Türkiye have tended to build a more cooperative relations in 21st century as both of them struggle to adapt to the common challenges of neoliberal world order, which leads to more convergences than divergences in their second nation building process. Based on this historical comparison, this paper suggests that the nation building processes and its reflections on foreign affairs are the structural factor in China-Türkiye relations, which defined potential issues of cooperation and division between the two countries in different times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China and Türkiye, the two pivotal states with global political, economic, and cultural influence, are located at the two ends of East Asia and West Asia, respectively. They are both rising, non-western, and authoritarian powers. Thus, they should have built a strategic partnership. However, unlike China’s comprehensive strategic partnerships with Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the UAE, the relations between China and Türkiye have been at a low level of strategic cooperation since 2010. To de-mystify the puzzle, this paper integrates agent, relations, and structure, puts forward a ‘complex role’ hypothesis, and argues that China and Türkiye have three layers of bilateral, regional, and global roles, and their role conceptions, expectations, and performances have divergent trajectories. The compatible, competitive, and conflicting roles between Beijing and Ankara constitute both dynamics and restraints of their partnership. The two sides perceive each other as a mix of economic partners, political competitors and security rivals. To foster bilateral relations in the new era, the two Republics should manage their role competition and conflict, and enhance role compatibility in bilateral ties and multi-lateral arenas through inter-institutional convergence and role adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present an analytical narrative of the events that culminated in the Turkish Armed Forces' (the TAF) fall from grace between 1997 and 2018. The narrative is guided by a conceptual framework that features organizational legitimacy and power as key to strategizing by societal constituencies. Based on this framework, we describe how the Turkish government consecutively raised legitimacy and power challenges to the TAF, underscoring adaptation of the Turkish government's strategy to the emergent outcomes. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the usefulness of our framework for an enhanced understanding of civilian control over the military. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While state failure was undoubtedly a factor in, and influence on, the uprising, it has become more clearly apparent in the ongoing civil war. The Syrian state can now be said to be 'failed' because it cannot meet its citizens' economic, political and social needs and requirements. This apparent regression is even more striking because pre-war Syria was a regional leader in a number of development fields whose progress was evidenced in associated outputs and levels of performance. This article will provide insight into a number of different dimensions of the country's statehood, in so doing, trace the process through which the state's internal and external legitimacy has been sharply diminished. In addition, the paper also highlights how the Syrian state has adjusted to the condition of state failure. The article therefore proposes to examine different aspects and dimensions of state failure, as opposed to the general condition that has been reproduced across various contexts. In concluding, the article puts forward a number of propositions for how international actors can address a number of the challenges and problems associated with state failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War, the former Soviet states of Europe, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, have been the site of a political game between the great powers, gradually developing a left-right strategy. This paper constructs the explanatory theory of hedging strategy and argues that post-socialist European countries, collectively referred to as 'New Europe', have navigated a middle way between balance and followup strategies called compound hedging. Starting at the regional scale, this paper discusses three issues, i.e., whether the new Europe has adopted a hedging strategy, why they adopt a hedging strategy, and the policy performance and effectiveness of hedging in the security and economic fields. Specifically, New Europe has implemented diversified fuzzy strategies amidst the transatlantic alliances and Eurasian powers, avoided security risks from Russia through cooperation with NATO, and balanced interest risks caused by European Union pressure through contacts with the United States, Russia, China and other countries. Although New Europe has realized certain practical strategic effects, it still faces difficulties (e.g., structural pressure changes, divergences between old and New Europe, and a lack of hedging capacities and motivations), and its policy space remains narrow and uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that Chinese involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean is primarily motivated by increasing the country's economic role within the region through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The paper uses case study analysis methodology dwelling on the evolution and content of Chinese involvement in Greece and Cyprus. Primarily focusing of the nature of the Chinese investments in strategic sectors of the two cases in question the role that that China plays in Eastern Mediterranean is described as a 'silky involvement'. China's policy choices are also perceived to be an opportunity for Greece and Cyprus to combat the negative effects of 2007–2008 economic crises and to increase their geopolitical stronghold in the post-Cold War geopolitical environment of the Eastern Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, particularly since 2002, relations between Iran and Turkey have been on the rise and generally expanding. The aim of this paper is to analyse and clarify the reasons for the sustainability of the two countries' relations while undergoing intermittent eruptions of disputes over the years. In other words, the main question is: why have Iran and Turkey, with their political frictions, routinely embraced rapprochement and collaboration in recent decades? Accordingly, the hypothesis proposed is that a key reason for the ongoing cooperation between Tehran and Ankara in different fields, is the rationale of geopolitical complementarity engendering their security needs in broad meaning, particularly energy security and natural gas. Whilst the logic also applies to water security, both states attach greater importance to border security and energy. In short, their common geopolitical destiny over-rides individual state preferences. To examine this hypothesis, Barry Buzan's theory based on a broad definition of security as well as regional security complex has been deployed through descriptive analytics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Turkey, administrative decentralization is a political issue rather than a technical one. the central government follows up centralization policies associated with intensive administrative supervision with three mechanisms according to "who governs the municipality": The opposition municipalities, especially from the main opposition party, CHP (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi) are systematically supervised by the inspectors of the Interior Ministry while appointed trustees (kayyim or kayyum) are given control in the municipalities governed by the pro-Kurdish party (HDP). The existing literature on decentralization process in Turkey mostly insists on its normative, administrative, and historical dimensions,[7] However, considering the political dimension of decentralization in Turkey, this paper offers a new perspective to elucidate the failure of the decentralization policies initiated by the AKP governments. A striking return to centralization policy was deployed by the AKP government that can also be considered as path dependence to the centralizing tradition of the Turkish State and is actively in use to preserve the asymmetric position of the state in relation to local authorities. According to some CHP politicians, the government has been orchestrating an attempt to replace Imamoglu with an appointed trustee of the government before the general election in 2023.[54] As can be seen, decentralization dynamics in Turkey are extremely politicized. [Extracted from the article]

This paper explores the two opposing ideologies represented in the public discourse of their actors, religious and secular leaders, after the introduction of the Law on Religious Freedom in Montenegro. The paper addresses discourse in a complex social and political scenery that affected Montenegro in the period January–August 2020. There is a standpoint shared by diplomatic bodies that, for the first time in Montenegrin history, the Church has impacted the outcome of secular elections. In this paper, we have examined the linguistic exponents in ad litteram statements of two leaders revealing the peculiarities of the two opposing, yet intertwined, discourses. We have selected readers' comments to show how part of the Montenegrin people reacted to the events that have permeated Montenegro's reality. We have used a critical discourse approach, more precisely van Dijk's we/they opposition, to show how actors achieved a rhetorical strategy of glorifying us and criticizing them. Finally, we interpret abstract notions in the leaders' statements through the prism of van Dijk's categories of ideological discourse. The findings of the papers show how abstract notions such as religion and politics in a specific part of Montenegrin history have become linguistically embedded in the two leaders' discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant part of the academic discussions on Turkey's foreign policy includes Turkey's soft power capacity. The Justice and Development Party has used soft power more extensively than any other previous government in the history of the Turkish Republic. Turkish soft power consists of both direct state soft power, through its diplomatic expansions, and massive non-state outreach endeavours via Turkish cultural, economic, and welfare non-state actors, as well as Turkish media and TV popularity around the world. Although Asia comes third in Turkey's diplomatic circle, after the Balkans and Africa, it has come into policy focus as Turkey expands its trade, as well as political and cultural exchanges with the Asian continent. This paper investigates Turkey's soft power initiatives in Asia in the form of diplomatic missions, educational foundations, entertainment, and commercial investments. This paper argues that Turkey's soft power initiatives and public diplomatic capacity through state-managed resources are more limited and insufficient compared to its non-state resources, due to the latter's civic nature and organic engagements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining monetary stability is the first and fundamental objective of the currency board regime, especially after political and economic crises such as the one in the Balkans in the 1990s. The very limited role of the central bank has disciplined financial institutions and governments, but at the same time is not conducive to long-term growth and employment. This policy ties the domestic currency to the 'peg' currency, leading to inflationary tendencies in the country whose currency is used as the 'peg'. Currently, the high inflation rates are caused by the pandemic crisis, but also by the war in Ukraine. This paper analyses the causes of inflation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria as countries with currency boards. The results show that inflation in these two countries is 'imported inflation' from two points of view: the monetary policy of the European Central Bank and the inflation trend in the EMU, but mainly due to the Ukraine crisis and consequently the energy and food crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is the dominant political and economic influence in the Western Balkan (WB) region, but in the view of many of the region's citizens, EU integration is associated with strict and painful convergence criteria and burdensome reforms as well as the inertia of unfulfilled accession requirements. China's involvement in the region is focused mainly on much-needed but controversial infrastructure investments; accordingly, it has attracted increasing international attention over the past decade. At the same time, Turkey, the Arab States, and Russia have also shown heightened interest in the region. This paper addresses the important geopolitical question of whether a mutually-beneficial relationship for all participants is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the Turkish voting preferences in the UN General Assembly during the AK Party era between 2002 and 2020. It seeks to understand as to whether there is a congruence between Turkey's critical view of international society as epitomized by Tayyip Erdoğan's motto, 'The World is Bigger Than Five', and the way Turkish representatives voted during the same period in the UN General Assembly on questions such as nuclear disarmament, self-determination, search for a new international order, and human rights. Based on primary materials, this paper concludes that there exists an undisputable contradiction between Turkey's anti-establishment posture and behavioural attitude towards the outside world since 2002 on the one hand and it's voting orientation in the UN General Assembly on the other. The latter is largely the outcome of the 'Europeanization' of Turkish foreign policy based on Turkey's candidacy for EU membership and its NATO commitments. Hence, during the period under investigation, Turkey was broadly allied to the European position in the context of its voting pattern in the UN General Assembly which was conspicuous with its aloofness towards calls for substantial changes intended to bring about a more just and peaceful international order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will investigate the development of the War Guilt Question in interwar Europe through an examination of the dispute between two of Britain's leading experts on the Balkans, Mary Edith Durham and R.W. Seton-Watson. The locus of their disagreement centred on the question of Serbian complicity in the plot to murder Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914, and the subsequent debate over their responsibility for the outbreak of War. The dispute was prompted by revelations published by Ljuba Jovanović, former Serb Minister of Public Instruction. The debate over the Serb complicity in the Sarajevo crime, fundamentally shifted the debate over responsibility for the failure of peace in 1914, moving the focus away from Berlin, back to the Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2011, almost four million refugees were welcomed in Turkey. This paper aims to explore how these people are included/excluded from the society through the construction of the self/the other. The paper argues that studying the media representations of these refugees in Turkish print media reveal the wider politics of nationalism in the country. To study the wider politics of nationalism, I collected newspaper articles from pro-government and anti-government papers from 2014 to 2018. This data not only reveals the inclusion/exclusion of these people from the definitions of 'nation' but also reveals the tension between AKP and Kemalist ideologies in Turkey. The paper discusses these discourses through 'secular' and 'humanitarian' nationalisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By focusing on the ongoing events of the so-called 'Balkan Route' and the Covid-19 pandemic this paper explores how the populist representations of migrants in the Western Balkans rest on specific historically embedded framings of migration. Based on long-term ethnographic insights and media analysis in Serbia the paper explores how the images of (good/bad) migrants tend to play out as unstable 'floating signifiers' in particular ways which is grounded on ambivalent perceptions of primarily two legacies and patterns of migration crucial for the region: work migration and forced migration. The paper traces how, firstly, the image of the diligent work migrant loyal to nationalist politics can surprisingly easily turn into one of the irresponsible and threatening figure of the returning work migrant as the very culprit of the pandemic (spreading the virus and taking advantage of the health system). The paper explores how this ambivalent image of the work migrant is based in the particular history and transformation of emigration from former Yugoslavia to Western Europe since the 1960s and its interrelation with populist nationalism. Secondly, I will argue that the 'usage' of the image of the 'Muslim migrant' along the©so-called 'Balkan Route' seems to be 'flexible' and 'variable' due to the particular history and presence of Muslim populations in the region. The 'Muslim migrant' can thus easily simultaneously or alternately appear as subject of legitimate humanitarian aid and freedom of movement (with no reference to religion at all), as well as the threatening 'Muslim other'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iran has traditionally presented itself as a cusp state, manoeuvring between different regions. Recently, Iran is attempting to situate itself among the emerging connections between Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean. There are also limitations to Iran's cuspness, as domestic politics and geopolitical rivalries in the Middle East challenge the country's efforts to perform this function. This paper analyses (1) Iran's shifting regional engagements and identity in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia, (2) the implications of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for Iran's shifting regional engagements and identity, (3) the limitations Iran faces in this reorientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By concentrating on the period 1933–1940, this paper argues that Turkey's decision to opt for neutrality during the Second World War was not part of a calculated long run strategy, but a abrupt reaction to the unexpected fall of France in the summer of 1940. To explain and expand these proposals, the paper summarizes Turkey's economic relations with Britain and Germany during the 1930s and the state of its armed forces. This is followed by a discussion of the basic strategic ideas of both sides, and the military planning which preceded the signature of the tripartite alliance treaty between Britain, France and Turkey in October 1939. It closes with an outline of the collapse of the treaty in 1940, with an analysis of its serious weaknesses and their causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The volume of Turkish aid and its geographic coverage have undergone a process of change following the Arab Uprisings and the foiled coup d'état of July 15. This article primarily addresses the latter event, as with the former's influence foreign aid relations became more tight-knit with Turkey's immediate neighbours yet fell apart in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa. Considering the period between 2013 and 2018, this paper seeks the key determinants behind Turkish foreign aid behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa by asking whether the (non)existence of Gülenist schools in recipient states exerted agency in the disbursement of Turkey's aid flow. Based on bilateral foreign aid disbursement and the Turkish Maarif Foundation's educational landscape in sub-Saharan Africa, this paper has found that although the recipient state's cooperation with Turkey on the matter of Gülenist schools is a variable of moderate importance in gauging the volume of Turkish aid, there is no monolithic Turkish foreign aid orientation towards the countries collaborating with Turkish authorities to transfer the management of these schools and those that do not. This orientation has been firmly motivated by humanitarianism and has thus assured continuity in the context of humanitarian aid following July 15. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the nineteenth century, significant developments in transport and transport infrastructure technologies led to drastic changes not only in countries' economies but also in their societies. The European world economy absorbed the Ottoman Empire into its ambit and railway construction initiated by Europeans also shaped the nature and direction of social and economic changes in the vast territory that the Empire had controlled. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of railways on Ottoman society modernization. The paper investigates how economic and social changes took place in traditional life in the empire and how and to what extent the lives and consumption patterns of Anatolian people were changed by the construction of railways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a crisis regarding Serb national minority rights in the city of Vukovar. The crisis was caused by the government's attempt to introduce Serbian language and Cyrillic alphabet in the official use in Vukovar. The paper examines which symbolic meanings of the Cyrillic alphabet were used with the aim of consolidating national identity and collective memory of the war in Croatia. The paper argues that the use of a minority language and script was discursively framed as a means of aggression of one ethnic community over another, rather than as an issue of minority rights. The paper is theoretically grounded in Michele Foucault's theory about the 'discourse of perpetual war'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1950s, Western powers attempted to establish a regional alliance system with the participation of regional states to secure their interests. The Middle East Command (MEC) was the first project designed and imposed by the West. However, all actors in the region had different positions and policies towards such organizations. In this paper, the global and regional dynamics and developments affecting the creation of the MEC will be analysed from different perspectives using primary and secondary sources. The MEC project remained in the shadow of its successor, the well-known Baghdad Pact, and has received significantly less scholarly attention. By the same token, there is little literature on the MEC project and the existing literature is limited to the Western powers and Turkey. New studies reflecting the policies and positions of both global and regional actors are vital for the analysis of the Cold War in the Middle East. This paper mainly argues that global and local actors existed in two different worlds preventing their interests and priorities from overlapping. Therefore, under these circumstances, the MEC project and other alliances in the region failed and caused a tension shaping regional politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the Gulf States have been involved in several conflicts since the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 1981, the recent crisis between Qatar and the self-proclaimed, Saudi-led 'Quartet' nations (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt) has been the most severe internal conflict among the Gulf States for decades. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the nature, causes, and future of the intra-Gulf conflict through the lens of the nearly four-year blockade of Qatar. The paper appropriates a model of analysis developed by William Bennett in order to assess inter-state conflict in the Arabian Gulf region. Using Bennett's model, this paper explains how the blockade of Qatar is a product of Saudi Arabia's hegemonic ambitions. As Bennett's model argues that political conflicts result from the perpetual imbalance of supply and demand of resources, thus proving that political conflicts are insoluble, regional hegemony is identified as the defining political resource perpetuating conflict between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. As the Al-Ula agreement signed in January 2021 did not fully resolve the roots of this fight for hegemony, this is only a temporary solution to the conflict between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supreme Leader has a significant role in determining political life in Iran. The analysis of this role is an integral part of studying Iranian domestic politics and foreign policy. The succession issue has been of particular importance and subject to numerous academic endeavours after speculations of current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's failing health. The focus of these studies centres on the personalities of the potential candidates for this eminent position. This paper departs from mainstream research and analyzes the structural factors that guide the process of choosing the Supreme Leader in Iran. The study of the historical context in the designation process of Iran's two Supreme Leaders, Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei, provides a more comprehensive understanding of the position and role of the next Supreme Leader. The similarities between the selection of the previous Leaders, such as similar external pressures and domestic influences, highlight structural elements that will affect the forthcoming process. This paper identifies the structure of the political system and the national security apparatus as the major determinants in selecting the future Leader in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the strategies Albanian migrant parents in Greece employ to reconcile their work and childcare responsibilities. The institutional context, the informal work setting, and the agency of the migrants all play crucial roles in their childcare arrangements. This research draws on 36 biographical interviews conducted during 2014–2016 with parents in Greece. Our findings suggest that migrants use different coping strategies to manage their work and care responsibilities. These strategies include mother-centred strategies or mothers making career sacrifices to meet their care responsibilities, shared parenting, relying on extended family and friends, delegating care to older children, leaving children to care for themselves, taking children to work, and transnational care practices. This study shows how care arrangement options were constrained and continuously shaped by migration, care, gender, and labour regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to shed light on Turkey's power status as a rising state in the wider region of the South-Eastern Mediterranean and test its strategies to change the balance of power in this region. In doing so, we draw heavily on a novel conceptual framework of Itzkowitz Shifrinson (2020a) that articulates alternative strategies of rising states towards declining great powers based on specific goals and means formulating those strategies. We argue that, given the relative decline of great powers in the region of the South-East Mediterranean, Turkey is a rising power with a strategic vision to maximize its aspirations for leadership and control, and, where possible, alter the status quo. Towards this end, Turkey is employing a broad foreign policy agenda in several policy areas based on a variety of alternative strategies. Through this analysis, we examine and demonstrate the different strategies of Turkey in changing the power balance in three important geopolitical spheres of influence: a) Balkans-Middle East-Caucasus, b) Black Sea-Adriatic-Eastern Mediterranean-Red Sea-Persian Gulf and c) Εurope-N. Africa-S. Asia- Central Asia. Turkey's regional strategies have a considerable impact in the security context vis-à-vis the main great powers in the South-Eastern Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces and examines the narratives and specifics of Gulf bilateral donors—namely the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. It confronts established narratives with current data and trends and includes the perspective of both Western and Arab scholars. The research points to some new trends among Gulf donors, notably the diversification of their aid sectors and the strengthening of the distinctiveness of Gulf donors from other southern donors. The research also focuses on the narratives about bilateral aid allocation factors of Gulf donors. The results confirm the continuing preference of Arab countries in Middle East and North Africa with predominately Muslim populations. However, aid is not evenly allocated among recipients in the MENA region, and the different and sometimes conflicting (geo)political and security interests of Gulf donors play an important role in the territorial distribution of aid. In addition to these strategic considerations behind the allocation of aid from Gulf donors, the study reveals certain importance of social needs' factors in distribution of Emirati and Kuwaiti official aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role of sectarian identity in foreign policy making by bringing sub-state sectarian actors into foreign policy studies. The paper takes Lebanon and the Syrian Civil War as a case study through a close scrutiny of the emergence and the consolidation of foreign policy orientations, preferences and behaviour of the Maronite, Sunni, Shia and Druze leaders in Lebanon. By doing so, it asks how sectarian groups behave as sub-state foreign policy actors in countries where society is divided along sectarian identities and how sectarian identities matter in terms of the definition of the self and the other and the ally and the enemy in weak states. It further questions to what extent sectarian groups can be considered as sub-state foreign policy actors with their own perceptions based on their identities. Building its main findings on various fieldworks in Lebanon conducted in 2016 and 2017, interviewing leaders of major sects; this study concludes that in the absence of a cohesive foreign policy stance in a weak state, the role of sectarian identity in defining self and other becomes central for understanding the foreign policy choices of sectarian leaders faced with an existential challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lebanon is believed to be the most religiously diverse country in the Middle East. Lebanese elites play a significant role as identity-makers and parts of regional alliances. The present paper examines Lebanese intellectual and political elites' perceptions of Iran. To this aim, the author conducted fifteen semi-structured interviews with figures from Lebanese political parties with different political orientations and religious denominations. Using integrated threat theory to analyse the data, the author argues that the Lebanese elite's view towards Iran illustrates various threat perceptions among members of different religious denominations in conjunction with their political affiliations. It will be discussed that Iran and Hezbollah have turned into an in-group for a particular, albeit a significant portion of the Shia community in Lebanon (mostly affiliated with Hezbollah) and an out-group for many in other religious and political denominations. Accordingly, Iran's growing regional power is perceived as a realistic and symbolic threat by those who consider Iran (a Shi'ite entity and Hezbollah) the out-group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]