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Turkey became a major regional power in post-Soviet Central Asia. My paper studies Turkey’s role in Central Asia within a three-level analytical framework. The three levels are causally interlinked. The first level is Turkey’s bilateral relations with the ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Influence of the EU on the Making of Turkish Foreign PolicyThis paper focuses on the influence of the EU on foreign policy making in Turkey since 1999, when Turkey was declared as a candidate country to the EU. Traditional Turkish foreign policy i ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on explaining how alliance security dilemma created in Turkish-American relations with the war in Iraq and the factors that further complicated the situation and Turkey's responses to mitigate the security dilemma. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine the possibility of Turkey’s membership in the EU on the basis of the identity-related factors. Unless the ideational attributes of the parties converged on some fundamental points, Turkey’s EU dreams would likely remain unfulfilled. This is so because the EU’s approach towards Turkey’s accession to the EU has now been increasingly shaped by the logic of identity, rather than the logics of interests/pragmatism/utilitarianism or the logic of cosmopolitanism/human rights. Whether Turkey is still a secular state or gradually transforming into an Islamic state is gradually becoming the most important variable shaping the EU's attitude towards Turkey. The more the Europeans think that Turkey is evolving into an Islamic state, the more the opinions of those who tend to argue against Turkey’s membership on the basis of ideational differences would be justified. Another important question in this regard is to what extent ideational factors, such as religion and culture, have begun to shape the EU’s evolving international identity. The post September 11 era developments point out to an increasing tendency on the part of some Europeans to define the EU’s identity alongside ideational attributes. In such a context, the ones who are traditionally in favour of Turkey’s accession would find it difficult to explain why Turkey’s membership would be in the economic and security interests of the EU as well as a legitimate course of action within the framework of EU’s cosmopolitan principles. The worry here is that given these trends Turkey’s membership in the EU would never materialize. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do Islamic movements operate in secular democracies? Are Islamic visions of politics and society compatible with liberal democracy? The resurgence of religious organizations into public sphere in the recent years has given special urgency to these questions. The appropriate role of religion in secular democratic states has rapidly emerged as an extraordinary divisive issue globally. The answer given to this question sheds light on the role of Islam in the process of defining the norms that regulate public life and the values that institute the political community. Some scholars have argued that the undemocratic nature of Islamic notions of society and politics are not compatible with the notions of democracy and human rights. Others have argued that notions of democracy and human rights are established in the Islamic political discourse and their exposition depends on history, social structure and context. Although this debate have produced fruitful outcomes that help us framing the role of Islam in the public sphere, both sides of the debate have generally focused on essential sources of Islam. This debate needs to be extended to the empirical realm by the study of Islamic movements comparatively. The best way to look at this is to examine the political behaviors of Islamic movements in democratic countries. This examination should consider environmental factors within which Islamic movements are located, the strategies that the movements employ, and the Islamic repertoire that the movements use in mobilizing their followers. In this paper, I examine these two questions by examining the political attitudes and behaviors of Islamic movements in public in Turkey and France. Since Turkey and France has a strong secular republican public sphere, Islamic groups’ positioning in the public debates in these countries is a good indication for whether or not they can develop democracy-friendly public reasoning. I critically examine the public discussions on democracy, secularism, cosmopolitanism and republicanism to trace the position of Islamic groups in public debates. My data comes from the interviews I conducted in Turkey and France, surveys done by other scholars, critical analysis of news media, and primary publications Islamic movements. This study makes two conclusions: (1) Even though the political discourse of Islamic groups is not normatively democratic; they develop new strategies to operate in a democratic environment, which transforms their discourse toward more democracy-friendly ones. Second, in a democratically designed environment, Islamic movements’ involvement in public debates forces them to confront and come to the terms of democratic normative structures. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey is country located in a strategically important area. However, Turkey?s strategic importance has been evaluated so far from superpowers or western perspective. In this paper, the meaning of Turkey?s strategic importance in global politics will be discussed from a third world perspective. After defining Turkey as a pivotal middle power, rather than only as a pivotal or middle power, its global influence over other regions and that of other regions? influence on Turkey will be tabled. Historically, although it gave huge leverage to Turkey, its EU and Middle Eastern vacation have never been enough for Turkey to be influential in global politics, at least to be an influential and independent player in global politics. After 9/11, it will be argued that if Turkey acts in global politics with other pivotal powers, such as South Africa, Brazil, India etc, its influence might increase in global politics dramatically. Turkey?s contribution to newly emerging global world order and global politics could be much more influential if Turkey can see its relations with the West and East (or South) as a complementary. Furthermore, international security might be more constructive, if pivotal middle powers can come together and create an informal or formal alliance that might be called as ?glocalization of globalization?. In such a case pivotal middle powers, representing their regions as leaders, cannot only build another power bloc, but also have a chance to influence global politics critically. In this presentation, Turkey?s position vis-à-vis abovementioned ideas will be discussed in details. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perhaps no country since the end of the Cold War has seen its position and role as quickly transformed as Turkey has in the last two decades. While Turkey?s geography has not changed during this time, the importance with which the international community has viewed this area of the world has undoubtedly been shaped by the events that have followed since the fall of the Soviet Union. Most recently, the events of 9/11 have dramatically affected Turkey both internally and externally in the regions that matter the most to Turkish foreign policymakers. The changes that have occurred both within Turkey and in its immediate neighborhood require thoughtful reconsideration for both how Ankara?s new geopolitical environment now influences its opportunities and challenges, and how various world actors now view Turkey. Turkey?s future path and progress is particularly instructive for the regions that it finds itself a part of, because Turkey?s own struggles with democracy, secularism, Islamism, and ethnic minorities represent a microcosm of the challenges facing the entire region. This presentation is an attempt to account for the transformation that Turkey has undergone since September 11, 2001, and an articulation of Turkey?s need for a new strategy for dealing with the dynamic neighborhoods in which it co-exists. Stated simply, this paper deals with Turkey?s new place in the international state system or ?global order.? Turkey no longer solely represents simply a geographic barrier against communism, but rather is transforming itself to meet the various threats emerging from its new geopolitical environment. In this context, Turkey?s global role has shifted from a Western geo-strategic military deterrent to an exemplary model of a Muslim-majority, secular, and democratic nation. By broadening its horizons and seeing the positive role that it has to play in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, Turkey will realize its full potential as a versatile multiregional and increasingly powerful international actor in the New World Order. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with EU-Turkish relations. Following the commencement of accession negotiations in October 2005, Turkey is politically at the threshold of the EU. It is argued that the case of Turkey will be different and more challenging from previous accessions for several reasons. A major question is whether the internal sociopolitical dynamics and external orientations of Turkey can be compatible with the changing dynamics of the European integration process. It concludes that during the protracted period of accession negations Europe and Turkey will find out whether they can share a common future that will reconcile their different pasts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unliateral unleashing of a global war on terrorism has been characterized by the return of state-centric reordering of world affairs, not only by establishing a linear causality between fight against terrorism and war, but also by codifying difference as a direct or an indirect threat to security. In this paper, I suggest that there is an alternative, democratic response which puts into practice a critical and cosmopolitan international relations theory as an effective philosophical and political basis not only for our global fight against terrorism, but for the possibility of global democratic governance. Secondly, I will focus on Turkey as a case study to demonstrate the historical experience of non-Western historical and cultural settings as alternative modernities is key to searching for a democratic global governance. Turkey constitutes an alternative modernity with the possibility of consolidating multi-cultural and multi-religious characteristics. Focusing on Turkey as a case study of the co-existence rather than the clash of differences help enlarge our thinking space of international relations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I examine the impact of contested national identity on Turkish and Japanese foreign policies. Applying a constructivist theoretical framework, I seek to explore the ways in which the national identities of Turkey and Japan are constructed, internalized and in turn externalized through their foreign policies. My principal research question is why Turkey and Japan remain ambivalent to any idea of regionalization in their non-Western neighborhood. The answer to this question lies in their historically shaped and domestically contested national identities, which imposes constraints and ambiguity for their current foreign policy choices. The lack of a national consensus in both countries as regards their sense of belonging to a geographic location has been caused by an incomplete shift of civilizational identity and ongoing debates over this shift at the domestic level. The shift was incomplete in two senses: (1) the Westernizing elites never internalized the West itself, while detaching themselves from a sense of belonging to the East; (2) such a shift of identity never became a national consensus, as rival claims to national identity remained dormant and occasionally rose to the level of power. This duality of national identities has paved the way for a contested foreign policy orientation, which continues to influence their European (Turkey) and Asian (Japan) regional integration processes today.Theoretically I further two claims. First, against realism and in line with constructivism, I argue that foreign policy decisions are informed by ideational factors such as identity and historical memory. History matters for a country?s foreign policy, both as a constraint and as an opportunity. It may limit or expand foreign policy options. Secondly, disputing the validity of structural constructivism that takes the notion of national identity as a monolithic entity formed through interaction of state actors, I argue that in both case national identity is fragmented and contested by various sub-national identities with distinct readings of national interests and security and distinct perceptions of Others of national identity. Foreign policy decisions emerge in the context of this contestation among opposing identities. Accordingly, my research demands a modification within constructivist paradigm to account for these divergent perceptions as domestic informants of foreign policy decision-making processes. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to elaborate the process of securitization of migration in the west and to make some policy recommendations with respect to the integration of migrants. The paper shall also touch upon the limitations of multiculturalism and republicanism in politically mobilizing migrants. In doing so, I will from time to time refer to our latest qualitative and quantitative research called Euro-Turks: A Bridge, or a Breach, between Turkey and the European Union. The research aims to reveal the perspectives of the German-Turks and French-Turks on Europeanness, Turkishness, religiosity, ethnicity and identity as well as on Turkey-EU relations. The research has also produced a very fruitful set of data to compare German and French integration regimes, which respectively reflect 'civilizationalist' and 'culturalist' statecraft. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the cases of Greece and Turkey as a basis for comparison, the paper proposes a theoretical typology of political vs. politicized militaries in the modern history of civil-military relations. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments react to global and domestic changes. Literature on foreign policy change emphasizes different factors affecting governments? decisions to redirect their foreign policy intentions and actions. Changes in international system, developments in domestic politics, and the changing nature of bureaucratic politics are often cited general categories in explaining change and continuity of state?s external relations. The main assumption of this study is that there has been a substantial change in Turkish foreign policy specifically in the traditionally ?sensitive? plicy areas such as the Cyprus problem, Turkish- Greek relations and the relations with the European Union. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze dynamics of foreign policy restructuring in the contemporary Turkish foreign policy. For this purpose, foreign policy actions of the ruling AKP government and its predecessor, the DSP coalition government, will be compared and contrasted in order to illustrate the fine nuances of the policy changes that have occurred. The paper also aims to contribute to theoretical literature on foreign policy restructuring by applying the existing frameworks into a regional power context. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey had followed a very conservative and narrowly defined foreign policy during the Cold War in accordance with the Cold War discipline. The end of the Cold War enlarged the space for maneuver for Turkish foreign policy. However, Turkey failed to successfully transform its foreign policy in accordance with the post-Cold War conjecture in the 1990s. This was due to both domestic problems and the failure to correctly read the international trends in the 1990s. The December 1999 European Union summit where Turkey was announced as a candidate country for full membership was an important milestone after which Turkish foreign policy started to show dramatic changes. The relations with the EU in general, with Greece in particular and Turkey?s Cyprus policy have undergone dramatic changes towards better. In addition, Turkey?s relations with the US have shifted to a healthier ground.In this paper, I attempt to describe the main contours of Turkish foreign policy during the Cold War and how they have been transformed in the 21st century from a conservative, narrowly defined uni-focal stand to a multi-focal, dynamic and pro-active character. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the "shift of axis" arguments regarding Turkey's international posture are misleading. Turkish national role conceptions in 1992-2012, and voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), undermine the argument that Turkey has been drifting away from the West. The article finds that not only the most dominant Turkish foreign policy role in 1992-2012 is member of the Western world, the difference between the average yearly emphasis of that role before and after the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi) came to power is minimal. Moreover, Turkey's foreign policy affinity with the U.S., NATO, and EU (based on UNGA votes in 1992-2012) suggests that while Turkey has been moving away from the US, its foreign policy affinity has been increasing with the EU. The resulting pattern of Turkish foreign policy behavior before and after AKP came to power displays a gradual change toward a more active and ambitious attitude rather than a shift of axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on issues concerning Turkey's foreign relations with its neighboring countries. It highlights the country's relations with Russia as well as the two European Union member states such as Romania and Bulgaria as well as the changes in and around the Black Sea area which include war and the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Graphs are presented depicting Turkish trade with neighboring countries.

The leaders of both Japan and Turkey have recently made headlines with their refusal to acknowledge past atrocities committed by their states. In the case of Japan, the refusal centers on the Japanese state’s role in forcing Korean women into prostitution during WWII. In the case of Turkey the refusal is an outright denial of the Armenian genocide. It would be easy to dismiss these actions as the product of irrational nationalist bravado, put on for the benefit of a domestic audience. However, given the international character of these disputes, and their very serious consequences for the diplomatic credibility of the countries in question, international relations scholars have an obligation to explain why states act in ways which are contrary to their short-term self-interests. I argue that because of the social status hierarchy in the international system, admitting to past atrocities is more difficult for those states which are not naturally or inherently favored by the norms of the international system. In other words, it is not an accident that two Asian states with the highest aspirations to join the Western the world are also the states which have the most difficulty facing their past. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that concerns about Turkey?s influence on the future of the Union are unwarranted. Turkey will likely have preferences outside the European mainstream on most dimensions and always be outvoted by QMV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Will the Turkish-Israeli alliance continue in the event of a severe crisis in the Middle East? The main purpose of this study is to find an answer to this question. Turkish-Israeli alliance formed in mid-1990s is an untested alliance to this day. Whether the two states will continue to support each other if one is engaged in a severe crisis with Iran or Syria is our main inquiry. To analyze this question, we use the expected utility model developed by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita?s (2002). The actors in the negotiations are Turkey, Israel, US, Iran, and Syria. We develop eight different scenarios, and run ten simulations for each scenario, ending up with a total number of eighty simulations. The results of this initial research suggest that in the majority of the simulations Turkish-Israeli alliance holds, and both countries continue to support each other in a severe crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I use the Boolean method to explain outcomes of conflictual situations in Greece and Turkey (1983-2003). I argue that the making of confrontational policies is a complex phenomenon that does not lend itself to monocausal explanations. My analysis is based on a dataset which includes any crisis between majority Greeks or Turks with either their minorities or neighbors since 1983. The Boolean method allows for testing alternative hypotheses to illustrate whether they are qualitatively true or false, or whether they result in a large number of contradictions. In evaluating current theories, these contradictions suggest whether the theories under review need to be replaced, amended, or complemented with new ones. Among a number of potential theoretical frameworks, I select to test the diversionary theory of war and the security dilemma. These two theories stipulate sets of necessary conditions (variables) which can be operationalized and tested against data collected using retrieval databases (i.e. Lexis/Nexis and FBIS). In brief, my test demonstrates that there is some support for the two theories and that the two are not mutually exclusive. Using Charles Ragin’s probabilistic criteria to assess sufficiency, I conclude that the security dilemma and the diversionary theory are quasi-sufficient explanations of confrontational policies. A number of anomalous cases beg further examination and suggest the need for a complementary third perspective emphasizing ideational factors and learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

we aim to show that a productive conversation is possible between those who study state identity and the decision making folks. We believe that this conversation is mutually beneficial because both research programs focus on a number of concepts and issu ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey is home to some 20 to 25 million people of Kurdish origin, or roughly a quarter of its 70 million citizens. The numbers are hotly disputed, as is the question of how "Kurdish" they are. Although the Kurds were present at the nation's founding about ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey has been playing proactive and constructive foreign policy roles in the Middle East Region for the last few years of the AKP Government. Turkey’s active involvement in the stability efforts after 33 days war in Lebanon and constructive role in over ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU’s 1999 Helsinki Summit decision to endorse Turkey’s efforts to obtain membership was a major turning point in the evolution of Turkey’s domestic and foreign affairs. Especially in the post-September 11 context, a predominantly Muslim nation underta ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent history, describing Turkey’s foreign relations as well geographical location in terms of metaphors has been “in” and “out.” Since the arrival of the “reformed-Islamist” AKP (Justice and Development Party) government to power in November 2002, us ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WILL TO EUROPEAN UNION VS. WILL TO SECULARISM: THE IMPLICATIONS OF TURKEY?S EU REFORMS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Turkey, after a long and gradual process of accession to European Union, have started membership negotiations in early October of 2005 which was considered by the public opinion as well as the Government at the time, a success of Turkish foreign policy. Such an outcome had been possible only with various reforms aiming the fulfillment of the Copenhagen conditionality composed of the political criteria (stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, human rights and protection of minorities), the economic criteria (liberal economy, competitiveness with the EU member state economies) and adoption of the acquis communitaire that refer to acceptance and implementation of all treaties and conventions of the EU as well as the decisions of the European Court of Justice. Although all phases of conditionality had exerted certain tensions in Turkish politics, specifically the political criteria on sustaining minority rights and protection of minorities had challenged the Turkey?s conventional norms of minority regime. Turkey officially recognizes only non-Muslim communities as minorities who are mainly the Armenians, Greeks and the Jews. The Lausanne Treaty of 1923 set forth the basic parameters of Turkey?s minority regime and granted educational cultural, lingual and religious rights to these non-Muslim communities. However, through-out the history of modern Turkey, there had been several shortcomings in the treatment of minorities. The minorities were made to pay extra tax during times of the WWII, encountered violent offenses, were denied ranks in the military all which played as crucial factors in their emigration out of Turkey. Hence, in the 2000s, only remained around 100,000 non-Muslims out of around 250,000 at the beginning of 1920s. It was only with the impact of globalization that paved the path for increase in the voices of multiculturalism and the EU accession process that certain reforms were made in Turkey?s traditional minority rights regime. In the seven reform packages between 2001-2004 made as a requirement of the political criteria, certain problems of the non-Muslims were eliminated and religious freedom was expanded. Yet, owing to the threat of religious fundamentalism and specifically Islamic revivalism, Turkey hesitates to further enhancement of religious rights and freedoms. This presentation reflects on Turkey?s dilemma between its will to become a EU member and will to secularism ? the two traditional pinpoints of Turkish politics. It investigates the EU demands from Turkey on religious freedom and minority rights via the regular progress reports prepared by the European Commissions. Furthermore, it makes a assessment of what these demands would imply on real grounds not in daily lives of non-Muslim citizens but also with respect religious freedom of Muslim citizens. Last but not least, Turkey?s response to these progress reports and the changes made in accordance with the EU accession process will be elaborated. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As skepticism concerning Turkey-s EU membership is deepening among both the publics and elites, the odds that have marked EU-Turkey relations for decades are becoming more insurmountable. Does the EU have a choice to say "no" to Turkey? I claim that the choice to say "no" to Turkey is constrained by historical and institutional forces. A series of policy choices that the EC/U made especially during the Cold War era concerning Turkey and its ultimate membership, which was part of a broader effort to integrate Turkey into the West European political and economic systems, has embedded Turkey in European integration. Because of Turkey?s well-established involvement into the institutional, political and economic life of the EU, the EU has trouble to say ?no? to Turkey. As such, this project presents a further extention of historical institutional approach in the EU literature. While the existing applications examine the historical and institutional forces in the vertical deepening of European integration (Pierson, 1996), historical and institutional forces driving the horizental extention or enlargement of integration remained relatively neglected. This project demonstrates that like in its vertical deepening, EU integration is constrained in its horizental extention by the policy choices made in the past, the choices that were often made in response to immediate concerns. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]