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Cataloged from PDF version of article. Thesis (Master's): Bilkent University, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2022. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-132). Far-right parties with strong nationalist tendencies have occupied a central role in Turkish politics. Sometimes as the radical voice of the opposition parties, sometimes as the minor coalition partner, Turkish nationalism has found itself a strong grip on the political scene since the 1950’s. Alparslan Türkeş and Devlet Bahçeli are viewed as the pioneer figures in the long journey of Turkish nationalism. Both leaders have served as party leaders for more than two decades through several coups, domestic and international changes. In this regard, understanding their belief systems becomes a must in order to understand the foreign policy culture of the Turkish far-right. By utilizing the operational code, a quantitative leadership assessment method that maps the political beliefs of leaders in order to identify causal mechanisms in foreign policy decisions (George, 1969); (Walker, 1983) the study looks to identify the general patterns of Turkish far-right leaders in foreign policy. While analysing the belief systems of Türkeş and Bahçeli, the thesis also looks at the foreign policy events that the leaders experienced. Thus, the quantitative results that stem from the automated coding system ProfilerPlus will be combined with a qualitative aspect that will shed light to the events that give meaning to the beliefs. Three main sets of hypotheses are tested in the thesis. First, Bahçeli is expected to have more stable views on the nature of political universe; Türkeş is believed to have a more hostile understanding of the political universe compared to Bahçeli; and both leaders are expected to see their political other more hostile than the average world leader. Secondly, the study hypothesizes that Türkeş and Bahçeli select more cooperative strategies during their governmental terms but remain conflictual compared to the average world leader in any setting. Third and finally, the thesis argues for the two leaders to possess lower self-control over the course of historical development compared to the average world leader; and expects them to have similar control levels during the 1990’s –a time period in which both leaders ruled their Parties. The findings of the study reveal that Türkeş and Bahçeli possess high levels of hostility towards the political universe, adopt conflictual strategies compared to the average world leader, and their level of historical control remain slightly over the average world leader. While there are minor differences among the two leaders, a clear party orientation can be spotted in the field of foreign policy. Approaching the strategic culture debate from a theoretical perspective, their typologies correspond with a ‘realist-other’ approach on the nature of political universe alongside ‘mixed self-strategies’ that swing between moderate ‘idealism’ and ‘realism.’ Nevertheless, the findings also show that most deviations from their career averages have occurred during governmental power and brief opportunity windows. In adopting a longitudinal approach, the thesis analyses the belief systems of the two leaders in several time-frames. by Kerem Gül M.A.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. Thesis (Master's): Bilkent University, Department of International Relations, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2022. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-124). This thesis examines the microfoundations of two Israeli strategic culture schools attributed to the first two prime ministers of Israel, David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Sharett. Historical accounts attribute Ben-Gurion to a realist orientation, while they attribute Sharett to an idealist orientation. However, these orientations rely on interpretive methods and lack empirical testing. By utilizing operational code analysis as a well-established foreign policy analysis tool, I empirically test to what extent these attributions are reflected in their political beliefs. This thesis employs an automated content analysis method via ProfilerPlus software based on the Verbs in Context System (VICS) procedure to code leaders' speeches as data. The results show that Ben-Gurion’s instrumental beliefs (image of Self) reflect a conflictual image of the political universe as a Type DEF realist leader, while Moshe Sharett’s instrumental beliefs reflect the cooperative characteristics of Type A idealist leadership typology, which align with the historical accounts. As for the philosophical beliefs (image of Other), the findings surprisingly show mixed results. Findings reveal that Sharett’s results differ from his historical accounts, while Ben-Gurion’s results confirm his historical accounts. Both Ben-Gurion and Sharett viewed Other as Type B realist leader. This thesis shows how the synthesis between individual-level variables and structural explanations of foreign policy orientations can advance the explanatory value of international relations theories. by Ahmet Erğurum M.A.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. Thesis (Ph.D.): Bilkent University, Department of International Relations, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2021. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-249). International organizations, individual states, and groups of states increasingly often use economic sanctions an alternative tool of foreign policy. While there are multiple studies analyzing effectiveness and economic, political, or humanitarian consequences of sanctions, much less attention is given to their psychological impacts. Presenting one of the rare systematic studies of psychological consequences of sanctions, this dissertation aims to analyze the effects of the economic sanctions on the political beliefs of the leaders of targeted states. Using operational code analysis, this research investigates whether economic sanctions lead to a change in operational codes of the leaders of Iran, Russia, and Syria representing the major cases of sanctions in the last two decades. The research demonstrates that while economic sanctions do not correspond to an immediate cognitive change, they are likely to trigger leaders’ more gradual learning. The results show that the leaders’ rhetoric after sanctions reflected multiple belief changes, some of which were similar across cases. For example, in five out of six analyzed instances, the targeted leaders started to perceive ‘other’ international actors less friendly than before. Presenting the first systematic analysis of a specific external shock on operational codes of leaders in different geographical, temporal, and political settings, this dissertation contributes to the political belief change literature. At the same time this study fills the gap in the research on psychological consequences of sanctions. by Evgeniia Shahin Ph.D.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. Thesis (Master's): Bilkent University, Department of International Relations, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2021. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-77). Objectives. As the significance of a leader’s beliefs in decision-making processes is widely acknowledged, how and when those beliefs change became important aspects in comprehending the foreign policy of a given country. I investigated whether Erdogan’s beliefs changed in his 19 years of power over exogenous shocks. Informed by the Role Theory, I controlled for the impacts of Arab Spring and US-PYD Alliance as two time intervals. Method. I utilized Operational Code Analysis as an at-a-distance content analysis method. I examined Erdogan’s foreign policy speeches between 2003-2021 and generated his operational code construct. Results. Findings suggest that Erdogan’s beliefs somewhat changed over these two external events, although not in the way that theoretical framework of this study predicted. This limited change is measured as statistically significant change after US-PYD Alliance and tools of OCA supported this, demonstrating a leadership typology change. Conclusion. Events of Arab Spring and US-PYD Alliance had an impact on Erdogan’s OCA belief system and the unfold of Turkish Foreign Policy in an altering manner. Role Theory applications are informative in pursuit of belief change. by İzel Ekin Alpay M.A.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. Thesis (M.S.): Bilkent University, Graduate Program in Energy Economics, Policy and Security, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2021. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-95). Although many studies prefer using the mainstream international relations (IR) theories nowadays, this thesis utilizes role theory as a foreign policy analysis (FPA) tool for examining national role conceptions of Turkey and the implications of these roles in the Eastern Mediterranean specifically. Following the preliminary works of several scholars as K. J. Holsti, who study the role of beliefs, images and identities of the states, this thesis aims to correlate Turkish national roles with its political and economic aims towards the Eastern Mediterranean region. In order to offer a comprehensive perspective, the thesis examines the data including official foreign policy speeches of highest-level decision-makers since 2018. By using the roles and related keywords, a content analysis which is based on word count was used as a methodology. This methodology was used for both generally presented national roles and their reflections and implications in the Eastern Mediterranean. Most emphasized 10 roles found in the analysis was visualized with graphics according to years of speeches while the same method was applied to show actor-specific roles. As a result, I argue that using role theory makes it possible to plausibly explain Turkey's foreign policy decisions towards the region rather than mainstream IR theories. by Yazgı Nur Akın. M.A.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. Thesis (M.S.): Bilkent University, Department of International Relations, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2016. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-207). The psychological approach employed in Leadership Studies asserts that understanding a leader’s characteristics is of paramount importance in understanding the role of that leader in foreign policy decisions. As the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and Khomeini before him, has ultimate veto power over Iran’s foreign policy, and as such, an analysis of his political beliefs is warranted. Utilizing Operational Code Analysis, this research aims to identify patterns in the political belief systems of Khomeini and Khamenei. Three main hypotheses have been posited in this thesis: (1) The political beliefs of Supreme Leaders Khomeini and Khamenei will reveal significant differences from the average world leader (i.e. norming group). (2) Supreme Leader Khamenei’s foreign policy decisions will be more cooperative than his predecessor (Khomeini). (3) The Supreme Leaders’ political belief systems have evolved throughout their tenure as Iran’s leaders due to the experience gained in office. The results reveal that the supreme leaders of Iran demonstrate several significant differences in their political belief system in contrast with the average leader, that Khamenei is indeed more cooperative than Khomeini, and that both leaders’ political belief systems have changed over time. Furthermore, the findings show that Supreme Leader Khamenei is particularly invested in the nuclear program and highly wary of the ‘other’ in the political universe when it comes to this issue. by Elizabeth Richter. M.A.

'Dünya Toplumu' kavramının, İngiliz Okulu'nun teorik üçlüsünün önemli bir köşe taşı olmasına ragmen, diğer kavramlara göre en az geliştirilmiş kavram olduğu görülmektedir (Buzan 2004). Bu tezin amacı, Uluslararası İlişkiler yaklaşımlarından İngiliz Okulu'nun üç ayağından biri olan dünya toplumu (DT) kavramını geliştirmeyi ve yeniden canlandırmayı amaçlayan literatüre katkıda bulunmaktır. Tez, barışinşaası müdahalelerine bu kavramsal çerçeve içerisinden yaklaşmaktadır. Tezde, uluslararası toplum kategorisinden dünya toplumu çerçevesine geçişi açıklayan üç spesifik parametre sunulmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, (1) normatif bağlamda, (2) faillikte ve (3) kimlikte meydana gelen değişimler, dünya toplumu çerçevesini farklı kavramsal bir kategori kılan temalar olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Tez, uluslararası toplumdan dünya toplumuna ilerlemenin, barışı korumadan (peacekeeping) barışinşasına (peacebuilding) doğru evrilen müdahale çerçevesi ile örtüştüğü savını geliştirmektedir. Tezin ampirik bölümleri Liberya ve Sierra Leone'de yaşanan barışinşası deneyimlerine odaklanmaktadır. Bu örnekler, tezin kavramsal bölümlerinde geliştirilen parametreler çerçevesinde incelenmiştir. Ampirik bölümlerde hem nitel yöntemler kullanılmış, hem de nicel içerik analizi yöntemine başvurulmuştur. Sonuçlara göre, normatif bağlam ve failleri açısından devlet-merkezci kalan uluslararası toplum çerçevesi ile karşılaştırıldığında, dünya toplumu çerçevesinin sunduğu bakış açısının barışinşası müdahalelerini daha iyi anlamamızı ve açıklamamızı sağladığı görülmüştür. Sonuçlar, barışinşası literatüründeki, bu müdehale tarzının normatif merkezinin insan/birey güvenliği üzerine inşa edildiğini savunan köklü tartışmalara sorgulamamızı sağlayacak veriler ortaya koymaktadır. Although the world society (WS) framework appears to be an important cornerstone in the theoretical triad of the English School (ES), it is the least developed concept amongst others (Buzan 2004). This dissertation's objective is to contribute to the literature which aims to develop and revitalize the WS framework, which is one of the three pillars of the ES of International Relations (IR). It uses this theoretical approach in the analysis of peacebuilding intervention practices. The dissertation proposes three specific parameters which constitute the progress from the international to world society framework. In this regard, changes in the (1) normative context, (2) agency and (3) identity appear as themes which differentiate the WS framework as a distinct theoretical category. The dissertation develops the argument that the progress from the international to world society overlaps with the change in the nature of intervention which have been evolving from traditional peacekeeping to new peacebuilding. The empirical sections of the dissertation focus on the peacebuilding experiences in Liberia and Sierra Leone. These cases are analyzed with specific references to the parameters emphasized in the theoretical chapters. Both qualitative analysis and quantitative content analysis methods are employed in the empirical chapters. According to the results, I suggest that the peacebuilding interventions are better understood and explained through the lenses of the WS framework compared to the international society framework which remains rather state-centric in terms of its normative context and agents. The results also challenge several long established arguments in the peacebuilding literature which suggest that the normative center of the peacebuilding is built upon the understanding of human/individual security. 390

Bu çalışma, Rol Teorisi aracılığıyla ülkelerin liderlerinin nükeer silahlanma konusundaki motivasyonlarını araştırmaktadır. Çalısmanın vakası olarak seçılen Brezilya ve Hindistan örnekleri üzerinden, bu ülke liderlerinin benimsediği roller ve bu rollerden kaynaklanan nükleer silahlanma kararları arasındaki bağları incelemıştır. Bu analizde seçilen iki vaka birbiriyle en cok benzeyen sistemleri arastırma metoduyla karşılaştırılmıştır. Marjike Breuning (2011) tarafından geliştirilen modele göre liderlerin rol kavrayışlarının hem maddi hem de düşünsel katmanları değerlendirilmiştir. Bu çalışmayla, Brezilya vakasında liderler tarafından ifade edilen milli rol kavrayışlarının, nükleer silahlanma politikası ile uyusmadigi bulunmustur. Aksine, Hindistan vakasında, nükleer patlayıcıların bir statü sembolü olarak algılandığı ve liderlerin benimsediği milli rol kavrayışlarıyla tutarlı olduğu saptanmiştir. Bu çalışmayla Rol Teorisi'nin bu vakalardaki gözlemlerinin nükleer silahların yayılması literatürene katkı sağladığı savunulmuştur. This thesis uses role theory to investigate the motivations of national leaders considering the acquisition of nuclear weapons. The correlation between expressed roles and proliferation decisionmaking is examined in the cases of Brazil and India within the framework of a most similar systems design. The material and ideational sources of Brazilian and Indian national role conceptions are traced using a model developed by Marijke Breuning (2011). In the Brazilian case, the expressed national role conceptions are found to be inconsistent with acquisition of nuclear weaponry, whereas in the Indian case, nuclear explosives were seen as powerful symbols consistent with the role conceptions of national leaders. The insights yielded by role theory in these cases provide a valuable addition to the existing nonproliferation literature. 232

Ankara : The Department of International Relations, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2012. Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Bilkent University, 2012. Includes bibliographical references leaves 211-224. This dissertation argues that the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, which is designed to curb nuclear proliferation, has become a security regime. Since the end of the Cold War, the Nunn-Lugar CTR program has dismantled nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. United State’s recurring discord with Russia did not hinder the continuation of this strategic cooperation. CTR was a notable exception because it continued to be renewed every seven years for more than 20 years, even during the Kosovo crisis, Georgian conflict and other tensions between the U.S. and Russian Federation. The United States further expanded the Nunn-Lugar principles, norms and rules to other regions of world. It became a robust security regime by also addressing new types of threats. Nunn-Lugar eliminated bureaucratic and red tape burdens on the Defense Threat Reduction Agency throughout the post-Cold War. The Nunn-Lugar destroyed a chemical weapons stockpile in Albania. It is also given the resources and flexibility to work with countries such as Pakistan and trying to cooperate with North Korea if a future agreement allows it. Nunn-Lugar has expanded so as to provide nuclear security by assisting countries in securing fissile material and nuclear weapons, and supporting countries countering attacks concerning weapons of mass destruction. In 2002, Nunn-Lugar model has been adapted by Global Partnership Against Weapons of Mass Destruction by G-8 countries in Canada. In this context, 23 industrialized countries joined forces to dismantle nuclear submarines and eliminate chemical weapons in Russia. NunnLugar as well as other initiatives such as Global Partnership is still in force and will be renewed for another 10 years. Gürzel, Aylin G Ph.D.