A historical materialist analysis of Turkish foreign policy: class, state, and hegemony/Turk dis politikasinin tarihsel materyalist bir analizi: sinif, devlet ve hegemonya

This article aims to develop a historical materialist analysis to analyse Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) as part of what I refer to as critical foreign policy studies. The paper utilises a critical political economy approach to TFP based on the Gramscian concept of hegemony and extends it to analyse different foreign policy strategies as hegemonic projects developed by ruling capital classes to sustain their rule. The paper also presents the concept of hegemonic depth to resolve the antinomies involved in understanding foreign policy projects as the outcome of a dialectical interplay between structures and agencies. The concept of hegemonic depth is then used to understand the dynamics of TFP in terms of the state-capital nexus. Hegemonic depth implies the extent of the embeddedness of capital fractions in controlling the state apparatus and the functioning of the state. The article also argues for the replacement of the geopolitical concept of strategic depth with the sociological concept of hegemonic depth to describe this process of deepening of the neoliberal principles of globalization, the concomitant development of hegemonic projects and their reflection on TFP. The final section argues that there are always limits to hegemonic depth and that the current Justice and Development Party government may have difficulties in extending the penetration of its hegemony. Keywords: Historical materialism, Turkish Foreign Policy, Class and State, Hegemony, Hegemonic Projects, Accumulation Strategy. Bu makale, elestirel dis politika calismalari adini verdigim bir yaklasim cercevesinde Turk Dis Politikasi'nin tarihsel materyalist analizini yapmaya yonelik bir cerceve cizmektedir. Bu dogrultuda elestirel bir politik iktisat yaklasimi benimseyerek Gramsci'nin hegemonya kavramini temel almakta ve bu kavrami genisleterek dis politika stratejilerini hakim siniflarin egemenliklerini surdurmek icin gelistirdikleri hegemonya projelerinin bir uzantisi olarak degerlendirmektedir. Makale dis politikanin degerlendirilmesinde yapilar ve failler arasindaki diyalektik iliskinin nasil anlasilmasi gerektigine yonelik olarak hegemonik derinlik kavramini onermekte ve devlet-sermaye iliskisinin incelenmesinde bu kavrami kullanmaktadir. Hegemonik derinlik sermaye siniflarinin devlet kurumlari ile bu kurumlarin isleyisindeki etkilerinin derinligini ifade etmektedir. Makale bu sureci ifade etmek uzere jeopolitik bir kavram olan stratejik derinlik kavrami yerine, neoliberal kuresellesme ilkeleri ile bunlari yansitan dis politika projelerini ifade etmek uzere sosyolojik bir kavram olan hegemonik derinlik kavraminin kullanilmasini onermektedir. Makale hegemonik derinligin sinirlari oldugunu ve mevcut AKP hukumetinin bu sinirlara erismis olabilecegini ifade etmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Tarihsel Materyalizm, Turk Dis Politikasi, Devlet ve Sinif, Hegemonya, Hegemonya Projeleri, Hegemonik Derinlik
Introduction * This paper attempts to develop a historical materialist analysis of Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) based on a based on a critical political economy approach employing a neo-Gramscian theoretical [...]