USAK Yearbook of International Politics and Law: Volume 4


Book Description

USAK Yearbook of Politics and International Relations, the fifth edition of which was published in 2012, is an annual, peer-reviewed, English language scholarly journal. The Editorial Office of the Yearbook is in the central building of the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) in Ankara, Turkey. However, the Yearbook is an independent publication in terms of scholarly research and the editors decide its publication policies. Esteemed academics dispassionately evaluate all submitted articles to ensure their conformity with academic rules and formats. The review reports are confidentially stored in the Yearbook's archives for five years. While the focal points of published articles converge on international relations, international law and political science, essentially; subjects regarding Area studies of the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe are also spared considerable space. Additionally, pieces concerning international security, sociology, and anthropological studies are also regularly included in the Yearbook. Now entering its sixth year of compilation, the Yearbook provides a scholarly platform for academics and researchers throughout the world. The USAK Yearbook of Politics and International Relations is gifted to every dual subscriber to the Review of International Law and Politics (UHP) and the Journal of Central Asia and the Caucasus (OAKA) after their first year of subscription. Indexes through which our followers can browse and access Yearbook are as follows: Hein Online, International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA), PAIS International, CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, CSA Sociological Abstracts, CSA Social Services Abstracts and ULAKBİM.







A Research Guide to Southeastern Europe


Book Description

A Research Guide to Southeastern Europe: Print and Electronic Sources is designed to aid those interested in exploring this dynamic region in locating the best resources available, whether looking for archival collections in Albania or dissertations and theses in Greece. It provides readers up-to-date information on a variety of research collections from over twenty countries and in over a dozen languages. The focus of the volume is on the modern era, primarily the 18th century to the present, the subject areas of the humanities and social sciences, though researchers from outside of the subject and temporal scope of the work will find information of use, and the countries of Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova (including the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic), Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. This volume is distinctive in that it is the only bibliographic resource that offers such extensive subject, linguistic, and regional treatment. This work is composed of five chapters and three appendices. The chapters are focused on research materials, giving readers access points for critical materials on Southeastern Europe both in print and digital formats from libraries, archives, journals, and databases. The appendices focus on library classification, educational programming geared to language instruction, and transliteration of non-Latin scripts.




Turkey's Relations With Israel


Book Description

This book offers the first comprehensive history and analysis of Turkey’s relations with Israel since 1948, when the state of Israel was established, up until 2010 and places them within the wider framework of Turkey’s foreign policy. It highlights the remarkable lack of consistency in Turkey’s foreign policy towards Israel, under different Turkish governments, which has given the relationship a pervasive sense of unpredictability. Combining empirical-analytical evidence with role theory insights, as developed in Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), it explores Turkish foreign policy makers’ perceptions regarding the proper role and function of the country in the international system and the sub-system of the Middle East and how they affected the policy towards Israel. The author argues that Ankara’s ambivalent policy towards Israel for over sixty years can be explained by Turkey's multiple and often contradictory national role conceptions. The study, which draws from archival material and over fifty interviews with Turkish, Israeli, American and Arab officials and experts, places Ankara’s policy into a larger analytical framework, which helps link the past to the present and future. The book is essential reading for students and scholars interested in understanding Turkey's foreign policy in general and towards the Middle East in particular.




Afghanistan and Central Asia


Book Description

Papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop entitled as "NATO, the Fight against International Terrorism in Afghanistan and Security Situation in Central Asia since 9/11," held at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey between April 10-11, 2011.




USAK Yearbook of Politics and International Relations: Volume 5


Book Description

USAK Yearbook of Politics and International Relations, the fifth edition of which was published in 2012, is an annual, peer-reviewed, English language scholarly journal. The Editorial Office of the Yearbook is in the central building of the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) in Ankara, Turkey. However, the Yearbook is an independent publication in terms of scholarly research and the editors decide its publication policies. Esteemed academics dispassionately evaluate all submitted articles to ensure their conformity with academic rules and formats. While the focal points of published articles converge on international relations, international law and political science, essentially; subjects regarding Area studies of the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe are also spared considerable space. Additionally, pieces concerning international security, sociology, and anthropological studies are also regularly included in the Yearbook. Now entering its sixth year of compilation, the Yearbook provides a scholarly platform for academics and researchers throughout the world. The USAK Yearbook of Politics and International Relations is gifted to every dual subscriber to the Review of International Law and Politics (UHP) and the Journal of Central Asia and the Caucasus (OAKA) after their first year of subscription. Indexes through which our followers can browse and access Yearbook are as follows: Hein Online, International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA), PAIS International, CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, CSA Sociological Abstracts, CSA Social Services Abstracts and ULAKBİM.




Perspectives on Turkey's Multi-Regional Role in the 21st Century


Book Description

This book dwells upon the various aspects of the Turkish foreign policy in the different regions of the world, especially with the dawn of the twenty-first century. Turkey has attracted international attention due to a marked transformation in the country’s domestic and external realms, which in turn, has led to an increased activism in its foreign policy actions. Particularly, Turkey’s economic rise has fuelled the country’s ambition and quest for a more significant role in international affairs. These transformations have come about with the ascendance of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) [or Justice & Development Party (JDP)] to power in 2002. Turkey, under the AKP, moved towards a ‘new’ direction in the foreign policy and consequently endeavoured to play a larger role in West Asia (Middle East), the Balkans, southern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Africa and Asia. The country has emerged as a multi-regional player having stakes and tractions on a range of issues in these regions. The several discernible aspects of Turkey’s involvement are dealt with in the contributions to this volume.




Turkey’s Power Capacity in the Middle East: Limits of the Possible


Book Description

International Strategic Research Center (ISRO – USAK) proudly announces the release of the report named “Turkey’s Power Capacity in the Middle East: Limits of the Possible” which is prepared by Osman Bahadir Dincer, USAK expert on Middle Eastern affairs, and Mustafa Kutlay, USAK expert on political economy; with the contribution of top-notch academics and USAK researchers from various fields of study. The previous version of the report in Turkish was published in May and introduced to a wide range of audience, from media organs to diplomats, through a conference held in USAK seminar hall. This latter version in English aims to open a new window towards the issues at glance for international researchers as well, by enabling the reader to bypass popular qualitative speculations and have a more clear vision of the quantitative aspect of Turkey’s power projection capabilities in the Middle Eastern theatre through a tri-color prism of diplomacy, economics and soft power. The arguments about whether Turkey is a role model in the Middle East or has attained the level of an “order establishing actor” are frequently voiced in print and visual media, but no systematic empirical analysis of these claims seems to have been carried out. This study sets out to fill this gap. Turkey’s capacity as a regional power is examined empirically, with special emphasis placed on the structural components of Turkey’s growing regional influence, and on the basis of data regarding its diplomatic, economic, and soft power components. This study concludes that Turkey is a country suffering from an “expectations-capabilities gap” in the Middle East, and that until the deficiencies identified in the study are remedied, Turkey will be unable to become a regional leader.




Turkey in the 21st Century


Book Description

This unique book investigates the complex transformation of Turkey's foreign policy, focusing on changing threat perceptions and the reformulation of its Western identity. This transformation cannot be explained solely in terms of strategic choices or agency driven policies but encompasses power shifts and systemic transformations. Is Turkey shifting its axis? Will this affect its traditional Western-oriented foreign policy? The book begins by discussing the relationship between security and globalization, using examples of Turkey's regional positioning. It then focuses on to what extent the 'traditional' discourse on security in Turkish politics, which prevailed during the Cold War era and beyond, has undergone a change in the new era. This timely book is a much needed account of how pragmatism rather than ideology is the main determinant in Turkey's current foreign policy and should be read by all looking for a fresh and stimulating take on Turkey's response to globalization and the internationalization of security in the 21st Century.




Political and Social Influences on the Education of Children


Book Description

This book investigates the effects of social and political change on the provision of primary education in post-communist and post-war contexts. Focusing on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the author considers educational developments in post-communist countries of central and Eastern Europe, the effects of the civil conflict that occurred 1992-95 and the consequences of the peace settlement. In order to present a picture of the development of primary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the importance of political ideology on education provision, chapters discuss instances of the impact of external political influences, educational provision being drawn from neighbouring countries, and illustrate how the political war is continuing. Political and Social Influences on the Education of Children provides insights into lessons learned for education in countries with a changing political state and considers what the future might hold for primary education provision in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Political and Social Influences on the Education of Childrenis key reading for researchers, scholars and postgraduate students interested in educational developments in post-communist countries and education in areas of conflict. This book will also appeal to those interested in the political and social history of the region.