CIAO DATE: 12/2008
Volume: 2, Issue: 5
Spring 2005
The Regime Theories: Useful Frameworks for Analysing Human Rights Issues?
Sevilay Z. Aksoy
International regimes have come to occupy an increasing space and importance within both politics among nations and the literature on international relations. This is so simply because of the ever-increasing need for fruitful international cooperation in the face of increasing and urgent problems facing the whole humanity. However, the related academic debate is in a state of major dissent regarding the conceptualisation of regimes, including their formation, maintenance and effectiveness. Human rights area is not immune from this state of dissent and confusion, and even more so because of the seeming resistance of human rights issues to international cooperation. This article addresses these issues and does so in three parts. First, I review the major theoretical approaches to the conceptualisation of regimes. Second, I explain the implications of this review for human rights regimes. And finally, I explore the motivations of international actors to cooperate under the dominant and competing regime theories, and examine their relevance to human rights issues.
Reasons for Supporting the EU Constitution
Füsun Arsava
Although the founding treaties of the European Communities were not declared as the founding treaties of a legal community, they had the features of a constitution from the beginning onward. The constitutional features of the founding treaties were concrete facts especially regarding principles of state of law included in the treaties. But the order of law that stemmed from the current founding treaties was complex. That development came into being without the will of the European peoples. The ultimate goal of the EU Constitution today is to complete the process of constitutionalization with the contribution of European peoples. The more the constitution stresses upon the priority of law, democracy, fundamental rights, freedoms as constitutional principles and the more it shapes institutional structure on democratic foundations, the faster the constitutionalization process will be complete and the discussion about the legitimacy of the EU will come to an end. That will make the acceptance of the EU law beyond any doubt.
Eurasian Alternative in Turkish Foreign Policy
Erel Tellal
One of the constant fundamental principles of Turkish foreign policy during the republican era has been its “Western orientation”. In spite of this fact Turkey faced an “Eurasian alternative” in the last decade. Turkey, after negligence for 70 years, has tried to develop (to have friendly relations) with Central Asian and southern Caucasian states after they had acquired independence. The attempt of the last ten years can be called as failure of the last ten years. Since the State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained ineffective in the process of determining policy and implementing it, this vacuum was filled by extreme nationalists who are inclined to see themselves as “big brother” and also by religious fundamentalists. Moreover, reasons stemming from the region and international environment played a role in the failure of Turkish policies as well. In the second decade Turkey should determine the related factors and head toward to cooperate with regional countries and Russia in order to become successful in the region.
Caucasian Diaspora in Turkey and Its Impact on Turkish Foreign Policy
Mitat Çelikpala
The concept of diaspora, which was incorporated into the literature on politics in the 1960s, has become a significant notion in current international politics. This study aims to present a theoretical assessment of the diaspora concept, followed by the organisation and the evolution of the Caucasian diaspora(s) in Turkey, which include Armenians, Azeris, Georgians and other North Caucasian peoples. It discusses their transformations from emigrants to diaspora, their views regarding each other as well as the changes that took place within these groups after the collapse of the Soviet Union which had a dramatic impact on their relations with their homelands. The second part of this study shifts the emphasis to the recent developments in Abkhazia and Chechnya, and to the activities and increasing influence of the diaspora over Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the political leaders in Turkey.
Turkish – Armenian Relations in the Aftermath of the USSR
Ali Faik Demir
Following the collapse of the USSR, Turkey acquired a new opportunity concerning its foreign policy: Caucasus. In this whole region and especially in the southern Caucasus composed of three independent states, Armenia occupied the most critical and the most sensitive issue. Turkey, despite the historical negative legacy, tried to establish a different base for its relations with Armenia, succeeding the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to this, it is possible to observe positive steps undertaken by the two sides under the presidency of Petrosian, but the Nagorno-Karabakh question became the decisive factor of the bilateral relations during this same period. During the presidency of his successor Kocharian, other than Nagorno-Karabakh problem, Diaspora communities gained influence. This led the so-called “genocide” issue to constitute an important subject of the international agenda in bilateral relations as well as in other international platforms. Despite the Kocharian’s hawkish rhetoric in the beginning, which caused the deterioration of the bilateral relations, during the second term of his presidency, a certain détente has been observed. Apart from official relations and negotiations, the Turkish-Armenian Peace Commission, founded in 2001 with the intention to establish a positive, peaceful and free of prejudice platform constitutes an important step.
Turkish-Tajik Relations After the Independence
Pinar Akçali
This article aims to analyze the relations between Turkey and Tajikistan in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The relations between these two countries remained rather limited in the period of 1991-1994 because Tajikistan was not Turkic, faced negative economic conditions, went through a civil war, and had closer ties with Iran and Russia. Between 1995 and 2003, however, these relations improved as Turkey better realized the fact that Tajikistan was both an inseparable part of Central Asian geography and critical for regional stability. Furthermore, in this period, Tajik Civil War ended with an important political reconciliation. It is concluded that although there has been a relative improvement in Turkish-Tajik relations since Tajikistan’s independence, it has not yet reached to a satisfactory level.
Book Review: Mete TUNCOKU, Çanakkale 1915: Buzdagi’nin Alti
Nuri Yurdusev
Book Review: Ismail CEM, Türkiye, Avrupa, Avrasya, Birinci Cilt, Strateji-Yunanistan-Kibris
Burcu Yavuz
Book Review: Benjamin L. SELF ve Jeffrey W. THOMPSON (der.), Japan’s Nuclear Option: Security, Politics and Policy in the 21st Century
Hakan Gönen