CIAO DATE: 12/2008
Volume: 2, Issue: 7
Autumn 2005
Editorial
The Long Cycle of Global Politics and the Nation-State
George Modelski
In modern times a succession of world powers shaped the global system. The active focus for global organization has always been a world power and that the identity, values and resources of that power have shaped modern world experience. We observe that, since 1500 four states have in turn played a dominant role in the management of global interdependence and therefore fit the description of a world power: Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain and the US. In a fairly regular pattern each world power has been succeeded by another in a process that recalls, though it is not to be confused with the long-term succession of political regimes in a political system lacking regularized elections. One long cycle corresponds to each global power, except in the case of Britain, who has experienced two such cycles.
Rethinking Foreign Policy in Turkey as a Securitized Domain: The Case of Cyprus
Alper Kaliber
The implications of the Cyprus issue in contemporary Turkish domestic and foreign policues are far more complicated than in previous decades. Particularly with the beginning of the new millennium the heavily securitized and successfully bureaucratised Cyprus issue has turned out to be the main "discursive battlefield" of the polarisation among the ruling elites in Turkey. The present article aims at re-examining Turkey's security discourse on Cyprus with particular reference to its implications in the (re)configuration of political balances and power relations between the conservative state elite and the reformist political elite in Turkey. In this respect, it concludes that the security language premised on the constant assertion of such concepts as "national defence and security, national unity and integrity, geo-strategic importance and vital threats" has been operational in inscribing the legitimate boundaries of the political sphere.
A Spectre Haunting Europe: The European Constitution, the Budget Crisis, and the Limits of Neoliberal Integration
Eddie J. Girdner
The rejection of the European Draft Constitution by voters in France and Holland created a crisis in Europe. The dilemma, however is rooted in the deeper issues concerning democracy, neoliberalism, and the division of wealth among classes in European society. The draft constitution would have locked in the principles of neoliberalism and guaranteed rights for capital over those of citizens. Beyond the question of the lack of grass roots democracy European social welfare guarantees are threatened. Capitalist accumulation is rendered as a technical question to be determined by technocrats and business enterprises, rather than a political question at the heart of democracy. The vote against the constitution was not a vote against a united and social Europe, but against a Europe united on the basis of the American model of enshrining capitalist accumulation as the be all and end all of human endeavor. The crisis in Europe has revealed the limits to neoliberal integration in Europe.
Strategic Importance of Eurasia for Turkey’s Export-Oriented Economy Policies
Mert Bilgin
It is almost impossible for Turkey to find a room in Eurasia based on its political meaning. However the more Eurasia is assigned an economic meaning, the more Turkey can benefit from its advantages. The necessity to ameliorate the terms of the energy agreements signed with Eurasian energy exporters and to increase exportations to these countries through strong brands fortified by the concept of TURQUALITY® are the two preconditions of this. By this positioning Turkey will better respond to the forthcoming pressures from; 1- High costs of energy and raw materials imported from Eurasian countries. 2- Full EU membership of East European countries, 3- Eurasian Customs Union, 4- Global price competition especially in the textile sector. Eurasia, which should be considered within this structure, does not indicate an alternative against Europe, but rather offers opportunities along which Turkey has the potency to position itself as a "Eurasian Tiger" if it manages to overcome these pressures.
Turkish-Georgian Relations from Independence to Velvet Revolution
Yelda Demirag
This article aims to analyze relations between Turkey and Georgia in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The study is divided into three periods: from the 1991 Turkish recognition of Georgian independence to 1996; from 1996 to 2003, during which military and political relations evolved into a strategic partnership; and after 2003, during and after the Velvet Revolution in Georgia. Current economic relations between the two countries and their possible future course are also considered. Finally, the study provides an analysis of improvements in Turkish-Georgian relations since Georgian independence. This paper argues that Turkey should pursue a more active foreign policy toward economic and political stability in Georgia, as it is a key country in Turkey's Eurasian policies.
Turkish-Israeli Strategic Cooperation From 1990's until Today
Serhat Erkmen
Turkish-Israeli relations, which are important in the Middle East, were excellent in the mid-l990s but suffered from ups and downs between 2000 and 2005. Turkish-Israeli relations, which celebrated their “golden age” after 1996, reached their lowest point in 2003-2004. This can be explained by changes in the balances between countries in the Middle East and by internal factors in the two countries. It can be argued that the “golden age,” which began with the birth and strengthening of a shared threat perception, deteriorated in the absence of the threat perception. This article examines the structural and conjunctional factors in Turkish-Isreali relations and attempts to predict how those factors may affect Turkish-Israeli relations in the near future.
Alexander WENDT, Social Theory of International Politics
Birgül Demirtas-Coskun
International relations Bibliography (April - August 2005)