İlker Turan, "Area and International Studies in Turkey: The Case of the United States," All Azimuth 1, No.1 (2012): 50-63. (original) (raw)

"Back to the Past: The Origins of Turkish- American Relations from an Alternative Perspective", Turkish Yearbook of International Relations, Vol:46 , 2015, pp.133-164

Turkish-American relations have been an important component of Turkey " s foreign policy for a very long time. Starting from the beginning of the Cold War, the US has become an inseparable part of Turkish diplomacy. Although the bipolar configuration of world politics came to an end 25 years ago, this alliance still keeps its importance for both sides. Nevertheless, the existence of divergences is an undeniable fact. This article investigates retrospectively the sources of the divergences in Turkish-American relations from an alternative perspective. The perspective used in this study gives a special place to the identities summarized as Turkish communitarianism on the one hand and American cosmopolitanism on the other, to the morality provided by these identities conceptualized as pluralist/ solidarist distinction, and to the behaviors they lead to. It also considers the changing ideational structures of the international society through decades. This article aims to fulfil the gap that was revealed by those who worked both on the Social Constructivism and the English School of International Relations, by mapping Turkish-American relations through a normative framework and by providing specific examples related to that from the early years of the Republic of Turkey, the Cold War and the post-Cold War period.

Progress in Turkish International Relations

All Azimuth 7.1, 2018

There are certainly grounds for optimism when it comes to progress in Turkish international relations (IR). Turkish academia has come a long way since the 1960s. The rapid expansion of IR study in Turkish academia can be attributed to the expansion in the Turkish educational system, especially after 1980, and the rising importance of international relations through globalization. Turkish society has very large potential for future work in IR, with many highly qualified scholars. Compared to a few decades ago, more IR articles are being authored by Turkish scholars, both abroad and in Turkey. The question now is how Turkish scholars can become an even stronger voice in the international academic community. In this paper, I suggest better collaboration with government and universities to develop better PhD programs, participate in PhD consortiums and establish stronger links with the international community.

Turkey: A Regional Power Facing a Changing International System

Turkish Studies, 2013

Turkey's foreign policy activism in recent decades, characterized by an ambitious regional agenda and visibility in global affairs, has generated a lively debate. This paper attempts to position Turkey in modern-day international relations, in order to develop an analytical framework capable of theorizing its regional and global-level activism coherently. It thus proposes to conceptualize Turkey as a regional power and argues that such actors' behavior can be analyzed with reference to three interrelated variables: the nature of regional order, their behavioral attitudes, and the interactions at the regional-global nexus.

Time to Quantify Turkey's Foreign Affairs: Setting Quality Standards for a Maturing International Relations Discipline

The first part of this article discusses the current state of International Relations (IR) in Turkey and begins with the argument that the local disciplinary community shows a lack of adequate communication and interactive scholarly debates, and therefore of knowledge accumulation. This article proposes that the growth of such engagement could be encouraged by increased methodological diversity, in particular additional research using quantitative methods. It argues that quantitative research could contribute to engagement by providing conceptual and methodological clarity around which scholarly debates could develop and ultimately contribute to Turkish IR's progress as a disciplinary community. To substantiate these claims, this article goes on to discuss the development and contributions of quantitative research to global IR and illustrates the potential benefits of using quantitative methods in the study of Turkish foreign affairs. Turkish International Relations (IR) is a growing discipline both in terms of the number of researchers working within it and the broadness of subjects being covered. Particularly in the last decade, IR publications by scholars based in Turkey have reached unprecedented levels. A quick search through the Web of Science for articles in the areas of political science (PS), IR, or area studies (AS), with authors providing a Turkish address, confirms this observation. 2 Although such proliferation is welcome in many respects, it is reasonable to ask whether those sheer numbers have contributed to an improved understanding of the subject matters and whether they reflect a growing sense of local disciplinary identity. In this article, we argue that this proliferation can only be fruitful if it generates debates within the community. Moreover, such debates are possible and progressive only if there is sufficient theoretical and methodological diversity. To support our argument, we highlight the current state of Turkish IR as observed by leading local scholars and as suggested by both the findings of a recent

Turkish-American Relations in the 2000s: Revisiting the Basic Parameters of Partnership?

This article studies developments in Turkish-American relations over the last decade. It starts with an analysis of the three parameters of the bilateral relationship that took shape at the height of the Cold War: Turkey’s geo-strategic and geo-political importance; cooperation in return for external assistance; and pursuit of a pro-US political-ideological role at the regional level. While the alliance relationship underwent transformations in following years, the learned behavioral habits from this era continued to impact Turkey’s foreign policy practices. The article argues thatTurkey’s policies over the last decade can be viewed as attempts to break those established behavioral patterns. In particular, it analyzes how the drive for autonomous action became a de€ning feature of Turkish foreign policy throughout the 2000s, as a result of which relations with the United States entered a new era, characterized by a growing number of frictions. Consequently, both cooperation and competition have become routine features of the bilateral ties, which is examined in various issue areas and regions.

Turkey and the US Exceptionalism: Change and Continuity inBilateral Ties inthe 21 st Century

Remittances Review, 2024

The emergence of the modern republic of Turkey from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in the twentieth century was the ramification of European great powers' geostrategic interests to a great extent and it reflects in Turkey's domestic and foreign policy as well. The fears and optimism vis-à- vis great powers shaped the country's foreign policy choices throughout the twentieth century. Accepting the American' exceptionalism and operating under it remained a norm for Turkey during the Cold War period and afterward and it was not an exhibition of surrendering the country's national interests unconditionally but a strategy to deal with other immediate threats (mainly from the former Soviet Union) to its territorial sovereignty. Turkey in the first decade of the twenty-first century, meanwhile, witnessed a change in its domestic and foreign policy vis-à-vis all major powers including the US. It is imperative to comprehend contemporary Turkey's aspiration in domestic, regional, and international politics in the context of its Ottoman identity and past traumas. Turkey's policy imperatives, from becoming part of the US alliance in the Cold War period and later developing more cordial trade and geostrategic ties with Russia and China, are all based on Ankara's inherent identity and relevant insecurities rooted in its past glory and traumas. The Turkish elite's efforts to revive the lost glory and restore its distinct role in the region (Middle East, Central Asia, Eurasia, and beyond)by constructing “Neo-Ottomanism” ideology for the country that is largely based on country’s geographical and historical characteristics is in contradiction with the US exceptionalism and interests in the region. This chapter aims to analyze the changing dynamics of the US-Turkey ties especially in the context of Ankara’s claims of regional hegemony and autonomous global stature