Content Type: Journal Article / Political Geography: Europe / Publication Year: within 5 Years / Topic: Regional Cooperation

1. Towards a Fuzzy World Order: What Role for NATO

Author:: Richard Higgott and Simon Reich
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Bi-polarity, multi-polarity, the end of globalization, or Cold War v. 2.0. New explanations of world order abound. Often, they are asserted rather than reasoned by pundits looking for their 15 minutes of fame. This paper is much more modest. It eschews grand statements about world order. Rather we demonstrate that the future is far less clear cut and predetermined. Yes, a global binary is emerging around U.S.-China competition, but it is what we describe as fuzzy bifurcation. If our analysis is accurate, then it affects the behavior of other actors differently than a tight bi-polar system. In this paper we look at the implications of a fuzzy bifurcation of world order for that most important of alliances – NATO.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

2. Prospects for Pax Caucasia? The 3+3 Regional Cooperation Initiative

Author:: Vasif Huseynov
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: The 3+3 format for regional cooperation is an initiative that was first proposed by the leaders of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the Second Karabakh War, building somewhat on an idea that originated in Iran during the war itself. This grouping covers the three countries of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) plus the three most important countries neighboring this region (Russia, Turkey, and Iran). Thus in December 2020, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the initiative at a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart, President Ilham Aliyev, during his visit to Baku in which he reviewed the military parade marking Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in the aforementioned war—a war that heralded the fundamental transformation of regional geopolitical and geo‑economic realities. On this occasion, Erdoğan called 3+3 a win‑win initiative for all actors in the region. Given its obvious potential to promote peace and security in the South Caucasus and facilitate the normalization of relations between former belligerents, some local experts believe that the 3+3 initiative could be instrumental for the emergence of Pax Caucasia. Four of the six countries immediately reacted positively to the initiative, with Armenia and Georgia expressing some reservation. While Armenia initially sounded skeptical, the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan eventually confirmed its participation in this format. For now, the only country that retains distance from the Pax Caucasia process is Georgia which, due to its ongoing territorial dispute with Russia, refuses to participate in this platform and proposes an alternative 3+2 format (the countries of the South Caucasus + the EU and the United States). Tbilisi has called its counterproposal the “Peaceful Neighborhood Initiative” but has taken no concrete action to set it in motion. Neither Aliyev nor Pashinyan have yet to publicly comment on the 3+2 format. Others have also remained silent. Hence, the likelihood it can prevail over the 3+3 framework in geopolitical substance is low, given that it excludes major active regional players like Russia and Turkey and substitutes them with two Western actors that are evidently less engaged in the region. The advent of the present phase of the conflict over Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, has also not increased the prospects of the Georgian idea being adopted, either.
Topic:: Security, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Iran, Turkey, Caucasus, Middle East, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

3. Russia's War and The Future of European Order

Author:: Thomas Diez
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Russia’s war in Ukraine fundamentally challenges the post-Cold War international order. Yet the scenario of a renewed Cold War must be balanced by alternative visions of European order. This contribution reassesses the concepts of interdependence, socialization, normative power, and international society taken from international relations theory to develop some general lessons for European order and concrete pointers toward alternative policy paths. Such an order needs to build on a more honest engagement, serious great power management mirrored by societal linkages, and creative thinking about joint institutions and regional overlaps.
Topic:: Security, Regional Cooperation, War, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

4. Europe's Hour of Reckoning

Author:: Knud Erik Jörgensen
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The hour of reckoning is when one confronts past mistakes and decides what to do next. Russia’s war in Ukraine reveals numerous European mistakes in the past and accelerates the development of a new foreign policy paradigm. The article examines the emerging policy paradigm and how it organizes the politics of EU foreign policy. Moreover, the article argues that the emerging paradigm is closely connected to, if not dependent on, the ongoing processes of reckoning, that is, to the degree that past mistakes are acknowledged. Finally, the article argues that the twin processes of reckoning and paradigm change make a determining factor for the future of Europe
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Social Order
Political Geography:: Europe

5. Markets, Governments, and Crises in the Past and Future of the EU

Author:: Giuseppe Bertola
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The common-market project, that after World War II aimed to prevent future wars among European Nations, evolved through crises into a complicated and unstable set of European Union policies and institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine reinforced coordination and added common debt issuance to the supranational policy toolkit. But the NextGenEU program relies heavily on government subsidies rather than on market incentives, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows that economic integration can at most move the boundaries of war to those of the integrated economic area, rather than of Nations. These developments weaken the crucial role of integrated markets as the principal instrument for growth, cohesion, stability, and peace in Europe.
Topic:: Government, Markets, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Strategic Stability
Political Geography:: Europe

6. Impact of the War in Ukraine: What id the Future of EU- Africa Relations?

Author:: Alex Vines
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The EU and Africa’s African Union held their sixth summit on 17-18 February 2022: a week later Russia invaded the Ukraine. In the short-term, European focus shifted from Africa but increasingly EU officials and member states are looking towards Africa. The EU seeks to step up cooperation with some African countries to help replace imports of Russian natural gas and reduce dependence on Moscow by almost two-thirds in 2022. The EU has also revised its list of critical minerals, which it is members seek to guarantee supply chains. This article assesses the evolution of EU-Africa relations, particularly since December 2007 with the launch of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy. The EU’s Africa focus is increasingly more strategic, and coherent, this is still not the case for Africa whose common interests towards Europe remain fragmented although the launch of the continental African Free Continental Trade Area (AfCTA) is a positive development. Looking forward it will be reinvigorated trade and investment that needs to become the heart of Africa-EU relations if this partnership is to prosper – not security, aid and countermigration that has framed past EU focus.
Topic:: Security, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, European Union, and African Union
Political Geography:: Africa and Europe

7. Brexit and the Future off the European Union

Author:: Simon Glendinning
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The article explores the conception of European integration and enlargement that was consistently proposed by leading British politicians in the post-War period prior to Brexit. Two basic themes are identified in that conception: first, a clear preference for a project of both integration and enlargement; and second, an equally clear resistance to the formation of a European superstate as the final goal of that project. The article concludes that this characteristically British vision of European integration – the vision of a United Europe of States – is not exclusively British and is unlikely to disappear from the now Britain-free EU
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Brexit, and Integration
Political Geography:: Europe

8. Turkey and the Future of Europe: A History

Author:: Giancarlo Casale
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Throughout its history, Europe has never been simply a place but a complex set of ideas and aspirations in continual evolution—of which the European Union of 2022 is only the most recent iteration. As a result, while history cannot predict the future of Europe and its relationship to Turkey, what it can do is identify clearly recurrent patterns that are likely to continue. With this in mind, the present article provides a very long view—almost as old as history itself—of the evolution of the European idea as seen from Turkey, to provide a more rooted perspective on current debates about Turkey, Europe, and where the two are headed at a moment of dynamic change for both.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Integration
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

9. Putting an End to "Crisis Europe"

Author:: Mensur Akgün and Ahmet Cemal Ertuk
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The term “Crisis Europe” simply defines the current state of the EU affairs. Within the last ten years, the financial crisis, the entrance of refugees, the pandemic, and lately, the Russian invasion have deeply damaged the actorness of the bloc. Under the shadow of war, European decision-makers have once again turned to their endless search for solidarity and more integration as a response. Yet, it seems that the EU has a mountain to climb to convince its inner circle and the outer world. This short analysis tries to understand the dynamics that pushed the EU into a crisis stage and issues that consistently pulled the rug out from under the idea of unity. Moreover, it also offers a more flexible approach as an alternative plan to unblock the ongoing impasse.
Topic:: Security, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Political Crisis
Political Geography:: Europe

10. Dialogue for OSCE Renewal - Shifting Security Back to the People

Author:: Bradley Reynolds and Johanna Ketola
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The OSCE is the largest regional security organization globally, but a common understanding of the institution and the security it seeks to promote has been in decline since roughly 2008. The war in Ukraine and renewed Russian invasion in February 2022 have led many to ask how to sustain the OSCE past 2022. One of the conflicts at the core of the OSCE’s current and existing malaise is the question of what the OSCE of today symbolizes. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act in 2025, we argue that better incorporation of the perspectives of civil society on the ground may help revive a genuinely comprehensive vision of the OSCE. This approach would allow for shifting away from compartmentalized security and open discussion for different perceptions or how to combine different perceptions of security
Topic:: Security, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Peace, and OSCE
Political Geography:: Russia and Europe

11. The Role of EU in the Libyan Conflict

Author:: Mehmet Bardakci
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Europe was marginalized in the Libyan conflict, not the least because the conflict exposed foreign policy flaws concerning a lack of coherence and cohesion. Working at cross purposes, European states were more interested in fulfilling their parochial interests than making an effort to give a typical response to the Libyan conflict. At the same time, the shortcomings related to tools and strategies in the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) helped prevent the EU from adopting an influential position. This lack of a joint European position enabling it to play a significant role in the Libyan civil strife facilitated the functions of rival countries, such as Russia in Libya, leaving the EU sidelined.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Military Intervention, and Political Crisis
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, and Libya

12. European Union and the Euro: A Bigger Global Role Beckons

Author:: Stewart Fleming
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought a muscular response from the United States, the European Union and the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in support of Ukraine. It has, for the first time in such a conflict, been accompanied the imposition of an unprecedented range of financial sanctions. This “weaponization” of currencies raises both challenges, and opportunities for the EU as the digitalization of finance accelerates globally, raising question marks over the dominant role of the U.S. dollar in international geo-politics.
Topic:: Security, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and European Union
Political Geography:: Europe

13. Anxiety, Dissonance and Imperial Amnesia of the European Union

Author:: Filip Ejdus
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: According to the master commemorative narrative of the EU, the European integration project represents a break with the violent European past characterised by fragmentation and nationalism, which culminated in World War Two and the crimes of Nazism and Stalinism. However, recent scholarship has criticised the omission of 19th and 20th-century European colonialism from the memory narratives advanced by the EU. In this article, I use the permanent exhibition in the House of European History (HEH) in Brussels to take this insight one step further and make two arguments. Firstly, I show that it is not only colonialism that is erased from official memory but, more broadly, empires and imperialism, although most European history over the past 2000 years was imperial. Secondly, I understand this “imperial amnesia” as an anxiety-controlling mechanism aimed at reducing the dissonance between the self-proclaimed image of a normative and civilian power on the one hand and imperial-like tendencies in its behaviour on the other.
Topic:: Nationalism, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Integration
Political Geography:: Europe

14. “Ethnicizing” the EU’s involvement in post- conflict societies: The case of ontological insecurity in Republika Srpska

Author:: Faris Kocan and Rok Zupancic
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: The main aim of this paper is to contribute to the literature on ontological security by empirically investigating how the European Union (EU), which is perceived as one of the most important actors that provides means and/ or grounds for overcoming antagonisms through transformation of the ‘Self-Other’ dialectics, fails to become an agent of peace. Drawing on the case of Republika Srpska (RS), a political entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), we aim to understand how the EU’s post-conflict stabilization efforts, which, among others, presuppose the de-intensification of the antagonistic identity narratives, become entrapped in ethnopolitical narratives, and even ‘ethnicized’ by the ethnopolitical elite in RS. To answer these questions, we analyzed news articles at two critical junctures, namely the negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (2005–2007) and the Butmir Process (2009), two of the most important EU-driven initiatives in post-conflict BiH. We find that those initiatives, which promised to make BiH more functional and stable, challenged the existing ethnopolitical narratives in BiH, particularly on the side of the ethnopolitical elite in RS.
Topic:: Security, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Peace
Political Geography:: Europe and Bosnia and Herzegovina

15. Construction of European identity by the Pro- European Parties

Author:: Melek Aylin Ozoflu
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: The political scene of the European Union (EU) presents a discursive field where identity construction becomes a vital tool for political parties to claim political credit and legitimize themselves. While pro-European parties utilize the narratives of an in-group of European identity, Eurosceptic parties problematize the gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’ by employing narratives of intergroup differentiation as an instrument to re/shape the political reality. The scholarly literature mostly focuses on Eurosceptic populist discourse and right-wing rhetoric relying on discursive socio-political exclusion to form in-group identification of national identities. By adopting a different stance, this article seeks to address the discursive strategies of the pro-European parties employed and mobilized during the 2019 European Parliament election campaigns through the discourse historical approach. It argues that it is of critical importance to reveal the pro-European discourse to reflect the pro-European stance over the debates on the existing identity cleavage within the turbulent European political scene.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Political Parties, European Parliament, and Identity
Political Geography:: Europe

16. The Complexity Effect in U.S.-Turkey Relations: The Restructuring of the Middle East Regional Security

Author:: Devrim Sahin and Ahmet Sözen
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: This paper proposes a discussion of its core theoretical argument that the international order is more complex than the theories generated by traditionalist state-centric approaches and critical approaches, including the regional security complex approach. The complexity approach highlights the sensitive dependency of complex systems on the nonlinear feedback loops and dynamic interactions by which the longer term reactions to the behavior of actors could set off actions-reaction spirals. This path dependency is evident in the erosion of U.S.-Turkey relations which is a cause and a consequence of the realignment in the international system and the Middle East regional system.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, North America, and United States of America

17. The Power of Small EU Member States After Brexit: How Powerful Is the Visegrad Group?

Author:: Thomas Kajanek
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The power of individual EU Member States has been changing over the past decades as a result of revisions to the voting systems and the enlargements of the European Union. The present article analyses the development of the voting power of individual Member States in the Council of the European Union before and after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union. We use the calculation of the standardized Banzhaf power index to calculate the legislative power of the Member States. The calculations recorded in the table point to changes in the weights of national votes caused by Brexit. The article pays special attention to the Visegrad Group, which we define within the European Union as an informal group consisting of four Central European states - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. The results indicate a significant growth of the voting power in Poland and more moderate growth in the other three Visegrad Group countries which contributes to the shift in the voting equilibrium within the ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Brexit, Regional Power, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: Europe, Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic

18. Rural Depopulation in Spain: Next Generation EU As A Stimulus To Accelerate The Transformation

Author:: Monica Puente Regidor, Marcin Roman Czubala Ostapiuk, and Carlos Corullon Hermosa
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The main objective of this study was to examine the situation of depopulation in Spain. Also, to highlight the importance of digital transformation and the funds provided through the Next Generation EU (NGEU) to fight against this phenomenon. Based on data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), an empirical investigation about the current state of population abandonment in Spain has been carried out. Moreover, the Digitization Index (DiGiX) has been used to obtain a territorial vision about the digitization degree of the Autonomous Communities (CCAA). Finally, the estimates of the Spanish executive set out in the National Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP) have been used to underline the importance of Next Generation EU resources to fight the problem of ‘empty Spain’. That was to see that mentioned country is currently at the head of the ‘demographic deserts’ of the EU. Likewise, the Recovery Plan for Europe, and its digital axe, constitute one of the key factors to combat the population abandonment of the Spanish rural areas. In other words, an important approach, which addresses the wide deficiencies in the literature on the subject, is making this research highly relevant and interesting. Downloads
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, Population, European Union, and Rural
Political Geography:: Europe and Spain

19. The Challenges of Public Administration Reforms in Kosovo in the Context of Eurointegration Process

Author:: Artan Fejzullahu and Besard Belegu
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The phase of transition and the ambition for EU membership has caused the administration and the Government of Kosovo to act differently, allowing it to address a variety of issues that have brought Kosovo's state administration closer to the European family. Kosovo has not remained indifferent to its claim to join the EU, therefore it has undertaken the public administration reform. The results of the reform are being felt slowly. Problems in administration reform over the past few years have been; political influence on public administration recruitment and independent decision-making, size of administration, lack of professionalism, etc. The objectives of this paper consist of a) reflecting the real situation of the public administration reform process, b) analyzing the results of the administration reform over the years, c) analyzing the harmonization of legal acts and the transformation of the public administration of Kosovo with acts legal and EU policies. The research methods used in this study were normative, analytical, and statistical methods. Reforming and modernizing the public sector remains one of Kosovo's most pressing challenges on the road to EU membership.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, Reform, European Union, and Public Policy
Political Geography:: Europe and Kosovo

20. Assessing the Effects of Trade Liberalization With Third Countries: The Case of the Eurasian Economic Union

Author:: Simon Sngryan
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The processes of objectively conditioned integration in the economic, political, legal, and institutional spheres of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) Member States took place step by step, starting from preferential trade agreements, passing to the customs union, the common market and other stages of integration. This process is accompanied by the gradual deepening of trade liberalization with potential partners. The selection of potential partners should be carried out through a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the structure and volumes of foreign trade of the EEU Member States (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia) with third parties, their markets structure, existing customs regulation, trade barriers, and possible export potential. The research evaluated the EEU's possible enlargement effects on the Member States' economic indicators. The research aimed to assess the possible consequences of EEU expansion and signing free trade agreements, considering Pakistan, Korea, and Malaysia as potential trade partners. Modeling the effect of an FTA assumes horizontal zeroing of tariffs between partners. Then, using the GTAP model, a new state of general equilibrium was calculated corresponding to the changed parameters of customs and tariff regulation. In this case, most variables, such as change in GDP, production output, and export-import volumes, were estimated, manifesting the economic effect of trade liberalization.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Trade Liberalization
Political Geography:: Europe, Eurasia, and Asia

21. The Inclusion and Exclusion of Citizens in the Eurointegration process of Albania

Author:: Joana Kosho and Elda Zotaj
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: Albania’s national interest is the integration into the European Union. To fulfill this objective, every state component, public institutions, civil society, the media, and the citizens, play a very important role. The main focus of this paper is the public sphere, the attitudes of Albanian citizens toward the EU membership, and their role in the process. By applying qualitative and quantitative methods, the main theories of the field, global and regional indexes, studies, surveys, interviews, and personal observations, we aim to focus on the citizens' attitudes toward the EU membership process. Our in-depth analyses have shown that the Albanian institutions, CSOs, and media to inform and include the citizens in the Europeanization process have not been effective enough. Thus, there is a knowledge gap between sensitive groups and the other part of society.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, Citizenship, Europeanization, Exclusion, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Europe and Albania

22. Turkey's Soft Power Policy Towards The Balkans: Challenges and Perspectives

Author:: Muhamed ALi
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The Balkans is considered a vital area in international relations. It has always attracted and is still attracting the interest of global and regional powers and factors on the international stage, including Turkey. Besides the political, economic, and defense aspects, the soft power of Turkish multidimensional diplomacy represents one of the most important segments of the relations between Turkey and the Balkan countries. Turkish government institutions like the Diyanet (Presidency of Religious Affairs), Yunus Emre, Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), TIKA, Turkish State Media, Maarif education institutions, and various non-governmental organizations represent some of the most vital segments of the cultural, religious and educational expansion of the Turkish state in the Balkan countries. This paper is mainly based on the following research methods: historical, descriptive, and in-depth analysis. This study aims to answer the main question of this research - Do the above-mentioned soft power policy tools play a vital role in the further development of Turkey-Balkan countries relations? This paper concludes that the Turkish soft power policy in the Balkans faces a series of challenges that affect its expansion's functionality and success.
Topic:: Security, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Balkans

23. ¿Puede la OSCE (todavía) contribuir a la seguridad europea?

Author:: Fernando Arlettaz
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: La Conferencia sobre la Seguridad y la Cooperación en Europa (convertida luego en la Organización para la Seguridad y la Cooperación en Europa) nació con el objetivo de constituir un foro de diálogo entre actores con opciones políticas y concepciones de laseguridad radicalmente diferentes. Luego del final de la Guerra Fría, el discurso de la Organización se orientó hacia la promoción de un ideal democrático robusto. Sin embargo, los hechos mostraron los límites del optimismo inicial. El rol efectivo de la Organización siguió vinculado a un concepto tradicional de seguridad como seguridad interestatal, con cierta atención a la dimensión de los derechos humanos, pero también con una alta tolerancia a los regímenes no democráticos que persistían en su seno. Esta geometría variableentre los componentes del concepto de seguridad se relaciona con la naturaleza misma de la Organización: ella nació como forma de garantizar un modus vivendientre Estados con intereses e ideologías enfrentados y mantiene en buena medida este carácter, aunque la oposición no sea hoy entre dos modelos económicos diferentes sino entre Estados con grados variables de democratización.
Topic:: Security, Democratization, Regional Cooperation, and OSCE
Political Geography:: Europe

24. A Comparative Analysis of Human Rights Protection in European Union and African Union Countries: An fsQCA Approach

Author:: Emmanuel Oluwatosin Adewusi and Ozker Kocadal
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: This study contributes to the human rights protection literature by using Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in the analysis of 76 cases composed of European Union and African Union countries. Results indicate that the ratification of treaties, establishment of human rights institutions, and high GDP per capita in the absence of rule of law, play crucial roles in the high rate of protection of human rights in Europe. In Africa, however, the low GDP per capita and absence of rule of law significantly weaken human rights protection. The analysis reveals that the establishment of human rights institutions is essential to protect human rights in Europe, while high GDP per capita and rule of law are paramount to improving human rights protection in Africa in relation to any institutional configuration, approach, or policy.
Topic:: Human Rights, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Humanitarian Crisis, and African Union
Political Geography:: Africa and Europe

25. Bureaucratic policy and defense cooperation among the Baltic states

Author:: Olevs Nikers and Otto Tabuns
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The objectives of this paper are to (1) comparatively analyse defence strategies of the Baltic countries against the theory of institutionalism, focusing on factors that affect policy maintenance or change within defence cooperation and (2) assess the current state of defence cooperation in the Baltic countries. The study gives a theoretical overview, relating the theory of new institutionalism to the subject of debate over bureaucratic institutions, which also plays a role in the regional security politics of the Baltic countries. An empirical study compares the defence strategies of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. While few studies have investigated this subject before, that the conclusion reached by this investigation is that administrative bodies in the defence sector of the Baltic countries are affected by politically driven processes pertaining to the foreign affairs domain, which play a key role in matters related to cooperation and synchronisation of the defence and security of the Baltic States. The findings suggest that a more focused analysis of the role of institutions and bureaucratic policy in the policy making of the three Baltic countries needs to take place. The study concludes that (1) the current state of defence cooperation in the Baltic countries can be called “developing”; (2) the operation of defence establishments can be called “path dependent”, which is mainly influenced by “external” factors or pressures.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Regional Cooperation, International Security, Military Affairs, and Bureaucracy
Political Geography:: Europe and Baltic States

26. The European Community's Contradictory External Behaviour: The Promotion of Integration in Latin America in the Late 1980s

Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: The European Union (EU) and its predecessor, the European Community (EC), is not only well known as the most important regional organization; it is a model for regional integration, which promotes regionalism (Börzel and Risse, 2013) as a distinct European idea (Bicchi 2006). Moreover, the literature has stressed European support for regional integration, which became an objective of its external policy, as shown in the publications of the Directorate Generals (Farrell 2009). Furthermore, some authors underline that Europe has had an influence on regionalism in other parts of the world. For example, Lenz argues that Europe has an ideational influence on regionalism, which consists of an indirect process through socialization and emulation (Lenz 2013). With that in mind, the EU has facilitated regional efforts by supplying aid and by acknowledging other regional groups. Nevertheless, it is essential to ask: Does the EU always act accordingly? As noted above, most of the literature about European influence focuses on how the EU supports regional integration, understanding it in a broader manner “as a multidimensional process which may take the form of coordination, cooperation, convergence and deep integration initiatives and whose scope extends not only to economic and trade issues but to political, social, cultural and environmental ones as well.” (Rosales, Herreros, and Durán 2014, 9) and especially regionalism, defined by Hurrell as constituted by societal integration, regional awareness interstate cooperation, regional integration, and cohesion (Hurrell 1995, 41-44). Nevertheless, it is necessary to consider that external actors, like the EU/EC, can also undermine regional integration, specifically interstate cooperation, a fundamental element of regionalism. For example, by offering extra-regional options which offer benefits for bilateral cooperation, like in Southern Africa (Muntschick 2013, 4). Other examples can be found in EU bilateral agreements signed because of failed interregional negotiations (Dongo 2011). Although there is some literature about the European influence on regional integration, whether positive or negative, there is still a knowledge void about the European influence on this matter. Is it possible that the EU/EC can support and, at the same time, undermine integration efforts?
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Regional Integration, and Regionalism
Political Geography:: Europe and Latin America

27. ‘Strasbourg’ in the South Caucasus: The EU’s Opportunities, Obstacles, and Incentives

Author:: Rick Fawn
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Implausible might be the hyperbole of “once in a generation.” Occasionally, overstatement is legitimate and necessary. Just as the Baku‑Tbilisi‑Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline revolutionized development and income in the South Caucasus a generation ago, so too (and more) are the prospects of reconstruction in the region due to Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War. The possibilities for win‑win progress and growth are truly unprecedented. Hyperbolic hope faces challenges, and they need reconciliation with the unprecedented opportunities now recasting the South Caucasus— with potential betterment of the peoples and countries of the region, and even for the wider world. This essay first considers the momentous changes already underway as well as the significances they portend. It then assesses obstacles, and thereafter suggests ‘Strasbourg’ as a multi‑faceted label for contributions both to overcome them and help to realize fully the ambitions for this region. To be precise: ‘Strasbourg’ here means the physical, technological, and financial involvement of the EU in regional infrastructural development, including linkages of the South Caucasus more widely, and also as a metaphor for deep‑seated, historically truthful reconciliation. (In the Summer 2021 edition of Baku Dialogues, elements of both meanings were put forward by F. Murat Özkaleli in an article titled “Winning the Peace” and are built upon here.) This thinking takes even greater significance as Euro‑Atlantic planning will concentrate on redefining relations in this region due to conflict over Ukraine.
Topic:: Security, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Regionalism
Political Geography:: Europe, Caucasus, and Asia

28. Future Uncertain: NATO in a Post-Quantum Post-AI World

Author:: James Sperling
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The emerging and disruptive technologies of the 21st century—artificial intelligence and quantum technologies—confront NATO with a paradox: the integration of those technologies into national armed forces will significantly narrow and possibly invert the systemic technology dominance NATO has enjoyed since 1945 and widen the technology gap within the Alliance with potentially debilitating consequences for operational effectives and allied cohesion. The precise impact of these disruptive technologies must remain largely speculative, but it is certain that they will change the nature of war-fighting, exacerbate the security dilemma, and precipitate in a recalibration of the global balance of power.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Science and Technology, Military Strategy, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

29. EU’s Global Actorness in Question: A Debate over the EU-Turkey Migration Deal

Author:: Fatma Yilmaz-Elmas
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Addressing a close relationship between the EU’s role as a global actor and migration management, this article covers the 2016 EU-Turkey migration deal and endeavors to go beyond simple criticism of its efficiency. Following a review of the relevant literature and critical analysis of recent migration management process, interviews with field experts and policymakers were utilized to assess the policy dilemmas of the EU’s approach to the pressure from migration. The pressure the EU has long been experiencing is not a challenge that can be solved by asymmetric cooperation with third countries, characterized by an ignorance of divergences in perceptions and expectations. This may have subsequent impact on the EU’s enlargement policy and thereby on the stability of the region.
Topic:: Migration, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Refugee Crisis
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Asia

30. A Litmus Test for the EU’s Longest Year: Solidarity Principle and Challenges by COVID-19 in 2020

Author:: Pırıl Akin Ocak and Çagri Erhan
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Solidarity is one of the oldest but still ambiguous principles of the European Union (EU). In the year 2020, COVID-19 took its place among many other previous litmus tests over solidarity. Initial reluctance of European instutions and lack of effective joint counter-disaster mechanisms, to cope with the unprecedented social and economic devastation caused by the pandemic, triggered once more a wave of harsh criticism of solidarity principle. Although the pandemic did not reach to its end, and it is still too early to measure its overall results in the EU, the article asserts that, a positive tendency for European members’ adherence to solidarity principle is on rise.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Solidarity, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Europe

31. The Franco-German Rivarly in the Post-Brexit Europe

Author:: Cagatay Ozdemir
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: A significant foundation of European stability after World War II has been the balance of power between the United Kingdom (UK), France, and Germany. The UK’s accession to the European Communities (EC) in 1973 had carried that ‘balance’ into the EC’s institutional framework. In this regard, the UK’s withdrawal from EU structures may lead to an important political and financial vacuum at the center of the Union. In the wake of Brexit, indications of anxiety and concerns about power imbalances have emerged around the question of which country or counties will steer the Union. There exit fresh post-Brexit assessments that indicate that the UK’s departure from the EU may catalyze the differences between Germany and France. This paper will discuss three essential scenarios for the EU’s political and economic future direction, namely, French leadership, German leadership, and a Franco-German partnership, for the post-Brexit period.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, Hegemony, European Union, Political stability, Brexit, and Strategic Stability
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, France, and Germany

32. The Impact of Globalization and the Interconnectedness with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Between Canada and the European Union

Author:: Marija Fileva
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: Elimination of the trade barriers and stimulation of business activity through trade liberalization led to the expansion in the field of the global economy. There are plentiful hesitations about who gains the highest benefit from free trade, especially when it comes to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union. Analogously, the previous mention guides to the dilemma about the trade negotiations and their position in the same agreement in which are the labor standards. Additionally, trade liberalization has influenced the creation of a close link connection between trade, labor, and globalization. This paper focuses on the effects of globalization and trade liberalization with their connection apropos the provisions from CETA; especially with an emphasis on Chapter 23: 'Trade and Labour’.
Topic:: Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Economic Cooperation
Political Geography:: Europe, Canada, and North America

33. The European Union and Brexit: Analysis from the Perspective of the Visegrad Group of Countries

Author:: Adrian Chojan
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The article aims to analyze Brexit from the perspective of the Visegrad Group countries in the context of the future of the European Union. Addressing this issue is important from the point of view of assessing the role of the EU for the Visegrad countries. The main thesis of the research is that Brexit will not lead to a reform of the EU in the coming years, which is what some of the Visegrad Group countries are trying to do. The article is provocative, because, during the migration crisis, the Visegrad Group was shown as a brake on the European integration process. After Brexit, it was considered that some of EU Member States could follow Great Britain and leave the EU. The article complements the scientific achievements in this field, as it presents the view from the country of Central and Eastern Europe.
Topic:: Migration, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Brexit, and Integration
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

34. From the Barcelona Process to the New Agenda for the Mediterranean: In Search of an Appropriate Model of Cooperation/Del Proceso de Barcelona a la nueva agenda para el Mediterráneo: En busca de un modelo apropiado de cooperación

Author:: Antonio Blanc and Eimys Ortíz
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: This article analyses the Euro-Mediterranean relations in its twenty-fifth anniversary since the launch of the Barcelona Process in 1995 until its last review, the New Mediterranean Agenda. The EuroMediterranean policy is characterised by the search for an appropriate cooperation model and due to that fact, it has gone through different stages without achieving tangible results. The successive initiatives, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean, are mainly based on internal events that required updating their relationship with the region, including parameters that were difficult to reach as well. After examining the different policies, the article tries to explain whether the New Agendal will continue to make a contribution to its decline or can reactivate the common vision for a stable, secure and prosperous Mediterranean./El presente artículo analiza las relaciones euro-mediterráneas en los veinticinco años transcurridos desde el lanzamiento del Proceso de Barcelona en 1995 hasta su última revisión, la Nueva Agenda Mediterránea. La política euro-mediterránea se caracteriza por la búsqueda de un modelo apropiado de cooperación que ha pasado por distintas etapas desde la Conferencia de Barcelona sin lograr resultados tangibles. Las sucesivas iniciativas, la Política Europea de Vecindad y la Unión por el Mediterráneo, parten principalmente de acontecimientos internos que exigen actualizar su relación con la región, así como de parámetros de difícil alcance. Tras examinar las distintas políticas, el trabajo aborda si la Nueva Agenda continuará incurriendo en el declive o puede reactivar la visión común de un Mediterráneo estable, seguro y próspero.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Europe and Mediterranean

35. Possibilities for Epistemic Violence in Asylum Process: Lessons From the Case of Finland

Author:: Katri Gadd and Laura Lehtikunnas
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: In 2015, Europe noticed that the Common European Asylum System malfunctions in “crises”-like-situations. With the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the European Union (EU) tries to ensure an efficient and humane migration management. Migration being a highly polarising issue, fuelled by populist rhetoric, migration policies must be founded on scientifically discovered implications of the policies. Here, we evaluate the Finnish asylum process through analysing the legislation, legal practice and 70 former asylum seekers’ experiences. We merge these viewpoints through the concept of epistemic violence understood as failures in linguistic exchanges harming the speaker. We examine whether the legal amendments in Finland, increased the possibilities for epistemic violence in the asylum process. At worst, epistemic violence results wrongly motivated decisions in asylum cases. Based on the case of Finland, this paper argues that more research is needed in times of efficiency pressure regarding asylum processes and overall contestation related to the legitimacy of the EU migration policies.
Topic:: Migration, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Violence, and Asylum
Political Geography:: Europe and Finland

36. Globalization and the Changing Concept of NATO

Author:: Umair Pervez Khan and Kashaf Sohail
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been the most important and successful multilateral military cum political organization, pursuing the agenda of exporting democracy globally and ensuring the mutual defense of its allies. Historically, NATO was formed against the threat of communism emanating from USSR (Russia). The alliance did not use military option till the end of the cold war between the west and USSR, but post-cold war, it transformed and operated in Balkans, South Asia, Horn of Africa, and Middle East. The 9/11 incident further enhanced the military role of the organization and gave it ample reason to act internationally for ensuring the global security. America, being the leader of the alliance used it for fighting the so-called global war on terrorism and its adventures in Middle East. Nevertheless, in the last two decades the organization went through various changes and is now continuously in the state of transformation. The wave of populism which had influenced the very concept of globalization has posed serious challenges for the alliance. The Trump rhetoric of “America first”, BREXIT, challenges of migration, changing demography of Europe, assertion of Russia in global politics, confrontation between the NATO allies like Turkey and France, and rise of China are few factors which may affect the future of the so-called intergovernmental military alliance. This article concurrently discusses the new challenges for the NATO and sheds light on the possible options to the strategy of Biden administration to reverse the policies of its predecessor which have influenced the cooperation of different allies of NATO. In the end researcher has tried to put forth few recommendations which may help the policy makers to cope with the challenges NATO is facing. The study is qualitative and analytical in nature whereas primary as well as secondary sources are used for data collection.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Globalization, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

37. Trilateral Cooperation Between Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia

Author:: Dr. Richard Weitz
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia have achieved unprecedented levels of economic and security collaboration. Through this expanding cooperation, the three countries have established themselves as a collective hub of Eurasian energy extraction and multi‑model transportation. Their growing ties have accelerated since the opening of the Baku‑Tbilisi‑Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in 2006 to extend to the construction of additional pipelines, the launching in 2017 of the Baku‑Tbilisi‑Kars (BTK) railway, the holding of regular trilateral military exercises, and the convening of frequent high‑level leadership meetings. The South Caucasus remains one of the world’s most complex geopolitical regions, with several external powers competing for regional influence.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Hegemony, Alliance, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, North America, and United States of America

38. NATO 2030: Keeping Us Safe In a More Competitive World

Author:: Mircea Geoana
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: In this new age of growing global competition and increasing complex threats, our security environment is more uncertain and contested than ever before. At the NATO Summit in Brussels in June, Allied leaders took bold decisions to adapt our Alliance to a more unpredictable world and ensure that NATO will continue to keep our one billion people safe in this new decade and beyond. Through our ambitious and forward-looking NATO 2030 agenda, our transatlantic Alliance will remain fit to face the challenges of today and future-proof against those of tomorrow. As a highly valued member of NATO, Turkey makes important contributions to our Alliance and its ongoing adaptation.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

39. Getting NATO Ready For The Rest Of The 21st Century: Is NATO 2030 The Right Roadmap?

Author:: Jamie Shea
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Visiting Brussels in June, President Biden proclaimed that “America is back”. This also means that NATO is back, as Biden reconfirmed the United States’ solemn commitment to the defense of its European allies and Washington’s willingness to once again lead a transatlantic alliance that was much derided during the Trump years. At first sight, this is all good news for NATO; but could it turn out to be a mixed blessing for the Europeans in the longer run? This article analyses whether the NATO 2030 initiative is up to the task, and whether it provides the right answers.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

40. NATO And Collective Defense in Space: Same Mission, New Domain

Author:: Aurel Sari and Hitoshi Nasu
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The progressive militarization of outer space presents a range of policy and legal challenges for NATO due to its reliance on space assets for operational effectiveness and the increased vulnerabilities of these assets. Indeed, dependence on space-based assets and services in the conduct of military operations has become something of an Achilles heel for NATO as peer and near-peer competitors are honing their counter-space capabilities. Given the vulnerability of space-based assets and services to hostile interference, the question presents itself whether, and under what circumstances, the collective defense commitment, as set out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NAT), arises in space. NATO’s ability and resolve to counter threats in space could be challenged due to the uncertain parameters of the right of self-defense itself when exercised in space and the geographical limits that Article 6 of the NAT imposes on the operation of Article 5 of the NAT.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

41. NATO's China Problem

Author:: Blake Herzinger
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s strategic minds are increasingly occupied with how to handle the People’s Republic of China’s rise as a maritime power in Asia, but this focus is misguided. China is already a maritime power in the North Atlantic, and its influence is rapidly growing. This influence does not represent a crisis for the Alliance but does require addition of China to the Alliance’s strategic considerations within its area of responsibility. Additionally, the Alliance must account for extraregional competition between the U.S. and the PRC which could draw in alliance commitments in the event of escalation between the two powers.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, Hegemony, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: China, Europe, Asia, and North America

42. Biden;s Transatlantic Offset

Author:: Carsten Schmiedl
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The United States and its allies are entering an era of strategic simultaneity for which the Transatlantic Alliance is ill-prepared. The prospect of concurrent conflict or pressure from opposing sides of the Euro-Atlantic region would stretch existing resources beyond commitments. It would also risk undermining Article 5 and 70 years of stability and prosperity for NATO in Europe. As the U.S. pivots to the Indo-Pacific, the Biden administration should pursue closer relations with the Alliance as a fourth offset strategy which seeks to bolster European defense and better align strategy at the national and multinational levels. In so doing, the United States can enhance the security and stability of the political West with a view towards the emerging geopolitical environment of the coming decades.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Leadership
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, and United States of America

43. Ukraine Membership Revisited: The Case For NATO's Strategic Adaption

Author:: Iulia-sabina Joja
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Ukraine’s NATO membership has moved over the last decade from unlikely to mission impossible. Thirteen years after the NATO Bucharest Summit promise that Georgia and Ukraine “will join” the Alliance and Russia’s subsequent invasion of Georgia, and seven years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the political willingness of the 30 NATO member states remains insufficient to keep their 2008 promise. Russia’s violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity makes Kiev’s integration into NATO almost impossible. But the strategic rationale for Ukraine joining NATO remains as compelling as ever. Moreover, the arguments for a revised NATO strategy towards the Black Sea region are multiplying. The current Alliance’s Strategic Revision process should be the first step towards a revised NATO policy towards Ukraine.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe, Ukraine, and North America

44. NATO And Its Changing Approach To Space

Author:: Victoria Samson
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: While space has been a part of NATO’s interests since the beginning of the Space Age, it is just within the past three years that we have seen an increase in NATO’s efforts to use space to meet its mission needs as an organization. This is due to an increased importance of space for national security globally and concurrent proliferation of counterspace capabilities. While NATO has started evolving its policy framework to meet these new needs, much work needs to be done to ensure that the Alliance has access to space capabilities when it needs them.
Topic:: Security, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Space
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

45. Spotlight Turkey: A Pivotal Swing State in NATO

Author:: Tuba Eldem
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Turkey’s geostrategic location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and its dual identity as both a European and Asian state is unique in the world. The country safeguards strategic waterways and offers NATO critical staging bases and logistical support to extend its reach in the Middle East. With its dual identity, multiaxial foreign policy and hybrid political regime, Turkey also emerges as a pivotal swing state in shaping the contours of a stronger Transatlantic Alliance in the emerging new global world order marked by growing power competition between Western liberal democracies and Eastern autocratic regimes.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, and North America

46. Entrenching the Problem? International Organizations and Their Engagement in Latin America to Address Violence: The Case of the European Union in the Northern Triangle

Author:: Kai Lehmann
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: Latin America is the most violent region in the world. Yet, decades of political and financial investment by the international community have not had the desired results. Using the work of the European Union in the Northern Triangle of Central America as a case study, this article asks what explains this failure. Utilizing the conceptual framework of Complexity and Human System Dynamics, it argues that current policies actually entrench the pattern of conditions which lead to, and sustain, violence. It shows how, by reconceptualizing this problem using the concepts of Complexity, policies could be made more effective and sustainable.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, European Union, Conflict, and Violence
Political Geography:: Europe, South America, Latin America, and North America

47. Visegrad Group as institution for Central European cooperation: Ups and downs of small international organizations

Author:: Jaroslav Ušiak
Publication Date:: 10-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: Central Europe has always been an integral part of all processes on the European continent. Nowadays, more than 30 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Central Europe has broad opportunities for cooperation in all areas and is fully integrated into various regional and international organisations. Using qualitative methods—analysis and comparison with combination with the theory of social constructivism—help us understand the social phenomena of cooperation among states. Based on social constructivism theory, our article elaborates on the factors of cooperation between individual states, focusing on the cooperation of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries in Central Europe. We examine the factors leading to the establishment of V4 cooperation, its form, and specific features related to the European Regional Security Complex, as well as future challenges.
Topic:: Security, Regional Cooperation, and Visegrad Group
Political Geography:: Europe and Central Europe

48. Principal Vectors of Russian Diplomacy in the Post-Soviet Space

Author:: O. Lebedeva
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: East View Information Services
Abstract:: ThE DISINTEGRATION of the Soviet Union has led to a new geopolit- ical zone appearing on the world map – the so-called post-Soviet space where Russia plays a dominant role even though post-Soviet countries have different development paths, political regimes and economies. Amid the escalating relations between Russia and the West, the pressing prob- lem for Russia right now is to build relations with its immediate neigh- bors. Therefore, maintaining diplomatic relations with post-Soviet coun- tries is an important geopolitical goal for Russia, since this is a zone of strategic economic and political interests. however, not only Russia is interested in establishing strong diplomatic ties but also former Soviet countries. This is largely because Russia is at the center of the post-Soviet space, with many countries, including EaEU member states, pursuing trade and economic relations via Russia.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Conflict, and Economic Cooperation
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Asia, and Post-Soviet Europe

49. “Nomads” and “Mountaineers”: A Historical Survey of Turk/Turkmen – Kurd Interrelations

Author:: Mustafa Onur Tetik
Publication Date:: 06-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: Following Turkey’s recent military operation in Syria (Operation Peace Spring), “Turks” and “Kurds” have widely been dichotomized by the Western media outlets and political circles. US President Donald Trump even claimed that “Turks” and “Kurds” have been fighting for hundreds of years, and that they are “natural enemies.” However, the complex historical relationship of “Turks” and “Kurds,” as a loosely connected social totality prior to the age of nationalism, refutes such sloppy and feeble contentions. This work presents an identity-driven historical survey of Turkish/Turkmen societies’ and polities’ interrelations with Kurdish collectivities until the emergence of modern nationhood and nationalism. In doing so, this article provides an ideational and narrational context feeding the Turkish government’s contemporary relationship with the Kurds of the Middle East. The major complication in journalistic and academic literature is rooted in the lack or omission of historical background informing current policy choices influenced by how relevant actors historically perceive each other. Today’s incidents and facts such as the “solution process,” “village guard system” or different Kurdish collectivities’ positions between Iran and Turkey are sometimes akin to precedent events in history. This work aims to make a holistic contribution to fill this gap and to provide a succinct historical overview of interrelations.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Nationalism, Regional Cooperation, and Nation-State
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Kurdistan

50. Rethinking Key Drivers of Turkey’s Immigration Policies in the Wake of the 2016 Turkey -European Union Immigration Deal

Author:: Israel Nyaburi Nyadera and Billy Agwanda
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: Turkey’s immigration policies have experienced several changes over the last century. The 2016 agreement between Turkey and the European Union has not only had a significant impact on how Turkey and the European Union deal with asylum seekers, but also revived the debate on the EU’s externalisation of immigration issues. This study aims to examine the impact of the agreement on Turkey’s immigration policymaking process. It identifies that while the European Union may seek to externalise immigration by entering into agreements with third-party states, Turkey’s immigration policies are largely influenced by a complex balance of domestic, regional, and political interest.
Topic:: Migration, Regional Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, Immigration, and European Union
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Asia

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS