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Begin New Search Political Geography Iran Content Type Journal Article Journal Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations

1. Turkish Foreign Policy toward the Iranian Nuclear Programme: In Search of a New Middle East Order after the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War

Author:
Moritz Pieper
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
Turkey's role in the Iranian nuclear dossier is often portrayed as that of a 'facilitator' and 'mediator' in scholarly analyses. NATO member Turkey was seen as a potential bridge-builder between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the 'Western camp' of negotiators. During prime minister ErdoÄŸan's first legislature, however, Ankara's and Washington's foreign policy outlooks and strategic priorities started to diverge in the course of Turkey's new regional engagement in what has been theorized as a 'Middle-Easternization' of Turkish foreign policy. It is Turkey's location as a geostrategic hub in a politically instable region that informed Turkey's 'Zero problems with neighbors' policy and foreign minister DavutoÄŸlu's advocacy for a 'Strategic Depth' in Turkey's foreign and regional policies. Ankara emphasizes its need to uphold sound relations with its neighbors and publicly stresses an unwillingness to go along with Western pressure on Iran, and insists on the principle of non-interference and Iran's right to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes. All the same, Turkish-Iranian relations are undergoing a deterioration in the wake of the Syrian civil war at the time of writing, with both sides supporting diametrically opposite causes and factions. Turkish-Iranian fundamentally differing conceptions of regional order will also impact upon Turkey's leverage power to defuse the Iranian nuclear crisis. This paper therefore adds a timely contribution to our understanding of a multifaceted and nuanced Turkish foreign policy toward Iran that can be a critical complement to 'Western' diplomatic initiatives in the search for new paradigms for a new Middle East order.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Iran, Washington, Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, and Syria

2. Book Review: Iranian and Turkish rapprochement: Damaged by the Arab Spring?

Author:
Vahit Yucesoy
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
Well-researched, and well-documented, L'Iran et la Turquie face au Printemps arabe (Iran and Turkey in the face of the Arab Spring), written by authors Mohammad-Reza Djalili and Thierry Kellner, sets out to analyse the Arab Spring from the vantage point of two major non-Arab powers of the Middle East. Given the shortage of academic books on the reaction of these two major powers to the Arab Spring, the authors' book comes at a very pertinent time.
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Arabia

3. Turkey and Iran Rivalry on Syria

Author:
Idrees Mohammed
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
This article explores the Turkish-Iranian rivalry and the conflicting interests of the two countries in the region with respect to the impact of the Arab Spring on the Syrian regime. It first looks into the background of the rivalry between Turkey and Iran. It then examines the reasons of the Turkish-Iranian rivalry, particularly over Syria. It posits that the rapprochement between Turkey and Syria, which had taken place as a result of the change in Turkish foreign policy in the last decade, faced a rupture with the breaking of the Arab Spring. It then argues that the rupture in Turkish-Syrian relations increased the Iranian influence on the Syrian regime owing to the long Iranian-Syrian alliance and their converging interests in the region. Finally, the article argues that while Turkey is in favor of a change of regime in Syria towards democratization of the country, Iran is in favor of the Syrian status-quo
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

4. Iran's Nuclear Program: The US Misses Opportunities? –An Examination of US Policies in the Middle East and Implications of those Policies on the US Global Position–

Author:
Adem Ogultarhan
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan cause people to think that the US can resort to military measures against Iran as well. However the US invasion of Iraq and the uncertainties prevailing because of the invasion make analysts to question the necessity of military operations, because it might bring further uncertainties to region and to world politics. In this paper, it is argued that the US priorities in the Middle East are not well-defined and its policies are contaminated with cultural misperceptions, as seen in the case of the Iran's nuclear program. Historical, technical and international law aspects of Iran's nuclear program would be surveyed and the US policies regarding Iran's nuclear program would be analyzed. The US interests in the region would be discussed and the most known clichés regarding Iran and US relations would be questioned. It is the argument that US policies in the Middle East are not well-calculated in terms of the US global realpolitik concerns; and current US policies in the region harm the US interests in global stage. Thus, the US confrontation with Iran makes the potential cooperation opportunities with the Middle Eastern countries missed.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Iran

5. Understanding Iran's Foreign Policy: An Application of Holistic Constructivism

Author:
Mahdi Mohammad Nia
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
This article seeks to explain why Iranian foreign policy toward the western countries in general and The United States in particular even under the systemic pressures has remained relatively unchanged. To this end, the present article identifies the determinant factors affect Iranian foreign policy. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian foreign and security policy has been dominated by a new set of revolutionary values and discourses. The author believes that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran mostly is driven by its revolutionary values and ideological perspectives than the logic of nation states. To understand Iranian foreign behavior, one should try to understand the basic characteristics of the country's normative and discursive structures. Hence, this article argues that due to the role of normative factors in constructing Iranian foreign policy, the Holistic constructivist approach is considered the most applicable theory for explaining the country's foreign policy.
Political Geography:
United States and Iran

6. Iran's Foreign Policy during Ahmadinejad: From Confrontation to Accommodation

Author:
Amir M. Haji-Yousefi
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
Some scholars have observed that Iran's foreign policy has leaned toward assertiveness since Mahmood Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005. They have tried to attribute this assertiveness to some internal and external factors. After reviewing the literature, we argue that the assertiveness of Iran's foreign policy during the first period of Ahmadinejad`s presidency is rooted in psychological (Ahmadinejad belief system), social (the social base of the new government), political (factional rivalries), historical (ideals of the Islamic Revolution), and external (the way Western countries treated Iran during Khatami) factors. On the contrary, it seems that Iran's foreign policy since the recent presidential election in 2009 has somehow softened and it appears to be less confrontational. This change, if real, may have significant implications for Iran's relations with the Western countries, particularly the United States. We seek to identify the main reasons for this change and explicate its main consequences for the Iranian foreign relations. This paper has four sections. First, we discuss the main features of Iran's assertive foreign policy during the first period of Ahmadinejad`s presidency. Secondly, we try to explain the main origins of this assertiveness. Thirdly, the recent developments in Iran's foreign policy, especially Ahmadinejad`s new moderate orientation, will be discussed and the main causes will be spelled out. Finally, the main implications of this change in Iran's foreign behavior will be discussed.
Political Geography:
Iran

7. Whose Agenda Is Served by the Idea of a Shia Crescent?

Author:
Amir M. Haji-Yousefi
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, it became evident that Iraq's Shia majority would dominate the future government if a free election was going to be held. In 2004, Jordan's King Abdullah, anxiously warned of the prospect of a “Shia crescent” spanning Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. This idea was then picked up by others in the Arab world, especially Egypt's President Mubarak and some elements within the Saudi government, to reaffirm the Iranian ambitions and portray its threats with regard to the Middle East. This article seeks to unearth the main causes of promoting the idea of a revived Shiism by some Arab countries, and argue that it was basically proposed out of the fear that what the American occupation of Iraq unleashed in the region would drastically change the old Arab order in which Sunni governments were dominant. While Iran downplayed the idea and perceived it as a new American conspiracy, it was grabbed by the Bush administration to intensify its pressures on Iran. It also sought to rally support in the Arab world for US Middle East policy in general, and its failed policy toward Iraq in particular. Thus, to answer the above mentioned question, a close attention would be paid to both the Arab and Iranian agenda in the Middle East after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in order to establish which entities benefit most from the perception of a Shia crescent.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Iraq, America, Iran, Middle East, Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt