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In Isolating Dissent, Punishing the Masses: Siege Warfare as Counter-Insurgency, Will Todman analyses the intricate relationship between the nature of the Syrian regime and the military tactics it opted to use to supress those opposed to it, both during the insurgency phase, and the subsequent civil war. Sieges were effective because they allowed the regime to make optimal use of its military advantage. Once you have a segment of the population in a restricted area, you not only control food and medical supplies, but you can also unleash an indiscriminate bombardment campaign, as the regime indeed did. Todman provides a historic context to the use of these tactics by the Syrian regime (i.e. Hama), and addresses the important question of whether or not siege warfare helped the regime surive.

Political cartoons demonstrate the Syrian refugee crisis and their influx into bordering and European countries from different perspectives by using both visual and verbal metaphors in a caricaturised way. For this reason, this research aims to reveal how political cartoons represent the perilous journey of Syrian refugees and their families visually and verbally. In this regard, twelve political cartoons were selected randomly from the international political cartoon website cagle.com between March 2011 and February 2016, referencing the Syrian refugee crisis, and have been analysed in accordance with metaphorical analysis. From this point of view, as the theoretical framework, this paper uses a semiotic approach that points out the relationship between signs and meanings. Representation of the Syrian refugee crisis, the political stances of the different countries, and their perceptions as reflected in political cartoons are the focus point of this research. Results show that countries remain generally indifferent to Syrian refugee movement. In fact, they do not see the issue as their own problem, and they only consider the threats to their security and socio-economic interests posed by the influx. Moreover, Syrian refugees are represented as lonely, vulnerable and unwanted. ; Publisher PDF

According to the literature, an individual becomes an entrepreneur with two types of motivations: taking advantage of a business opportunity or having no better options for work. The former ones are called opportunity-driven entrepreneurs (ODE) and the latter is called necessity-driven entrepreneurs (NDE). This paper investigates the differences between them and further explore the factors that influence being ODE and NDE. For these purposes, we collected data in Turkey through using the national adult population survey based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project for 3 years (2006-2008). Results confirm that a Turkish entrepreneur that has started the business with the motive of opportunity significantly differs from the ones that have been motivated out of necessity. The possibility of being NDE is higher for the individuals with lower income level. However, the likelihood of being ODE is affected by age. Contrary to the literature, especially for the later years (2007 and 2008), younger people are more likely become ODE. Necessity and opportunity entrepreneurs differ also in terms of their perceptions. In 2006, while knowing someone personally who had started a small business i.e. networking is the main perceptual factor affecting being NDE, one perceiving herself/himself as a knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced person i.e. self-confidence seems to be the major perceptual determinant of taking opportunities to become an entrepreneur, being ODE. However, the picture is different for the following years (2007 and 2008). Both networking and self-confidence are found to influence the likelihood of NDE and ODE. Thus, no matter what the motivation is, one that has networking and self-confidence is more likely to start a new small business in Turkey. These findings are very insightful not only for enhancing the understanding the entrepreneurial environment in Turkey and that way is useful for international traders, but also for policy makers that try to find ways to increase entrepreneurial activities in Turkey.

According to the literature, an individual becomes an entrepreneur with two types of motivations: taking advantage of a business opportunity or having no better options for work. The former ones are called opportunity-driven entrepreneurs (ODE) and the latter is called necessity-driven entrepreneurs (NDE). This paper investigates the differences between them and further explore the factors that influence being ODE and NDE. For these purposes, we collected data in Turkey through using the national adult population survey based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project for 3 years (2006-2008). Results confirm that a Turkish entrepreneur that has started the business with the motive of opportunity significantly differs from the ones that have been motivated out of necessity. The possibility of being NDE is higher for the individuals with lower income level. However, the likelihood of being ODE is affected by age. Contrary to the literature, especially for the later years (2007 and 2008), younger people are more likely become ODE. Necessity and opportunity entrepreneurs differ also in terms of their perceptions. In 2006, while knowing someone personally who had started a small business i.e. networking is the main perceptual factor affecting being NDE, one perceiving herself/himself as a knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced person i.e. self-confidence seems to be the major perceptual determinant of taking opportunities to become an entrepreneur, being ODE. However, the picture is different for the following years (2007 and 2008). Both networking and self-confidence are found to influence the likelihood of NDE and ODE. Thus, no matter what the motivation is, one that has networking and self-confidence is more likely to start a new small business in Turkey. These findings are very insightful not only for enhancing the understanding the entrepreneurial environment in Turkey and that way is useful for international traders, but also for policy makers that try to find ways to increase entrepreneurial activities in Turkey.

In the first issue of Syria Studies to be published in 2017, we are pleased to share three studies that provide important insights on subjects that have gained significant importance in recent times in so far as how they relate to the Syrian context: siege warfare, political cartoons, and gender politics.In Isolating Dissent, Punishing the Masses: Siege Warfare as Counter-Insurgency, Will Todman analyses the intricate relationship between the nature of the Syrian regime and the military tactics it opted to use to suppress those opposed to it, both during the insurgency phase, and the subsequent civil war. Sieges were effective because they allowed the regime to make optimal use of its military advantage. Once you have a segment of the population in a restricted area, you not only control food and medical supplies, but you can also unleash an indiscriminate bombardment campaign, as the regime indeed did. Todman provides a historic context to the use of these tactics by the Syrian regime (i.e. Hama), and addresses the important question of whether or not siege warfare helped the regime survive.In Whose Problem Is It Anyway? The Depiction of Syrian Refugee Influx in Political Cartoons, Özlem Özdemir and Emrah Özdemir explore the way in which the crisis of Syrian refugees was depicted by cartoons that appeared in Western media. In focusing on twelve randomly selected political cartoons, the authors tell a story of suffering that begins with why the refugee is fleeing and ends with how the refugee is being received by both border countries and beyond. The use of political science and communication theory to analyse these cartoons is not common in the current literature and constitutes an important contribution.In Interrogating the Construction of Gendered Identity in the Syrian Nationalist Narrative: Al-Husari, Aflaq and al-Arsuzi, Rahaf Aldoughli sheds an important light on how early Bathist theoreticians planted the intellectual foundation for the way in which gender roles were to be understood and, subsequently, taught and applied in Baathist Syria. Using extensive quotes from original sources, Aldoughli documents the systematic masculinisation of conceptions of nationhood by Baathist theoreticians. Perhaps most significant was the "normalisation of militarism in the national narrative" which, resulted in perpetuating "a hierarchy that obstructs the elimination of the gender gap in the Syrian constitution and legislation."The important common denominator between the above noted studies is 'impact'; more specifically, the extent to which a specific method or idea achieved its desired impact. Todman explores the impact of siege warfare and concludes that despite the fact that the war economy allowed for besieged populations to receive a level of relief, sieges were overall successful in that they allowed for the regime to make use of its military advantage and survive a dire challenge to its very existence. While Özdemir and Özdemir showed that political cartoons can indeed be used to better understand a specific phenomenon, they equally demonstrated that political cartoons are ultimately expressive of a specific mindset that the majority of a population has at any given moment in time, rather than instruments by which public perceptions can be significantly changed. Indeed, the plight of Syrian refugees was not impacted in any significant way by the cartoons examined here. Finally, Aldoughli explores the impact of Baathist ideology on the way in which gender conceptions and roles were manifested in Baathist Syria. Here, impact is easily discerned. The works of early Baathist theoreticians, systematically and deliberately, became the ideological underpinnings of a society that is dominated by the idea of a militarized nation in which men lead both the state and the family.

Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye'deki girişimcilik faaliyetlerini açıklamak ve Türkiye'nin girişimcilik bakımından uluslararası yerini belirlemektir. Veriler, Global Girişimcilik İzleme (GEM) projesinde kullanılan standart anket aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Sonuçlar, Türkiye ekonomisinde kadınların ve gençlerin girişimcilik faaliyetlerine katılım oranlarının ve girişimciliğin dinamizm seviyesinin düşük olduğunu göstermektedir. Bunun yanında, bazı gelişmekte ve gelişmiş ülkelerle kıyaslandığında, Türkiye 'deki girişimcilerin finansal destek yokluğu, teknoloji ve vergi destekleri konusunda bilgi veren uygun devlet politikalarının olmayışı ve eksik fikri mülkiyet haklarının varlığı gibi sorunlarla karşılaştığı ortaya çıkmaktadır. ; The purpose of this study is to explore the entrepreneurial activities in Turkey and to determine Turkey's entrepreneurial position globally. Data is collected through the standard survey of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project. The results indicate a low participation rate of women and young individuals in the entrepreneurial activities and a low level of entrepreneurial dynamism in the Turkish economy. Furthermore, lack of financial support, inadequate government policies providing knowledge about technology and tax incentives, and insufficient intellectual property rights are found to be some of the important obstacles encountered by entrepreneurs in Turkey compared to those in some developing and developed countries.

Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye'deki girişimcilik faaliyetlerini açıklamak ve Türkiye'nin girişimcilik bakımından uluslararası yerini belirlemektir. Veriler, Global Girişimcilik İzleme (GEM) projesinde kullanılan standart anket aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Sonuçlar, Türkiye ekonomisinde kadınların ve gençlerin girişimcilik faaliyetlerine katılım oranlarının ve girişimciliğin dinamizm seviyesinin düşük olduğunu göstermektedir. Bunun yanında, bazı gelişmekte ve gelişmiş ülkelerle kıyaslandığında, Türkiye'deki girişimcilerin finansal destek yokluğu, teknoloji ve vergi destekleri konusunda bilgi veren uygun devlet politikalarının olmayışı ve eksik fikri mülkiyet haklarının varlığı gibi sorunlarla karşılaştığı ortaya çıkmaktadır. ; The purpose of this study is to explore the entrepreneurial activities in Turkey and to determine Turkey's entrepreneurial position globally. Data is collected through the standard survey of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project. The results indicate a low participation rate of women and young individuals in the entrepreneurial activities and a low level of entrepreneurial dynamism in the Turkish economy. Furthermore, lack of financial support, inadequate government policies providing knowledge about technology and tax incentives, and insufficient intellectual property rights are found to be some of the important obstacles encountered by entrepreneurs in Turkey compared to those in some developing and developed countries.

The Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP) is one of the best practices of public-private partnerships in an emerging market designed to reduce economic losses from disasters. This paper reviews the application of this compulsory mechanism along with data relating to the performance of the scheme following recent earthquakes in Turkey. We also consider the current perceptions of Turkish society towards the TCIP and how they can be enhanced. Our conclusions aim to assist stakeholders in government, homeowners, insurance companies, media, banks and civil society to appreciate the value of the system and key actions necessary to improve it.