Suchergebnisse

According to the Copenhagen School's Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT), Turkey is an insulator state as it sits at the intersection of different security complexes without truly being part of any of them. This understanding of Turkey's position in the international security realm has offered a welcome contribution to the eternal debate about the country's security alignment between East and West. Turkey has, in recent years, become more active on the international stage, diversifying its relations and taking a more assertive stance regarding international security issues. This shift in its foreign and security policy is related to the country's ambition to become a great power in the near future. However, according to RSCT, it is quite improbable for there to be an insulator state that is also a great power. This article elaborates on the tension between this theory and Turkey's ambitions in an attempt to understand whether and how RSCT remains a useful theoretical framework for the understanding of Turkey's foreign and security relations. Adapted from the source document.

Both NATO & Turkey are going through considerable changes regarding their place in the world. The former is in the process of defining a New Strategic Concept, whilst undertaking its most demanding military operation to date, in Afghanistan. The latter is redrawing its map of alliances, strategic partnerships & overall foreign policy priorities, in both its neighborhood & among the new international emerging powers. It is under this context of mutual changes that this article proposes to analyze the relationship between NATO & Turkey. Adapted from the source document.

Taking as a starting point the Copenhagen School's theory of regional complexes, this article debates the immediate causes & consequences of the Turkish policy to the Israel-Palestine conflict, & the changes that occurred on the Turkish foreign policy for the Middle East since the AKP (Justice & Development Party) of Recep Tayyip Erdog?an was elected in 2002. Furthermore it will reflect on Turkey's behavior on what concerns the present Gaza crisis & on the causes & consequences of the potential transformation on the Turkish foreign policy for the Middle East. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of this special section is to draw the readers' attention to what is an emerging policy field, to call for further research to be conducted on its multiple dimensions, and to encourage the expansion of the existing body of literature. Although cyber security has now become part of our daily lives and concerns, European Studies as a discipline is yet to fully embrace the area as a subject of in-depth research. The four articles in this special section are intended to contribute to filling this gap, by interrogating what kind of actor the EU is in cyber security and what forms of governance it employs in this area.

Cyberspace has become a major locus and focus of international relations. Most global powers have now streamlined cyber issues into their foreign policies, adopting cyber strategies and appointing designated diplomats to pursue these strategic objectives. This article proposes to explore the concept of cyber-diplomacy, by analysing its evolution and linking it to the broader discussions of diplomacy as a fundamental institution of international society, as defined by the English School of International Relations. It argues that cyber-diplomacy is an emerging international practice that is attempting to construct a cyber-international society, bridging the national interests of states with world society dynamics – the predominant realm in which cyberspace has evolved in the last four decades.

2014 was a year of paradoxes in Turkey. Internally, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's power was reinforced by winning the two elections, local and presidential, with comfortable margins in spite of the antigovernment protests and the corruption scandals involving the government. This was a scenario feared by many who see Erdogan an increasingly authoritarian leader. Externally, Ankara had to face the escalation of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the rise of the Islamic State, in a period in which Turkey seems to lack a coherent foreign policy strategy. Adapted from the source document.

This article analyses the critical connections between drones as lethal technological devices, visibility, and the very possibility of politics. Drawing on Hannah Arendt's core postulates on politics, modern security and society, it problematises the political implications of using drones as a prominent security instrument in contemporary life. This reading is unpacked through the concept of visibility as a critical reference to analyse how security policies are dealt with politically. It suggests that drones have operated as an instrument of double invisibility, both to those living in the contexts where they are employed, and to those under whose name they are being used. The consequences of this invisibility for political life and the practice of security are also discussed in the light of the policy under the Obama administration.

On the occasion of Portugal assuming the rotating presidency of the EU, the article analyzes the European posture toward Turkey. An important question to address is the extent to which Turkey can be considered a European state, particularly within the context of Turkey's desire for a closer association with Europe. The article gives the history of Turkey's long-held desire to join the EU, for which it was campaigning in earnest by 1995. While the economic advantages to Turkey of EU membership are clear, the economic & other advantages for Europe are less so, & not all EU members share the same level of enthusiasm for Turkish admittance. The article concludes by arguing strongly that the EU has a lot of work to do in understanding Turkey better, & that Portugal's assumption of the EU presidency can provide an opportunity in this direction. R. Young