Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Senegal is a country that values diplomacy. It is a predominantly-Muslim populated, constitutionally secular, nonaligned state having relations with most countries in the world. Senegal has maintained a stable political system with peaceful transfers of power despite being located in a region of Africa witnessing unstable conditions in recent years. Its leadership is well regarded by countries with different political systems and through that reputation has been able to receive needed technical and economic assistance while maintaining an independent foreign policy. Senegal has exercised influence on the continent, and even beyond, greater than a number of African countries larger in size, since its independence from France in June 1960. Therefore, it has attracted the attention of outside powers, including those in the Middle East of middle size. Those countries, namely Saudi Arabia (together with Morocco and its allies in the Gulf), Türkiye, Iran and Israel, have regarded Senegal as a "gateway" to West Africa and the Sahel region. Yet while Senegal's ties especially with France and its neighbors in Africa have received much scholarly attention, academics have only recently begun to investigate Senegal's connections with the Middle East; it is indeed one important aspect for anyone wishing to study Senegal's foreign relations in a more comprehensive fashion and to have a better understanding of how this country is quite successful in balancing those ties.

During the Cold War, three countries were partitioned into two states: Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. The last was a result of its war of independence against the French following World War II and continued until 1954. Following a victorious war against the United States-backed government in the south, the communist government in the north reunited the country between 1975 and 1976. In 1988, facing economic troubles, Vietnam instituted Doi Moi market reforms while relaxing its ideological worldview and expanded its diplomatic and economic relations. In 1995, Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which it had regarded as a pro-Western organization during the Cold War. Meanwhile, first North Vietnam and later a reunified Vietnam went from a country whose relations were exclusive with states in the communist bloc and a few other non-aligned countries to one that today has ties with almost every country in the world. Academic studies on Vietnam's foreign relations largely focus on those with Russia, China, the US, its ASEAN partners, and other countries in Asia. However, since the end of the Cold War, countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are an import source of Vietnam's crude oil and natural gas and an expanding market for its exports, while MENA states, in this era of globalization, have sought to increase diplomatic and economic ties throughout Asia.

This is an examination of the historical background and demographic composition of minorities in the three South Caucasus states—Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia—as well as a survey of their current status and limits to aspirations of those ethnic groups. It utilizes Sammy Smooha's concept of ethnic democracy: "a system in which two contradictory principles operate: 'the democratic principle,' making for equal rights and equal treatment of all citizens, and 'the ethnic principle,' making for fashioning a homogenous nation-state and privileging the ethnic majority." All of the countries examined fit that category in principle given their respective Constitutions, but Azerbaijan unlike its two neighbors has an autocratic system of government eliminating itself in terms of practice. Armenia is the most homogenous of the three states, while Georgia has the most diverse population. Yet all have numerous minorities living within their borders as well as having ethnic brethren in neighboring countries; dealing with those groups has been problematic to various degrees. Georgia has lost territory—Abkhazia and South Ossetia—to secessionist minorities aided by Russia, while Armenia and Azerbaijan have engaged in war over Nagorno-Karabakh, while driving out of their respective countries either Azerbaijanis or Armenians.

This article will review Turkey's political and economic relations with the United Arab Emirates from the establishment of ties upon the latter achieving independence from Britain to the present through the changing regional and international scene of the Cold War and post-Cold War periods. While Turkey did not pay much attention to the Gulf region initially, the situation changed following the establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981 and Turgut Özal becoming prime minister two years later. Özal was a devout Muslim and sought to boost ties with Middle Eastern countries while reaping economic benefits, but his efforts were not as extensive as they have become under the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which came to power in 2002. The AKP regards Turkey as a leading force in promoting the interests especially of Sunni Muslims in the Middle East and the rest of the Islamic world. Despite constructive bilateral efforts at political and economic cooperation, the AKP's connections with the Muslim Brotherhood have complicated Turkey's relations with the UAE, as the latter has been concerned with its indigenous Islamist group al-Islah. Since the overthrow of Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi, a political rivalry has developed between the two over differing regional perspectives.

Abstract
Turkey and Indonesia are both members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a group of 57 Muslim-populated countries, and the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, a group of Muslim-majority states, but their respective Constitutions do not give preference to the Islamic faith. While developing relations as part of the Muslim world, Turkey and Indonesia are also members of the G20, an organization of countries with some of the most important economies as well as mikta, a less formal group of middle powers in the G20 to deal with matters of common interest designed to enhance their soft power vis-à-vis the political dominance of major world and other regional powers. In addition, the founding fathers of modern Indonesia in their struggle for independence against the colonial power of the Netherlands following the Second World War found inspiration in the actions of founding father of the Republic of Turkey following the First World War. Yet despite all these connections and the importance of these two countries in world affairs, the study of the bilateral relations of Turkey and Indonesia and their interactions as part of multilateral organizations has been either neglected or extremely limited in coverage. This article attempts to ameliorate that situation.

During much of the past several decades, Moroccan actions in Western Sahara have impacted on that country's bilateral and multilateral ties, especially with other countries in Africa, though to a lesser degree in the Arab world. In recent years, Morocco has gained the upper hand in its conflict in Western Sahara and has been increasing its political and economic footprint on the continent of Africa, an area of interest since independence. At the same time, Morocco has regarded itself as a "gateway" to Africa for the USA and Europe, while the USA, France (and the Gulf states) have provided military and financial assistance as well as diplomatic support for Morocco as that country's policies have served Western interests. While attention is given by academics in recent years to the involvement in Africa of other middle powers from the Middle East such as Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia and, in the past, of Nasser's Egypt and Qaddafi's Libya, as well as Israel, Morocco has not stirred the same sort of interest. This article seeks to address that issue by examining all political and economic factors that have influenced Moroccan policy toward Sub-Saharan Africa, those both connected and unconnected with the issue of the Western Sahara dispute.

Turkey in Africa: Turkey's Strategic Involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa, by Federico Donelli. London: I. B. Tauris, 2021. 216 pages. $153.00 cloth; $53.99 paper; $122.41 e-book.

This is an examination of political, military, economic and cultural relations between Turkey and Afghanistan since 1919. While cultural connections, Turkish security and technical assistance, and bilateral trade have been emphasized throughout this relationship, the closest ties were during the leadership of Turkey's Kemal Atatürk and the reign of Afghanistan's King Amanullah when modernization reforms were in vogue in both countries, and more recently since 2002 during the rule of Turkey's Islam-oriented Justice and Development (AK) Party, which developed an affinity with the leaders of Afghanistan's Islamic Republic, but kept open connections with the rival Taliban. Both countries included neighboring Iran in their plans for counteracting aggressive moves by the European powers involved in the Middle East, central and south Asia. Since the Second World War, Turkey has been a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), while except for the Marxist period (1978–1992), Afghanistan has preferred nonalignment. However, it has been Turkey's connection with NATO that has facilitated close ties with Afghanistan.