Religion, Identity and Power

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk ◽  
Jeffrey Haynes
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
The State ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Political Strategies ◽  
State Identity ◽  
Religious Transformation ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Justice And Development Party ◽  
Shed Light

Turkey and its recent ethno-religious transformation have had a strong impact on the state identity and country’s relation to the Balkan Peninsula. This book examines Turkey’s ethno-religious activism and power-related political strategies in the Balkans between 2002 and 2020, the period under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), to determine the scopes of its activities in the region. This study illuminates an often-neglected aspect of Turkey’s relations with its Balkan neighbours that emerged as a result of the much discussed ‘authoritarian turn’ – a broader shift in Turkish domestic and foreign policy from a realist-secular to a Sunni Islamic orientation with ethno-nationalist policies. In order to understand how these concepts have been received locally, the author draws on personal testimonies given by both Turkish and non-Turkish, Muslim and non-Muslim interviewees in three country cases: Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Albania. The findings shed light on contemporary issues surrounding the continuous redefinition of Turkish secularism under the AKP rule and the emergence of a new Muslim elite in Turkey.

Foreign Policy and the Social Construction of State Identity

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Kowert
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
State Level ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
The State ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
State Identity ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

Foreign policy analysis benefits from careful attention to state identity. After all, identity defines the field itself by making it possible to speak both of policies and of a domain that is foreign. For some scholars, identity has proven useful as a guide to agency and, in particular, to agent preferences. For others, identity has served as a guide to social or institutional structure. Theories of state identity can be divided into three categories: conditions internal to agents, social interactions among agents, and “ecological” encounters with a broader environment. Internal conditions refer to either processes or constraints that operate within the agent under consideration. In the case of the state, these may include domestic politics, the individual characteristics of citizens or other internal actors, and the collective attributes of these citizens or other actors. Although internal causes are not social at the state level, they nevertheless have social implications if they give rise to state identity, and they may themselves be social at a lower level. The social interactions of states themselves constitute a second source of identity, one that treats states as capable of interacting like persons. This approach essentially writes large social and psychological theories, replacing individuals with the state. Finally, the ecological setting or broader environment is a third possible source of identity. The environment may be material, ideational, or discursive, and treated as an objective or a subjective influence.

scholarly journals The Ambivalence of Turkish Soft Power in Southeast Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-128
Author(s):  
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
The State ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Policy Tool ◽  
Justice And Development Party ◽  
Sunni Islam

With the instrumentalisation of Islam via the state apparatuses in foreign policy, Sunni Islam has become both an instrument and a purpose of the repressive Justice and Development Party and Turkey has started to be one of the front runners of countries who are increasingly competing for using Islam as a foreign policy tool. This relatively new role of Turkey has created various diverging ideas among the host countries where Turkey is active. While some countries are rather content with Turkey’s religiously fueled policies and humanitarian aid, and define Turkey as one of the most influential actors which can use religion as a soft power tool, others refuse to define Turkey’s policies within the boundaries of religious soft power due to its extra-territorial authoritarian practices and instrumentalisation of religion for these. Under these circumstances, this study defines Turkey’s religious soft power as an ambivalent one and scrutinises the reasons behind this ambiguity via exploring some country cases from Southeast Europe.

scholarly journals Republic of Croatia’s Membership in NATO

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-397
Author(s):  
M. Zubovic
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Interstate Relations ◽  
Full Member ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
War For Independence ◽  
The Republic

The article discusses the Euro-Atlantic vector of Croatian foreign policy, primarily the historical path of the state into NATO and the advantages of membership in this alliance. The Republic of Croatia in its history experienced a rather difficult period associated with the Croatian War for Independence, which began in 1991 after the state announced its withdrawal from the SFRY. Since then, one of the main goals of Croatian foreign policy has been joining the Euro-Atlantic structures, which was fulfiled in 2009, when Croatia became a full member of NATO. Based on the experience of the War for Independence, for the Republic of Croatia this membership is an important factor in ensuring the country’s security, and it can also help improve interstate relations in the Balkans and strengthen stability in the region. The work will also outline the operations and missions in which Croatia participates within the NATO framework and contributes to the successful implementation of Euro-Atlantic foreign policy.

Russia as the State Continuing the Legal Personality of the USSR – An Inquiry into State Identity or Succession

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-45
Author(s):  
Guido Acquaviva
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
The State ◽  
State Identity ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
Governmental Power ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
State Succession ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractThe Russian Federation is overwhelmingly considered the same subject of international law as the USSR. Moving from a re-assessment of the incidence of the elements traditionally associated with the identity of a state, this article notes that scholars have generally neglected to study what are the actual bases for this nearly universal consensus. Since the creation and the identity of states are often described as questions of fact, the author suggests that a useful addition to the debate surrounding the identity of the USSR and Russia is an analysis of the nature of the actual governmental power within the USSR. This may contribute to assessing anew how the seismic changes in 1990 and 1991 affected it and, therefore, how contemporary Russia actually arose. Such an interdisciplinary approach to the question of state succession could further be used to shed light on similar cases of succession.

scholarly journals New player on the scene: Turkish engagement in Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (25) ◽  
pp. 197-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kateřina Rudincová
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The State ◽  
Business Organisation ◽  
Justice And Development Party ◽  
Turkish Government ◽  
Civil Sector ◽  
Turkish Society

Abstract Turkey’s engagement in Africa is connected to the ideological shift of Turkish government during the era of Justice and Development Party and its redirection from the Western-centred to the more diversified foreign policy. Turkish policy in Africa has two dimensions: first one is promoted by the official representation of the State, and the second is performed mainly by civil sector of Turkish society, the business organisation as well as various NGOs. This paper examines Turkish involvement in Africa from various perspectives. It focuses on the economic, political as well as ideological role of Turkey in Africa.

Introduction Turkey and the Balkans in the New Millennium: Religion, Identity and Power

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cultural Hegemony ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Turkish Republic ◽  
Popular Opinion ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Justice And Development Party ◽  
Political Economic

‘ Turkey is back!’ Since the beginning of the 2000s, a considerable number of semi-academic and academic productions, echoing popular opinion, have been building around this theme with regard to the role of the Turkish Republic in the Balkan Peninsula and its social, cultural, economic and religious ramifications. Some claim that the policies of the successive AKP (Justice and Development Party – Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) governments and the political strategies of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan concerning the Balkans have long been energised by Turkey’s desire to re-establish political, economic, religious and cultural hegemony in the region through various neo-imperialist and neo-colonial projects, and to foresee the revitalisation of the multifaceted Ottoman legacy....

Israel and Lebanon: Relations Under Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-115
Author(s):  
Jacob Abadi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
The State ◽  
Primary Reason ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Arab Nationalism ◽  
State Of Israel ◽  
Willingness To Cooperate ◽  
Shed Light

This article provides an analysis of the course of Israeli-Lebanese relations and its purpose is to shed light on the contacts between the Maronites in Lebanon and the State of Israel. It argues that the primary reason for the Maronites’ willingness to cooperate with the Jews was the fear that the rising tide of Arab nationalism in Lebanon would have adverse effects on their survival as a religious minority. Moreover, it demonstrates that these contacts laid the background for cooperation between the two communities which survived the vicissitudes of the Lebanese civil wars and still plays a role in Israeli foreign policy.

Conclusion The New Turkey in the Balkans: An Ambiguous Actor?

2021 ◽  
pp. 209-220
Author(s):  
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
State Power ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
State Identity ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Elite Interviews

Drawing on over two years of fieldwork and more than 120 semi-structured elite interviews in Turkey and the Balkans, this book seeks to illuminate a neglected aspect of Turkey’s relations with its Balkan neighbours, in the context of the broader shift in Turkish domestic and foreign policy under the AKP from a realist-secular orientation to an ambiguous coercive Sunni Islamic one. It explains the complex relations between religion (Islam) and state identity, and their reflection in state power. In order to analyse how these concepts have been utilized and how they been received locally, this book uses as primary sources both Turkish and local actors in the three country cases: Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Albania. This part summaries all of these points

Multi-Sided Roles of Religion, Identity and Power in Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 27-48
Author(s):  
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
The State ◽  
State Identity ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Power Resources

This chapter is the theoretical skeleton of the book, explaining how religion can be a part of the state identity and how religion-oriented state identity affect the power resources and notions of the state in foreign policy. This chapter studies religion as one element of state identity among other elements, and various outcomes of religious state identity as an element of power in international relations. Furthermore, it employs a constructivist reading of religion within politics and international relations, and explains the theoretical contribution of the book: the ambivalence of religion-oriented soft power.

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