The aim of this course is to provide the necessary background for further studies in the various fields of Turkish Studies, specifically Turkish foreign policy. The main goal is to enable us to learn how to analyze and more fully understand foreign policy behaviours, applying this knowledge to the study of Turkey. Throughout the course, students will tackle some questions, such as: How does Turkey formulate and implement her foreign policy toward her neighbours?; Why does Ankara choose to respond one way or another to various situations in global and regional politics?; What is the role of power and ideas in her behaviours’?. At the end of the course, students should be able to use and critically evaluate the insights from the main theoretical approaches in international relations to analyze a state's foreign policy. In addition, It aims to improve students’ civil-professional competencies i.e., improving verbal communication, public speaking, critical thinking/writing, and last but not least, the various forms of writing skills – position paper, policy analysis paper, for career opportunities, such as risk consulting.
Prerequisite(s)
Turkey faces an unprecedented convergence of global and regional opportunities, risks, vulnerabilities,
threats, and instability. This seminar invites students to go beyond the single-causality approach1 to the
debates about the processes, policies, opportunities, and the challenges that Turkey faces, to capture the
different hues of reality and think about them analytically.
The content of relations with neighbours has horizontally and vertically expanded over the years. Today,
it covers a variety of interconnected issues that ranges from the traditional modes of economic, cultural,
social, and military power, ethnic, religious, and ideological issues, and energy supplies to unconventional forms such as transnational terrorism, health insecurity, populism, xenophobia, severe displacement of
large populations, climate change, and overwhelming humanitarian crises - creates a complex operating
environment. This course is a hybrid focus on the above-mentioned themes. It has been designed to
comprehend the causes and impacts of domestic or international issues by the students.
The course is composed of three parts. In the first part, readings on IR theories, foreign policymaking, and
the Turkish foreign policy in the 20th century will be carried out. Then, the theoretical and conceptual
transformation of foreign policy at the beginning of the 21st century, foreign policy instruments within
changing parameters, regional economic cooperation, Turkey’s “hard, soft and smart power,” and various
critics of foreign policy will be dwelt on. Lastly, within the scope of this background, the relations with
neighbors in the Middle East, Mediterranean, Black Sea region, Caucasus, and Balkans will be analyzed in
detail. Students will end the course with a firm grasp of the core issues in Turkey’s relations with its
neighbours.
Student reading, writing, and class participation are essential for success. This course is structured as a
combination of lecture-based (first 4 weeks) and then continued with Socratic seminars2
, which require
collaborative intellectual dialogue facilitated with open-ended questions about a weekly assigned text.
Quantitative methods will not be utilized, though students are expected to read and understand graphic
material that illustrates social scientific data.
Writing assignments are the core component of this class. Based on the weekly readings, students will
write two short critical commentary papers (3-4 pages). Those students who wrote the papers for the
particular week should be prepared to discuss their ideas in class. The student is also advised to familiarize
his/her-self –at least one from each- with mainstream national, regional and global daily newspapers,
news agencies, political magazines, journals and periodic publications and also websites of countries’
political and bureaucratic institutions. Alternative and non-mainstream institutions have a wealth of
information, all accessible online. The student is also strictly advised to familiarize themselves with the
world map
Corequisite(s)
No corerequisite is needed.
Special Requisite(s)
The minimum qualifications that are expected from the students who want to attend the course.(Examples: Foreign language level, attendance, known theoretical pre-qualifications, etc.)
Instructor(s)
Lecturer Dr. Muzaffer Şenel
Course Assistant(s)
Schedule
Thursdays, from 9:00-11:50 via CATS.
Office Hour(s)
Thursdays, via email.
Teaching Methods and Techniques
The course relies on an eclectic collection of texts and sources: books, articles, podcasts, and videos. Readings will be posted on CATS system. Since this course is oriented toward research, I did not collect all these items for you. By looking these up you may discover other articles or books of interest. You will also familiarize yourselves with many of the leading scholarly journals in this field. Since few of the readings are not easy to find, I will post to them on CATS ‘course documents’ section. The first two weeks of the class assign the basic readings. This time is meant to allow you to catch up with the reading for week three. In general, you can expect an average of two or three articles/chapters of reading per week. Some of the readings are technical; others are meant for the general public. Some of the texts are purely theoretical while others focus on empirical cases. Some deal with contemporary issues, others revisit distant histories. My hope is that through this diversity of texts you will get a broad sense for the kind of questions and approaches utilized by social scientists in the study of foreign policy.
Principle Sources
Beasley, Ryan K., Juliet Kaarbo, Jeffrey S. Lantis, and Michael T. Snarr, (eds.), Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective: Domestic and International Influences on State Behaviour, 2nd ed., Sage, London, 2013.
Kösebalaban, Hasan, Turkish Foreign Policy: Islam, Nationalism, and Globalization, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2011.
Oran, Baskın, Turkish Foreign Policy 1919–2006: Facts and Analyses with Documents, Univ. of Utah Press, Salk Lake City, 2010.
Other Sources
Aksu, Fuat Helin Sarı Ertem, Analyzing Foreign Policy Crises in Turkey: Conceptual, Theoretical and Practical Discussions, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Cambridge, 2017.
Alexandrova-Arbatova, Nadia, Security relations in the Black Sea region: Russia and the West after the Ukrainian crisis, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 15:2, 129-139.
Alpan, Başak & Ahmet Erdi Öztürk, “Turkey and the Balkans: bringing the Europeanisation/ DeEuropeanisation nexus into question”, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 22:1, 1-10, 2022.
Alpan, Başak & Ahmet Erdi Öztürk, “Turkish foreign policy in the Balkans amidst ‘soft power’ and ‘de-Europeanisation’, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 22:1, 45-63, 2022.
Altıok, Birce, & Salih Tosun, “Understanding foreign policy strategies during migration movements: a comparative study of Iraqi and Syrian mass refugee inflows to Turkey”, Turkish Studies, 21:5, 2020, pp. 684-704, DOI: 10.1080/14683849.2019.1709055
Yeğen, Mesut, “The Kurdish Question in Turkish State Discourse”, Journal of Contemporary History, 1999 Oct 01. 34(4), 555-568
Course Schedules
Week
Contents
Learning Methods
1. Week
Module 1: Introduction to IRD9088
Objectives:
1. Identify the place of neighbours in the Turkish Foreign Policy,
2. Observe the controversies about the meanings, referents, subjects, and objects of neighbours,
3. Document the reasons that you are interested in learning about neighbours,
4. Discover sources of news on contemporary issues
Oral presentation, discussion.
2. Week
Module 2 and Module 3: Theoretical Framework and Methodology
Discussion points: The Study of Foreign Policy and its evolution as a subfield. What is Foreign Policy, Why
and How Do We Study It? Why Study Foreign Policy Comparatively?
The general framework of relations with neighbors in the main IR theories (Realism, Liberalism, Critical
Theory, Constructivism, Geopolitics, etc.), Foreign policymaking and factors affecting this process. Units
and levels of analysis.
Oral presentation, discussion.
3. Week
Module 2 and Module 3: Theoretical Framework and Methodology
Discussion points: The Study of Foreign Policy and its evolution as a subfield. What is Foreign Policy, Why
and How Do We Study It? Why Study Foreign Policy Comparatively?
The general framework of relations with neighbors in the main IR theories (Realism, Liberalism, Critical
Theory, Constructivism, Geopolitics, etc.), Foreign policymaking and factors affecting this process. Units
and levels of analysis.
Oral presentation, discussion.
4. Week
Module 4: History, Geography and Foreign Policy
Discussion points: Ottoman legacy. A general outlook of Turkish foreign policy in the first half of the 20th
century. Relations with neighbors in early Republican era. The Cold War and Turkey’s neighbors.
Oral presentation, discussion.
5. Week
Module 5: Parameters of the Turkish Foreign Policy and Neighbours: From Theory to Practice
Discussion points: Parameters of the Turkish Foreign Policy and the Relations with neighbors. “Peace at
Home Peace in the World”, “Surrounded by enemies”, “Zero Problem with Neighbours”
Oral presentation, discussion.
6. Week
Module 6: Relations with the Caucasus: Gate To Asia
Oral presentation, discussion.
7. Week
Module7: Middle Eastern Neighbours in Turkish Foreign Policy: Iran
Oral presentation, discussion.
8. Week
Midterm Week
Midterm Exam
9. Week
Midterm Week
Midterm Exam
10. Week
Module 8: Middle Eastern Neighbours in Turkish Foreign Policy: Iraq
Oral presentation, discussion.
11. Week
Module 9: Middle Eastern Neighbours in Turkish Foreign Policy: Syria
Oral presentation, discussion.
12. Week
Model 10: Balkan Neighbours: Greece
Oral presentation, discussion.
13. Week
Model 11: : Balkan Neighbours: Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine,
Oral presentation, discussion.
14. Week
Module 13: Survey Presentation
Oral presentation, discussion.
15. Week
Module 14: Survey Presentation
Oral presentation, discussion.
16. Week
Final Exam Week
Final Exam
17. Week
Final Exam Week
Final Exam
Assessments
Evaluation tools
Quantity
Weight(%)
Homework / Term Projects / Presentations
3
60
Final Exam
1
40
Program Outcomes
PO-1
To identify and use theoretical and practical knowledge in International Relations.
PO-2
To express ideas and assessments about contemporary debates in International Relations.
PO-3
To acknowledge ethical and scientific responsibilities of data collection, evaluation and publication.
PO-4
To monitor and interpret published studies in International Relations.
PO-5
To use a second language at an intermediate level.
PO-6
To analyze, compare and relate different local, regional and global developments in International Relations.
PO-7
To analyze, compare and relate International Relations with theories and practices of different associate departments and their sub-fields and to offer suggestions by combining these fields.
PO-8
To present substantial knowledge for various public, private and academic career positions.
PO-9
To analyze the emergence and functions of prominent regional and local actors and to make future projections about their actions.
PO-10
To theoretically and practically examine different events and facts in International Relations and Foreign Policy and to interpret their past, present, and future through a scientific perspective.
Learning Outcomes
LO-1
To inform students about Turkish politics.
LO-2
To recognize Turkey's neighbors.
LO-3
To learn the relations between Turkey and its neighbors.
LO-4
To have knowledge about Turkey's geopolitical position and influence.
LO-5
To analyze the political situation of Turkey and its neighbors.
