Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü Koleksiyonu
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11779/1939
Browse
52 results
Search Results
Article A Discourse Analysis of Bilateral Water Agreements Between Türkiye and Iraq: Legal Instruments of Water Diplomacy in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin(International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 2026) Güleç, Cansu; Kibaroglu, AysegulThis study examines the discursive dynamics of bilateral water diplomacy between T & uuml;rkiye and Iraq through a detailed analysis of the legal agreements governing the Euphrates-Tigris (ET) River system. Rather than focusing on the implementation or efficacy of these agreements, the paper investigates how discourse shapes the roles, identities, and power hierarchies of the involved actors over time. Employing a discourse-analytical framework, the research explores how water agreements position actors, embed values, and narrate cooperation in evolving geopolitical contexts. The paper begins with a historical overview of transboundary water relations in the ET basin, emphasizing the prevalence of bilateralism. It then lays out the conceptual and methodological foundations of discourse analysis, drawing on key literature and analytical categories such as presupposition, predication, and subject positioning. The core section applies this framework to four key water agreements between T & uuml;rkiye and Iraq, highlighting thematic shifts and evolving actor roles. A discussion section synthesizes findings through Doty's (1993) discourse model, emphasizing how identities and relations are constructed over time. Finally, the conclusion reflects on the implications of these discursive trends for the future of water diplomacy in the region. The T & uuml;rkiye-Iraq case reveals how bilateral agreements can evolve into discursive tools that align with evolving global water management paradigms, offering politically sensitive basins a transferable approach to linking contested transboundary water issues with more comprehensive and partnership-based water diplomacy.Book Part Citation - Scopus: 5Turkey's EU Membership Process in the Aftermath of the Gezi Protests(Taylor and Francis, 2025) Saatçioǧlu, B.Book Part Testing Soft Power in Hard Politics: Turkish Public Diplomacy During “Operation Peace Spring”(Palgrave Macmillan, 2025) Güleç Aras, Cansu; Kibaroğlu, MustafaPublic diplomacy is used by governments to significantly enhance their capability to maintain national unity and integrity as well as to advance their foreign policy objectives by cultivating a favorable environment among foreign peoples. In conflictual situations where military force is used, it is important to create an impact in a short time to promote national interests by informing and influencing the public. This chapter will first introduce the fundamental tenets of public diplomacy to offer a conceptual framework to better understand its use during military conflicts. It will then explore the implementation of public diplomacy instruments by Turkish government during the “Operation Peace Spring”, which was launched in October 2019. The chapter will also assess the performance of Turkish public diplomacy in the face of the extent of criticism leveled against Türkiye from around the world, including allied countries and international organizations. © 2025 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.Conference Object A Comparative Analysis of Ruling Right-wing Populism towards Globalization in the Context of Refugee Crises: The Cases of Turkey and Hungary(2023) Saatçioğlu, BekenHow do governing, right-wing populist parties in and outside the EU approach globalization on the issue of international migration? This paper addresses this question by focusing on Hungary’s Fidesz and Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the context of the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis. It studies the discourses of these parties and their leaders regarding the liberal international order and the EU, and evaluates whether EU membership makes a difference in these arguments. This fills a gap in the literature because how ruling right-wing populism in middle-power states like Hungary and Turkey challenges the global system, and what kind of globalization or de-globalization it asks for in the light of migration issues remains to be scrutinized. The paper argues: (1) Fidesz and AKP are both “selective globalizers” that still challenge globalization and the EU within a populist foreign policy framework pitting “liberal, corrupt, global, EU elites” against the people (Christians for Fidesz, Syrian Muslim refugees for the AKP), (2) They differ because: (a) Fidesz’ challenges heavily focus on the EU while the AKP’s discourse extends to the global system and its institutions (the UN), (b) Fidesz’ EU contestation revolves around the need to protect “Hungarian sovereignty” and “Christian European culture” from “Brussels elites” while AKP’s rhetoric primarily reflects expectations of satisfactory “transactionalism” from the EU.Conference Object Contesting the EU’s Legitimacy over the Refugee and Rule of Law Crises: Insights from Turkey and Hungary(2022) Buhari-Gulmez, Didem; Soyaltin-Coella, Digdem; Saatçioğlu, BekenThis paper studies how the representatives of illiberal governing parties in two illiberal regimes (Hungary and Turkey) challenge the EU from within (Hungary) and without (Turkey). Is there a variation in their contestations against EU legitimacy? Which issues do they converge or diverge about? What do their similarities and differences imply for the EU’s policies, external relations as well as European integration? To address these questions, the paper uses a bottom-up approach and brings into the analysis the perspectives of Hungarian and Turkish governing political actors in the context of two relevant EU crises which have arisen in recent years: the rule of law crisis and the refugee crisis.Book Part EU-Turkey Relations: Towards a Transactional Future amid Conflictual Cooperation(Nomos, 2021) Saatçioğlu, BekenThis chapter first summarises and synthesises the findings of the chapters in order to advance an overall scenario for the future of EU-Turkey relations, which is “conflictual cooperation”. It then elaborates on the scenario based on the drivers emanating from the chapters and the recent critical developments weighing on the relations. It concludes by reflecting on the future of the relations in light of their current transactional nature which has been growing since the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis.Book Turkey and the European Union: Key Dynamics and Future Scenarios(Nomos, 2021) Saatçioğlu, Beken; Tekin, FundaThis volume studies the enduring complexity of EU–Turkey relations in all their thematic dimensions and with a view to offering future scenarios. It accomplishes three important aims. First, following a narratives analysis, the chapters analysing identity, politics, the economy, security, migration and energy identify the key dynamics that impact the relationship in these areas. Second, they evaluate how these drivers influence the three ideal-type future scenarios of convergence, cooperation and conflict, subsequently offering a relationship scenario for each thematic area. Third, the volume synthesises the chapters’ individual findings and argues that conflictual cooperation is the most likely scenario in future EU–Turkey relations. With contributions by İbrahim Semih Akçomak, Senem Aydın-Düzgit, Lorenzo Colantoni, Angeliki Dimitriadi, Atila Eralp, Erkan Erdil, Doruk Ergun, Hanna Lisa Hauge, Ayhan Kaya, Ebru Ece Özbey, Bahar Rumelili, Beken Saatçioğlu, Eduard Soler i Lecha, Melike Sökmen, Funda Tekin, Sinan Ülgen and Wolfgang Wessels.Conference Object Comparing Right-Wing Populist Parties’ Stance towards the Global Management of International Migration: Insights from Turkey and Hungary(2024) Saatçioğlu, BekenHow do ruling, right-wing populist parties approach the global management of international migration? This paper addresses this question by analyzing Hungary’s Fidesz and Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the context of the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis. It studies these parties’ discourses regarding the liberal international order (LIO) and the EU, and particularly, the latter’s proposed handling of the crisis. This fills a gap in the literature because ruling right-wing populist parties in middle-power states like Hungary and Turkey are seldom compared and the presence or absence of EU membership may make a difference in their arguments. The paper argues: (1) Fidesz and AKP selectively challenge the LIO and the EU within a populist foreign policy framework pitting “liberal, corrupt, global, EU elites” against the people (Christians for Fidesz, Syrian Muslim refugees for the AKP), (2) They differ because: (a) Fidesz’ challenges heavily focus on the EU while the AKP’s discourse extends to the global system and the UN, (b) Fidesz’ EU contestation revolves around the need to protect “Hungarian sovereignty” and “Christian European culture” from “Brussels elites” while AKP’s rhetoric primarily reflects expectations of satisfactory “transactionalism” from the EU.Conference Object Empowering Autocrats: The EU’s Migration Partnerships with Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt(2025) Saatçioğlu, Beken; Gümüşçü, ŞebnemThis paper studies the EU’s partnerships with Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt to control illegal migration to Europe. The 2016 EU-Turkey refugee deal, the 2023 EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding, and the 2024 EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership exhibit the EU’s policy of externalization of migration to countries of origin and transit in the EU’s neighborhood. The analysis assesses the repercussions of this externalization on the EU’s liberal democratic actorness on the world stage and the deepening autocratization in the Middle East and Turkey. Two preliminary findings are presented. First, the EU prefers transactionalism in the conduct of its foreign policy with the three countries. This is evident in the unconditional nature of these migration agreements and the sidestepping of the European Parliament as a critical actor in the process. Second, this transactionalism supports ongoing autocratization in all three countries by lifting external accountability and providing much-needed resources for these regimes: These autocratic regimes not only find greater leeway to contest the EU’s liberal democratic values (practically and discursively) but also resort to strategies of “refugee rentierism” in disregard for international refugee law. As such, the EU has enabled democratic breakdown in Turkey and Tunisia and autocratic deepening in Egypt.Article Citation - Scopus: 1Water Diplomacy Between Türkiye and Iraq: Pathways, Challenges, and Future Prospects(Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025) Kibaroǧlu, AyşegülSystematic analyses of transboundary water relations in the Euphrates-Tigris basin reveal that key riparian states—Türkiye, Syria, and Iraq—favor water diplomacy over conflict. Despite political instability, including the Syrian civil war, Türkiye and Iraq have re-engaged in formal and informal water diplomacy mechanisms. This paper argues that water diplomacy in this region will likely continue to adapt to the evolving dynamics of conflict impacting transboundary water relations. Notably, cooperation on water issues between Türkiye and Iraq is closely linked with their security collaboration, whose success will likely depend on socioeconomic developments that support fair and sustainable water use across the region. The paper further emphasizes the need to prioritize the swift implementation of existing agreements that address future water availability and demand, particularly in the context of climate change.