Turkey S Proxy War

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Turkey's Proxy War

Author : Noor Dahri
Publisher : Vij Books India Pvt Ltd
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2021-05-31
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9789390439928

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Turkey's Proxy War by Noor Dahri Pdf

Turkey is committing crimes against humanity across a region spanning Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This book is the first to explain the machinations that the country’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has put in motion in his rise to power from leading the Muslim Brotherhood’s Istanbul branch to President. The atrocities being committed are ongoing and continue against a backdrop of global condemnations of the dismal security situation and violence that exists within areas controlled by Turkish forces. The book highlights the long-simmering conflict between Turkey and its Kurdish minority, which has spread further afield and resulted in the targeting of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Iraq even as popular discontent grows against the Erdogan regime at home and abroad. Erdogan’s murky political and military-strategic agenda is further exacerbated by Turkey’s fomentation of ISIS and deployment of the terrorist group’s militants. This book describes how Turkish intelligence operatives smuggled ISIS militias into Libya and Azerbaijan, who then carried out heinous war crimes with the intent to destabilize the region. Moreover, the desperate situation of Syrian refugees has been exploited by the Turkish administration, which has hijacked their plight in a cynical manoeuvre to exert political pressure on Europe while also routing refugees into Kurdish territory, dubbing it a “safe zone”. The Muslim world does not know enough about Erdogan’s dangerous authoritarian leadership and its grave consequences. This book aims to change that by revealing the continuity between Pan Islamism, Turkish Islamisation, and Erdogan’s proxy militias, and how those interrelationships have led to war crimes against Kurdish people in Iraq and Syria.

Turkey And Russia in Syria - Texting the Extrems

Author : Hasan Yükselen
Publisher : SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2020-12-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9786257040952

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Turkey And Russia in Syria - Texting the Extrems by Hasan Yükselen Pdf

This book will answer the key research question of which characteristics (changing or enduring) of the Syrian War caused Turkey and Russia to oscillate between the extremes of war and alliance. By focusing on these characteristics in Syria, commonly accepted as a proxy war but with subtle changes to the definition due to its context, this book shows how the changing character of war influences state behaviors and relations both between and among them. Addressing the underlying question of what makes states cooperate while carrying on and/or being forced to accommodate diverging strategic ends, conditioned by unbalanced military power and laden with contentious agendas, uncovers the embedded controversies of the process that facilitates this oscillation. Finally, to reveal the broader implications, highlight the relevance, and to make a contribution to the literature based on the research, this study addresses the overarching question of how proxy wars alter interstate relations and relations within alliances.

Understanding the New Proxy Wars

Author : Peter Bergen,Candace Rondeaux,Daniel Rothenberg,David Sterman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 524 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2022-11-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780197688748

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Understanding the New Proxy Wars by Peter Bergen,Candace Rondeaux,Daniel Rothenberg,David Sterman Pdf

Proxy warfare will shape the conflicts of the twenty-first century for the foreseeable future. Yet the popular understanding of proxy wars remains largely shaped by the experience of the Cold War. In reality, in the Greater Middle East and its periphery today, the growing power of regional states and non-state actors, combined with the proliferation of new technology, has reshaped proxy conflicts, in an increasingly multipolar and interconnected environment. In this collected volume, a range of researchers examine what constitutes proxy warfare and provide new insight into how these wars are waged, in contexts stretching from Ukraine to North Africa and Syria to Afghanistan. The volume draws upon research, surveys and interviews conducted in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine, as well as examining the propaganda output of those involved in these countries' wars. In doing so, Understanding the New Proxy Wars helps reveal both the continuities and the differences between recent conflicts and those of times past.

Proxy Warfare on the Cheap

Author : Spyridon Plakoudas,Wojciech Michnik
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 135 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2023-03-15
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781793624871

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Proxy Warfare on the Cheap by Spyridon Plakoudas,Wojciech Michnik Pdf

This book examines how the USA decided, reluctantly at first, to use the Syrian Kurds as a cheap proxy warrior against ISIS and how this partnership evolved, in the end, into a not-so-cheap investment owing to its unforeseen geopolitical implications.

Erdoğan’s War

Author : Gonul Tol
Publisher : Hurst Publishers
Page : 433 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2022-10-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781787389762

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Erdoğan’s War by Gonul Tol Pdf

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s pugnacious president, is now the country’s longest-serving leader. On his way to the top, he has fought many wars. This book tells the story of those battles against domestic enemies through the lens of the Syrian conflict, which has become part and parcel of Erdoğan’s fight to remain in power. Turkey expert Gönül Tol traces Erdoğan’s ideological evolution from a conservative democrat to an Islamist and a Turkish nationalist, and explores how this progression has come to shape his Syria policy, changing the course of the war. She paints a vivid picture of the president’s constantly shifting strategy to consolidate his rule, showing that these shifts have transformed Turkey’s role in post-uprising Syria from an advocate of democracy, to a power fanning the flames of civil war, to an occupier. From the first days of Erdoğan’s rule through the failed coup against him, via the Kurdish peace process, the Arab uprisings and the refugee crisis, this compelling, authoritative book tells the story of one man’s quest to remain in power—tying together the fates of two countries, and changing them both forever.

Turkish Foreign Policy in Post Cold War Era

Author : İdris Bal
Publisher : Universal-Publishers
Page : 480 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781581124231

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Turkish Foreign Policy in Post Cold War Era by İdris Bal Pdf

With the end of Cold War discipline the world has entered a new era. Parameters have changed; new handicaps as well as new opportunities have been created for countries. Turkey as a neighbor of former USSR, a member of NATO and located at the center of a sensitive region covered by Caucasus, Balkans and Middle East, has been affected by the end of Cold War radically. Turkey has lost some of her bargaining cards in the new era and therefore has needed new arguments. This need encouraged Turkey to take active steps in Post Cold War era. This book analyzes Turkey s relations with US, EU, Balkans, Middle East, Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, China and Japan. At the same time, effects of economic crises and domestic developments on foreign policy, Turkish model in Turkish foreign policy, water conflict and Kurdish problem are analyzed as well. To conclude, it is possible to argue that although Turkey lost some of her bargaining cards in Post Cold War era, new developments pushed Turkey to the center of world politics rather then to periphery. Contributors: Meliha Benli Altunisik, Deniz Ülke Aribogan, Hüseyin Bagci, Idris Bal, Zeyno Baran, Fulya Kip Barnard, Erol Bulut, Ibrahim S. Canbolat, Saziye Gazioglu, Ramazan Gözen, Saban Kardas, H. Bülent Olcay, Cengiz Okman, Henry E. Paniev, Victor Panin, Dirk Rochtus, Faruk Sönmezoglu, Gül Turan, Ilter Turan, Mustafa Türkes, Nasuh Uslu.

Routledge Handbook of Proxy Wars

Author : Assaf Moghadam,Vladimir Rauta,Michel Wyss
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 572 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2023-07-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000914245

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Routledge Handbook of Proxy Wars by Assaf Moghadam,Vladimir Rauta,Michel Wyss Pdf

This Handbook is the first volume to comprehensively examine the challenges, intricacies, and dynamics of proxy wars, in their various facets. The volume aims to capture the significantly growing interest in the topic at a critical juncture when wars of many guises are becoming multifaceted proxy wars. Most often, proxy wars have wide-ranging implications for international security and are, therefore, a critically important subject of inquiry. The Handbook seeks to understand and explain proxy wars conceptually, theoretically, and empirically, with a focus on the numerous policy challenges and dilemmas they pose. To do so, it presents a multi- and interdisciplinary assessment of proxy wars focused on the causes, dynamics, and processes underpinning the phenomenon, across time and space and a multitude of actors throughout human history. The Handbook is divided into six thematic sections, as follows: Part I: Approaches to the Study of Proxy Wars Part II: Historical Perspectives on Proxy Wars Part III: Actors in Proxy Wars Part IV: Dynamics of Proxy Wars Part V: Case Studies of Proxy Wars Part VI: The Future of Proxy Wars By bringing together many leading scholars in a synthesis of expertise, this Handbook provides a unique and rigorous account of research into proxy war, which so far has been largely missing from the debate. This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, security studies, foreign policy, political violence, and International Relations.

Routledge Handbook of Mediterranean Politics

Author : Richard Gillespie,Frédéric Volpi
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 584 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2017-08-14
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781317446330

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Routledge Handbook of Mediterranean Politics by Richard Gillespie,Frédéric Volpi Pdf

The Mediterranean space, defined by a major sea, a large number of littoral countries and to some extent their hinterlands, is at the same time an interface between Europe, Africa and Asia. This brings complex challenges in terms of achieving peace and stability. Recently it has received intense international attention through the internal destructiveness and spill-over from conflicts, primarily those waged in Libya, Syria and, more remotely, Iraq. This Handbook provides an overview of the political processes that shape the Mediterranean region in the contemporary context. It explores the issues of crucial importance to Mediterranean dynamics through a series of analytical sections that guide the reader towards a comprehensive understanding of the main regional interactions and trends. The Handbook explores: the complex historical formation of the contemporary Mediterranean geopolitical perspectives issues around peace and conflict the political economy of the region the role of non-state actors and social movements societal and cultural trends. The wide range of contributions from many of the leading academic experts on the region offers not only insights into the debates and processes that structure each theme, but also key pointers for a more general understanding of how distinct political, economic, social and cultural dynamics interact across the region. It will therefore be a key resource for policy-makers and students and scholars of Mediterranean politics and international relations.

Insight Turkey 2020/03 - Transformation of Turkey's Defense Industry

Author : Anonim
Publisher : SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2020-10-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Insight Turkey 2020/03 - Transformation of Turkey's Defense Industry by Anonim Pdf

Turkey’s contemporary defense and military strategy can be best understood as a result of the historical process the country has experienced. This historical process has significantly altered the security environment surrounding Turkey while transforming her alliance relations, ultimately producing a new political vision for the country and a defense and military strategy that serves this vision. Firstly, although the end of the Cold War and the ensuing dissolution of the Soviet Union has ameliorated international security, Turkey was faced with both conventional and asymmetric threats on multiple fronts. This situation kept defense spending of the country at record levels despite military expenditures within NATO showing a rapid decline. On the other hand, the emerging political geography led to a series of new conflicts erupting in several hotspots, from the Balkans through to the Caucasus and the Middle East. Emerging conflicts were thought to require a common response which precipitated NATO’s evolution from a collective defense organization to a collective security organization. Concurrently, it meant that Turkey would actively join NATO’s new missions ranging from the peaceful resolution of disputes to stability operations with expeditionary forces featured by mobility, jointness, and readiness. Secondly, the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the U.S. created profound ramifications for Turkey’s regional security and her alliance relations. In particular, the American military occupation of Iraq jeopardized Turkey’s national security by effectively removing the political authority of that country and dismantling the Iraqi army. While the emerging political vacuum was filled by sectarian politics, the scarcity of security was exploited by the PKK, consolidating its presence in northern Iraqi territories. Divided Iraq has also transformed into a breeding ground for international terrorism which resulted in the rise of various extremist armed organizations, including ISIS. Thirdly, since the so-called Arab spring started in the early 2010s, the political and security landscape of the Middle East and North Africa has undergone significant changes. While the overthrow of dictators led to intra-state conflicts in several places, it was particularly the civil war in Syria that alarmed Turkish decision-makers due to its transformation into a safe haven for various terrorist groups operating at Turkey’s southern frontiers. Bereft of concrete ally support, Turkey unilaterally launched military operations into northern Syria in order to eliminate ISIS elements as well as curbing the long-term territorial ambitions of the PKK. The Arab spring has also aggravated previous tensions and engendered various factions that facilitated new alignments which is the case for today’s Eastern Mediterranean and Arab-Israeli relations. Against the backdrop of these considerations, Turkey’s contemporary defense and military strategy has been formed. In general, this strategy lays down the principles of using military force to support the political aims of the country. It operates as a “bridge” between policy and operation, in a classical sense. And that strategy is now not just informed by protecting the territorial integrity of the nation but has wider objectives, including enhancing the country’s international standing as well as achieving strategic autonomy. This in turn has necessitated new tools that extend beyond a sole deterrent force, namely military activism, and defense industry investments, along with the contribution to international security and commitments to the NATO alliance. The summer issue of Insight Turkey aims to explain the changing dynamics of Turkey’s military and defense strategy by taking into consideration current foreign and security policy practices of Turkey in the Middle East and North Africa region. More specifically, this issue is an attempt to develop a new framework to understand Turkey’s revolution in its military and defense strategies. Hulusi Akar, the Minister of National Defense of Turkey, in his commentary sheds light on the global and regional developments that threaten Turkey’s peace and stability and which contributed to shaping its defense strategy. A strategy that targets finding common solutions to international problems in a collaborative way. Akar gives special attention to the contribution of the distinguished, deterrent, efficient, motivated, well-trained, and disciplined Armed Forces that are equipped with high-level weaponry produced domestically using national resources. Within the context of the Turkish Defense Industry’s strong historical background, İsmail Demir highlights the transformation and rationality of the Turkish Defense Industry. He emphasizes the necessity of addressing the recent rise of the Turkish Defense Industry in two different but interrelated periods. The first provided the defense industry with strong support with an extremely decisive and long-term projection. The second represents the transformation of the expectations from the defense industry, in coordination with the changing position and function of the defense industry in bureaucratic mechanisms. Michaël Tanchum’s commentary is a coherent and rigorous analysis of the logical result of Turkey’s post-Cold War strategic reorientation, presented in its new expeditionary capability of enhanced naval capacity and new forward bases. Michaël examines Ankara’s challenge of calibrating the use of its hard power instruments to serve its post-Lausanne strategic orientation toward establishing Turkey-centered, inter-regional connectivity. In the middle of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey, Fahrettin Koca, underscores the role of Turkey in the management of COVID-19. His commentary asserts that Turkey has successfully contained the COVID-19 pandemic and prevented devastating consequences due to its idiosyncratic approach to the crisis and the robustness of its healthcare system. After 85 years as a museum, Hagia Sophia welcomes Muslim worshippers’, a decision that has drawn intense criticism in Turkey and worldwide. However, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Yavuz Selim Kıran, argues that the functional change of Hagia Sophia will not affect Turkey’s centuries-old tradition of promoting tolerance, harmony, and diversity. The final off-topic commentary of this issue underlines the challenges to Pakistan’s nuclear threshold. Muhammad Haris Bilal Malik and Muhammad Abbas Hassan explain why Pakistan has been further threatened by India’s aggressive policies and provocative military modernization. The commentary concludes that Pakistan may be compelled to further revisit its nuclear threshold level to overcome India’s aggression. Besides the commentaries, this issue comprises five articles that focus on the Turkish Defense Industry past, present, and future and underline the factors that led to its remarkable evolution. The first article by Murat Yeşiltaş presents a general framework of Turkey’s Military and Defense Strategy. By taking into account the main drivers, primary objectives, and essential pillars, as well as its tangible repercussions on the military mindset, the author explains how the change in Turkey’s defense and military strategy stems both from Turkey’s changing security landscape and its quest to be an assertive regional player. Can Kasapoğlu’s research article covers two interrelated strategic topics regarding Turkey’s national military capacity in the 21st century: its defense technological and industrial base and its military policy, both currently characterized by a burgeoning assertiveness. In light of the rapid advances in technology that are continually shaping developments in the aerospace and defense sector, notably the evolution of airpower, Arda Mevlütoğlu, provides us with an understanding of the features of the next generation of air warfare, while presenting the status of the Turkish Air Force and offering suggestions on several challenges and opportunities. As a reply to the critics that Turkey is caught between a rock and a hard place due to the adamant opposition of its NATO allies, Mustafa Kibaroğlu tries to make sense of Turkey’s S-400 choice by assessing the impact of the S-400 deal on Turkey’s defense industries. On one hand, he presents his conception of the current “international political non-order” as an underlying factor behind the deal. On the other, he suggests that the deal must be approached from a wider perspective to grasp the extent of the service it has done in bolstering Turkey’s military-industrial complex. The last article related to the main theme of this issue focuses on Turkey’s defense spending. Merve Seren attempts to show that prioritization of defense spending during the AK Party era is specifically the outcome of a political preference. In other words, the shift in the political landscape from idealism to realism, associated with pragmatism. Our initial off-topic article highlights how Trump’s peace plan optimistically called the “Deal of the Century” adopts the Zionist discourse regarding al-Aqsa and its effects on undermining the Muslim sovereignty over the mosque, which will be a clear violation of the International law and status quo. Khalid el-Awaisi and Cuma Yavuz investigate the results of the implementation of Trump’s plan which they assert will lead to three main changes that would undo the centuries-old status quo of Masjid al-Aqsa completely and give Israel full control over this important historic and religious site. Ahmad AlShwawra and Ahmad Almuhtady’s off-topic article completes the dossier of this issue. The authors examine the potential implications of Jordan’s decision to import Mediterranean gas through Israel on Jordanian energy security, with special attention to how this decision will impact Jordanian foreign policy regarding the Palestinian cause. Through a wide range of articles and commentaries, this issue aims to bring to its readers a comprehensive framework on the transformation of Turkey’s Defense Industry and changing patterns of its military strategy.

Turkey between the United States and Russia

Author : Nur Çetinoglu Harunoglu,Aysegül Sever,Emre Ersen
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 197 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2021-09-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9781793629593

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Turkey between the United States and Russia by Nur Çetinoglu Harunoglu,Aysegül Sever,Emre Ersen Pdf

Current debates on Turkish foreign policy flamed by Turkey’s purchase of S-400 air defense systems from Russia throws into question Turkey-US relations and poses a challenge to Turkey’s membership in NATO, which has been regarded as the most important symbol of Turkey’s alliance with the West. However, Turkey’s maneuvers between the US and Russia are not unique to the present era as they can be traced back to the Cold War period. In fact, Turkey’s alliance with the West did not prevent Turkey from establishing special relations with the Soviet Union. This book, which is spurred by Glenn Snyder’s theory on alliance politics, indicates that Turkey’s foreign policy moves shaped in accordance with the fear of abandonment and the fear of entrapment with regards to its relations with the US, did not only stay within the boundaries of the Cold War, but further moved beyond that era. The authors argue that Turkey’s maneuvers to balance the US with Russia in the historical context constitute a strong element of continuity and a significant pattern in Turkish foreign policy. Yet, the authors underline that the motives behind this legacy have changed in the 2010s due to the transformations occurred within global, regional as well as domestic contexts.

Proxy Wars from a Global Perspective

Author : Pawel Bernat,Cüneyt Gürer,Cyprian Aleksander Kozera
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2023-11-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781350369306

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Proxy Wars from a Global Perspective by Pawel Bernat,Cüneyt Gürer,Cyprian Aleksander Kozera Pdf

Proxy warfare is a growing international phenomenon. Although states have used proxies in armed conflicts for centuries, evolving regional and global security architecture is now forcing states to radically change the way contemporary conflicts are fought. Based on ten case studies, this reassesses exactly how these changing global and systemic factors are shaping the ways in which states use non-state actors as proxies in their armed conflicts. Examining the use of proxy warfare worldwide, focusing on the last decade's conflicts, this volume brings together contributions from scholars of international relations and global security studies in order to explore cases of armed conflict of particular regional and global significance. These include recent developments in the conflict in Israel and Palestine, the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Central Asia, Syria, Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Brazil and Yemen. By drawing on both theory and practise, it offers a re-evaluation of contemporary understanding of "outsourced warfare", with policy implications for how we understand and negotiate with states using proxy warfare in the future.

Frontline Syria

Author : David L. Phillips
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2020-10-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780755602582

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Frontline Syria by David L. Phillips Pdf

When the Syrian regime used sarin and other chemical weapons against dissidents in August 2013, an estimated 1729 people were killed including 400 children. President Barack Obama warned that the use of chemical weapons would constitute a "red line”, but he refused to take military action. Trump's approach has been even more disengaged and lacking in clarity. Frontline Syria highlights America's failure to prevent conflict escalation in Syria. Based on interviews with US officials involved in Syria policy, as well as UN personnel, the book draws conclusions about America's role in world affairs and its potential to prevent deadly conflict. It also highlights the role of front-line states in Syria and other countries who engaged in the Syrian conflict to advance their national interests. Covering key turning points in the Syrian civil war, including the impact of recent decisions by the Trump administration, Frontline Syria critically evaluates America's global power and provides a diplomatic and military history of the conflict. Based on this analysis, the book offers policy recommendations and makes a case for America's future role addressing peace and conflict.

Turkey's Proxy War

Author : Noor Dahri
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2021-05
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9390439841

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Turkey's Proxy War by Noor Dahri Pdf

Turkey is committing crimes against humanity across a region spanning Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This book is the first to explain the machinations that the country's leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has put in motion in his rise to power from leading the Muslim Brotherhood's Istanbul branch to President. The atrocities being committed are ongoing and continue against a backdrop of global condemnations of the dismal security situation and violence that exists within areas controlled by Turkish forces. The book highlights the long-simmering conflict between Turkey and its Kurdish minority, which has spread further afield and resulted in the targeting of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Iraq even as popular discontent grows against the Erdogan regime at home and abroad. Erdogan's murky political and military-strategic agenda is further exacerbated by Turkey's fomentation of ISIS and deployment of the terrorist group's militants. This book describes how Turkish intelligence operatives smuggled ISIS militias into Libya and Azerbaijan, who then carried out heinous war crimes with the intent to destabilize the region. Moreover, the desperate situation of Syrian refugees has been exploited by the Turkish administration, which has hijacked their plight in a cynical manoeuvre to exert political pressure on Europe while also routing refugees into Kurdish territory, dubbing it a "safe zone". The Muslim world does not know enough about Erdogan's dangerous authoritarian leadership and its grave consequences. This book aims to change that by revealing the continuity between Pan Islamism, Turkish Islamisation, and Erdogan's proxy militias, and how those interrelationships have led to war crimes against Kurdish people in Iraq and Syria.

External Powers and the Arab Spring

Author : Sverre Lodgaard
Publisher : Spartacus forlag
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2016-05-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9788230401989

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External Powers and the Arab Spring by Sverre Lodgaard Pdf

Governance in the Middle East is a sad story, and the fate of the Arab Spring added to the misery. After the initial euphoria, much got worse. Except in Tunisia, where Islamic and secular political groups compete for power in a democratic political system. This book examines the role of external powers during the Arab Spring in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. How did the United States and the European Union react? What did Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran – regional states not directly affected by the revolutionary uprisings – do? All of them acted on the basis of their own values and interests, with scant regard for the preferences of the local actors. Some tried to promote democratic practice and human rights, but were hampered by their own inefficiencies and conflicting interests. In the end, none of them mattered very much: they were little more than bystanders. In this book, leading international experts in their respective fields offer perspectives and analyses that, hopefully, will be of use in shaping more effective support for better governance at critical junctures in the future. Contributors: Henri J. Barkey is Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington. Rosemary Hollis is Professor of Middle East Policy Studies and Director of the Olive Tree Scholarship Programme at City University London. Sverre Lodgaard is Senior Research Fellow and former Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). Saideh Lotfian is Professor of Political Science, University of Tehran. Michael Lüders is an expert on Middle East affairs, a regular commentator for German and Swiss media and an advisor to the German Foreign Ministry. Joachim Nahem is a leading governance expert with the International Law and Policy Institute (ILPI), Oslo. Selin Nasi is a columnist for Hurriyet Daily News and Şalom newspaper in Turkey. Amin Saikal is Professor of Political Science, Public Policy Fellow, Chair of the Middle East Reference Group, and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University, Canberra. Jean-François Seznec is Visiting Associate Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Washington. Gerald Steinberg is Professor of Political Studies at Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv. Knut S. Vikør is Professor of the History of the Middle East and Muslim Africa, University of Bergen.