A Constructivist perspective on EU'S democracy promotion in Turkey

The European Union, as a regional actor and an example of stability and well-being, has embraced a set of principles it has stood for and which constitute its own identity. The diffusion of these values among third countries is one of the objectives of EU’s External Policy. Democracy can be found among the principles that are sought to be exported through comprehensive and complex strategies within different frameworks, such as neighbourhood relations, trade partnerships and the accession process. Focusing on the latter, candidates are object of an intensive process of Europeanisation that operates through different mechanisms like socialisation and conditionality. Turkey, on the other side, has decided to apply for full membership several decades ago and, ever since, it has been pressured to Europeanise, which includes improving its unstable democracy. This case, however, is different from all other previous enlargements; for its special socio-cultural and civilisational features, Turkey constitutes a more complex novelty for the European Union. Therefore, this thesis aims to study the influence of the European Union on the democratisation process of Turkey, focusing on the period ranging between 1999, the year the European Council recognised Turkey’s candidacy status, and 2009 that marks the 10-year period of that condition. It is the intention of this project to assess the impact of the European Union at that level through the study of the democratic evolution of the country and its co-relation with other variables related to the presence or pressure of the EU. As this is a challenging objective, it will require a deep reflection upon central concepts like democracy and democratic consolidation, and a diversified use of methodological techniques, such as statistical analysis and mathematical co-relations, historical analysis, literature review and in-depth interviews. This study will privilege a Constructivist approach, emphasising the social construction of reality and the role of the ideational aspects – identity, perceptions and the broader socio-cultural dimension – in Turkey-EU relations.

Analyzing Geospatial patterns of syrian refugee flows in southeastern Turkey by use of remote sensing and complementary data

Crisis-affected communities and global organizations for international aid are becoming increasingly digital as consequence geotechnology popularity. Humanitarian sector changed in profound ways by adopting new technical approach to obtain information from area with difficult geographical or political access. Since 2011, turkey is hosting a growing number of Syrian refugees along southeastern region. Turkish policy of hosting them in camps and the difficulty created by governors to international aid group expeditions to get information, made such international organizations to investigate and adopt other approach in order to obtain information needed. They intensified its remote sensing approach. However, the majority of studies used very high-resolution satellite imagery (VHRSI). The study area is extensive and the temporal resolution of VHRSI is low, besides it is infeasible only using these sensors as unique approach for the whole area. The focus of this research, aims to investigate the potentialities of mid-resolution imagery (here only Landsat) to obtain information from region in crisis (here, southeastern Turkey) through a new web-based platform called Google Earth Engine (GEE). Hereby it is also intended to verify GEE currently reliability once the Application Programming Interface (API) is still in beta version. The finds here shows that the basic functions are trustworthy. Results pointed out that Landsat can recognize change in the spectral resolution clearly only for the first settlement. The ongoing modifications vary for each case. Overall, Landsat demonstrated high limitations, but need more investigations and may be used, with restriction, as a support of VHRSI.

The Falkland Islands War of 1982: a legal, diplomatic and strategic evaluation

The Falkland Islands War of 1982 was fought over competing claims to sovereignty over a group of islands off the east coast of South America. The dispute was between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Argentina claims the islands under rights to Spanish succession, the fact that they lie off the Argentine coast line and that in 1833 Great Britain took the islands illegally and by force. The United Kingdom claims the islands primarily through prescription--the fact that they have governed the islands in a peaceful, continuous and public manner since 1833. The British also hold that the population living on the islands, roughly eighteen hundred British descendants, should be able to decide their own future. The United Kingdom also lays claim to the islands through rights of discovery and settlement, although this claim has always been challenged by Spain who until 1811 governed the islands. Both claims have legal support, and the final decision if there will ever be one is difficult to predict. Sadly today the ultimate test of sovereignty does not come through international law but remains in the idea that "He is sovereign who can defend his sovereignty." The years preceding the Argentine invasion of 1982 witnessed many diplomatic exchanges between The United Kingdom and Argentina over the future of the islands. During this time the British sent signals to Argentina that ii implied a decline in British resolve to hold the islands and demonstrated that military action did more to further the talks along than did actual negotiations. The Argentine military junta read these signals and decided that they could take the islands in a quick military invasion and that the United Kingdom would consider the act as a fait accompli and would not protest the invasion. The British in response to this claimed that they never signaled to Argentina that a military solution was acceptable to them and launched a Royal Navy task force to liberate the islands. Both governments responded to an international crisis with means that were designed both to resolve the international crisis and increase the domestic popularity of the government. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was facing an all-time low in popularity for post-War Prime Ministers while Argentine President General Galtieri needed to gain mass popular support so he could remain a viable President after he was scheduled to lose command of the army and a seat on the military junta that ran the country. The military war for the Falklands is indicative of the nature of modern warfare between Third World countries. It shows that the gap in military capabilities between Third and First World countries is narrowing significantly. Modern warfare between a First and Third World country is no longer a 'walk over' for the First World country.

Macrobius, the classical paideia, and table etiquette c. 420 CE : a commentary on the Saturnalia 7.1-3

Ce mémoire traite des Saturnales de Macrobe, haut fonctionnaire du 5ième siècle après J.C. et encyclopédiste latin. Malgré l’opinion reçue, selon laquelle les Saturnales dépendraient presque exclusivement d’un nombre très restreint de sources, souvent copiées mot à mot, on a reconnu depuis longtemps que Macrobe remanie de son propre chef l’une de ces sources, les Propos de Table de Plutarque, dans son septième livre. Ce mémoire démontre que ce modèle, tout comme les sources mineures, latines et grecques, avec lesquelles Macrobe le complète, lui était assez familier pour servir à l’articulation d’une vision propre; les Saturnales ne peuvent donc être cités comme preuve de la décadence de leur époque. Ce mémoire fournit une traduction et un commentaire des chapitres 7.1-3 des Saturnales, avec une explication de leurs rapports avec les Propos de Table 1.1 et 2.1 de Plutarque ainsi que des éléments propre à Macrobe, afin de reconstruire sa méthode de composition et de déterminer ses attentes par rapport à son lecteur de l’empire tardif. Le commentaire est précédé d’une introduction de l’auteur, de l’œuvre, et du septième livre.

Determinants of public support for European Enlargement : a comparative analysis of public attitudes toward the accession of Turkey and Poland

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Social Policy Reforms in Turkey : Uses of Europe

Ce mémoire analyse trois réformes majeures de politique sociale en Turquie, en deux domaines: emploi et sécurité social. En utilisant l'approche "Usage de l'Europe", ce mémoire developpe une analyse empirique et apporte une explication théorique de ces changements qui ont été introduits au cours du processus d'adhésion de la Turquie à l'Union européenne. "Les usages de l'Europe" est une approche d'européanisation qui se concentre sur le rôle des acteurs domestiques, au sein des États membres et candidats, ainsi que de leur utilisation des ressources de l'Union européenne. Les études de cas utilisées dans cette thèse démontrent l'introduction de changements au niveau de l'État-providence; ainsi, l'approche originelle est suppléée par des concepts provenant de la littérature sur la politique partisane, les institutions formelles et l'héritage des politiques. Cette recherche utilise la méthode de l'analyse de processus pour suivre la réforme des règlements du travail par la voie de reconstitution des droits individuels des travailleurs et de l'Agence d'emploi en Turquie jusqu'en 2003, ainsi que la transformation du système de sécurité sociale en 2008. Ces trois réformes représentent des changements majeurs tant sur le plan institutionnel que politique en Turquie depuis 2001. Afin de comprendre "les usages de l'Europe" dans ces réformes politiques, l'analyse empirique questionne, si, quand et comment les acteurs turcs ont utilisé les ressources, les références et les développements politiques de l'Union européenne lors de ce processus dynamique de réforme. Les réformes du système de sécurité sociale, des règlements du travail, en plus de la reconstitution de l'Agence d'emploi étaient à l'ordre du jour en Turquie depuis les années 1990. La réforme des règlements du travail ont entraîné l'introduction des accommodements flexibles au travail et une révision de la Loi du travail permettant l'établissement d'une législation de la sécurité d'emploi. La reconstitution de l'Agence d'emploi visait à remplacer la vieille institution défunte par une institution moderne afin d'introduire des politiques d'activation. La réforme de sécurité sociale comprend les pensions de retraite, le système de santé ainsi que l'administration des institutions de sécurité sociale. Les principaux résultats révèlent que la provision des ressources de l'Union européenne en Turquie a augmenté à partir de la reconnaissance de sa candidature en 1999 et ce, jusqu'au lancement des négociations pour son adhésion en 2005; ce qui fut une occasion favorable pour les acteurs domestiques impliqués dans les processus de réformes. Cependant, à l'encontre de certaines attentes originelles de l'approche de "les usages de l'Europe", les résultats de cette recherche démontrent que le temps et le sort de "les usages de l'Europe" dépendent des intérêts des acteurs domestiques, ainsi de leurs stratégies tout au long de ce processus de réforme, plutôt que des phases du processus ou la quantité des ressources fournies par l'Union européenne.

Career Officers and Political Appointees in American Diplomacy: Contending for Diplomatic Positions through Boundary Work

American Political and Economic Series

Análisis del papel de las Naciones Unidas en la evolución de las tensiones políticas entre Turquía e Israel a causa del ataque del ejército israelí a la flotilla, entre mayo de 2010 y septiembre de 2011

Análiza la eficacia de los mecanismos de mediación de la ONU utilizados en la solución diplomática de las tensiones políticas entre Israel y Turquía a causa del ataque del ejército israelí a la flotilla entre mayo del 2010 hasta septiembre del 2011.

Challenges of the accession of Turkey into the European Union

Turkey's accession to the European Union (EU) has become, over the years, one of the most contentious issues of European integration. On October 3rd 2005, the European Commission began negotiations for its accession, and, although they will probably not be completed within a decade, its objective is the full accession to the Union. Turkey's accession to the EU presents challenges for both parties, but especially for the European Union. There are very different challenges from the previous accessions, indeed. This work aims to analyze the challenges the EU will face towards Turkey's possible accession to the European Community. Therefore, this work has been divided into three sections. In the first of them, entitled "Brief history of a complex negotiation", the negotiation is briefly described. The second, "Aspects to take into account for Turkey's accession to the European Union", in which different relevant (geopolitical, economic and financial, demographic, cultural and religious) aspects of the possible a cession are discussed: aspects that will have an important impact in the development and performance of the European Community, once accession is fulfilled. The third and last section, "Turkey's incorporating challenges", discusses the challenges the EU will have to face with the potential accession of Turkey, specifically concerning four dimensions: institutional capacity, regional and cohesion policy, EU common security and foreign policy.

La cooperación internacional para el desarrollo como herramienta de política exterior japonesa en África Subsahariana

El presente caso de estudio tiene como objetivo explicar el rol de la cooperación internacional para el desarrollo en Tanzania, Mozambique, Nigeria para la consolidación del liderazgo político internacional de Japón. El interés de realizar esta investigación es la ampliación del conocimiento sobre el uso del poder blando, para alcanzar los objetivos de política exterior japonesa. Por eso, se llevara a cabo una revisión bibliográfica para el análisis de documentos oficiales y artículos académicos para la consolidación de información. A partir de ello, se pretende demostrar que la cooperación al desarrollo es una herramienta de política exterior japonesa para consolidarse como líder, en la medida en que el uso de herramientas propias de la cooperación y el presupuesto destinada a la ejecución de éstas tienen incidencia en los votos de estos Estados africanos para las iniciativas japonesas en las Naciones Unidas.

Who remembers Turkey's pre-accession? CEPS Special Report No. 74/December 2012

In 2005 the EU and Turkey officially started accession negotiations that were intended to lead to Turkey’s full membership of the EU. Yet today, the Turkish accession process has virtually ground to a halt and lost all credibility. Talk of alternatives to full membership can be heard from various sides; we highlight four instances of what we call ‘parallelism’, namely the elusive concept of a ‘privileged partnership’, the EU-Turkey customs union, the recently launched ‘Positive Agenda’ and Turkish participation in the Energy Community Treaty. While a privileged partnership represents a more comprehensive but still remote framework for EU-Turkish relations, the latter three are merely an escape route from preaccession. We conclude our analysis with a discussion on Turkey’s possible membership of the European Economic Area, which in effect would serve none of the parties involved. We conclude that both partners, the EU and Turkey, would be well advised to remember their pre-accession commitments of 13 years ago – for their mutual benefit.

Recent habitat degradation in karstic Lake Uluabat, western Turkey: A coupled limnological-palaeolimnological approach

The Ramsar site of Lake Uluabat, western Turkey, suffers from eutrophication, urban and industrial pollution and water abstraction, and its water levels are managed artificially. Here we combine monitoring and palaeolimnological. techniques to investigate spatial and temporal limnological variability and ecosystem impact, using an ostracod and mollusc survey to strengthen interpretation of the fossil record. A combination of low invertebrate Biological Monitoring Working Party scores (<10) and the dominance of eutrophic diatoms in the modern lake confirms its poor ecological status. Palaeolimnological analysis of recent (last >200 yr) changes in organic and carbonate content, diatoms, stable isotopes, ostracods and molluscs in a lake sediment core (UL20A) indicates a 20th century trend towards increased sediment accumulation rates and eutrophication which was probably initiated by deforestation and agriculture. The most marked ecological shift occurs in the early 1960s, however. A subtle rise in diatom-inferred total phosphorus and an inferred reduction in submerged aquatic macrophyte cover accompanies a major increase in sediment accumulation rate. An associated marked shift in ostracod stable isotope data indicative of reduced seasonality and a change in hydrological input suggests major impact from artificial water management practices, all of which appears to have culminated in the sustained loss of submerged macrophytes since 2000. The study indicates it is vital to take both land-use and water management practices into account in devising restoration strategies. in a wider context, the results have important implications for the conservation of shallow karstic lakes, the functioning of which is still poorly understood. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.