CHARLES UNIVERSITY in PRAGUE Master's Thesis 2017 Viktor Chvátal
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CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Master‘s Thesis 2017 Viktor Chvátal CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Bc. Viktor Chvátal The Final Externalization of the Others and its Consequences for Turkish Foreign Policy Master’s Thesis Prague 2017 Author: Bc. Viktor Chvátal Supervisor: PhDr. Vít Střítecký, M. Phil., Ph.D. Year: 2017 Bibliographic Record Chvátal, Viktor. The Final Externalization of the Others and its Consequences for the Turkish Foreign Policy. Prague 2017. Diploma thesis (M.A.). Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Department of International Relations. Supervisor: PhDr. Vít Střítecký, M. Phil., Ph.D. Abstrakt Diplomová práce se věnuje analýze turecké zahraniční politiky vůči regionu Centrální Eurasie, respektive sub-regionům Blízkého východu a Střední Asie, v období 1991 až 2010. Z hlediska teoretického ukotvení práce kombinuje modifikovaný sociální konstruktivismus s předpoklady kritické geopolitiky. V konstruktivistické části se práce na základě propojení s analýzou zahraniční politiky (AZP) zaměřuje na domácí úroveň, tedy na přezkum identitárního ukotvení jednotlivých aktérů. Z hlediska vlivu identitární proměnné na zahraniční politiku je těžiště analýzy umístěno do období po roce 1991. Za účelem dosažení kontextuálního vhledu však práce zahrnuje i obecný rozbor konfliktu identit uvnitř turecké (osmanské) společnosti, který je pozorovatelný již od první poloviny devatenáctého století. V případě geopolitického rozpadu práce vychází ze základního kritického předpokladu o diskurzivním (nematerialistickém) charakteru geopolitické argumentace. Cílem je identifikace geopolitických metafor, které byly v rozmezí let 1991 až 2010 aplikovány tureckými elitami vůči výše uvedeným sub-regionům Centrální Eurasie. V tomto případě dochází k logické syntéze teoretických přístupů. Geneze a užití geopolitických metafor je zároveň zkoumána z hlediska identity těch, kteří je formulují. Diplomová práce dokazuje, že jedním z definičních znaků turecké společnosti je dlouhodobý konflikt identit vyjádřený afiliací společenských segmentů vůči identitárním setům centrum / modernita / sekularismus a periferie / tradice / religiozita. Tato štěpná linie měla ve sledovaném období rozhodující vliv na definici kategorií my (we-ness) a oni (other- ness) a tím pádem formovala jak preference turecké zahraniční politiky vůči Centrální Eurasii, tak artikulaci jednotlivých geopolitických diskurzů a metafor. Klíčová slova Turecká zahraniční politika, sociální konstruktivismus, kritická geopolitika, analýza zahraniční politiky, konflikt identit, konfliktní linie, sekularismus, politický Islám, Blízký východ, Centrální Asie, Centrální Eurasie, Strategická hloubka. Abstract This diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) towards the sub-regions of Central Eurasia (the Middle East and Central Asia) in the period between 1991 and 2010. Theoretically, this thesis combines a modified version of social constructivism with the assumptions of critical geopolitics. Interconnecting social constructivism with the Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), this thesis targets the domestic level of analysis. Therefore, the ideational background of the decision- makers is examined. Although, the potential impact of the identity variable on the TFP articulation is investigated after 1991 only, the genesis of the long-term identity conflict within the Turkish (Ottoman) society is also included in the analyses. Given the geopolitical part, this thesis draws upon the basic critical insight that the geopolitical argumentation is based on discursive rather than material factors. The aim is to identify the geopolitical metaphors which had been, in the examined period, applied while dealing with the above mentioned sub-regions. At this stage, the theoretical approaches are logically synthetized and the genesis and usage of the geopolitical metaphors is examined in relation to the identity of those who formulated them. This diploma thesis proves that the identity conflict manifested as the affiliation of the social segments with the identitary sets of center / modern / secular and periphery / tradition / religious has constantly been a critical part of Turkish (Ottoman) history. In the examined period, this cleavage line had a decisive impact on the definition of the categories of we-ness and other-ness and influenced both the TFP preferences towards Central Eurasia as well as the articulation of particular geopolitical discourses and metaphors. Key Words Turkish foreign policy, social constructivism, critical geopolitics, clash of identities, Foreign Policy Analysis, cleveage lines secularism, political Islam, Middle East, Central Asia, Central Eurasia, and Strategic Depth. Scope: 34 898 words, 226 710 letters (from Intr. to Concl., spaces includ.) Declaration 1. Hereby, I declare that I have elaborated this thesis individually, drawing upon the submitted literature only. 2. Hereby, I declare that this thesis has not been used in order to earn any kind of academic degree. 3. Hereby, I agree that this thesis shall be freely available for the purposes of academic as well as research purposes. V Praze dne 5. 1. 2017 Viktor Chvátal Acknowledgement Hereby, I would like to thank my family and my girlfriend for the support they gave me throughout my studies and especially during writing of this thesis. Moreover, I also would like to thank PhDr. Vít Střítecký, M. Phil., Ph.D. for his valuable advices and important insights he provided me in critical periods of the preparation of this thesis. Institute of Political Studies Thesis Hereby, I submit the original project of the Master’s Thesis which is in accordance with the document uploaded in SIS. Thesis Title: The Final Externalization of the Others and its consequences for Turkish Foreign Policy. Annotation Since the first 19th century attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire along the Western lines, the Anatolian society has been experiencing a growing division between the social segments of the center and the periphery. This conflictual line was markedly sharpened during the Kemalist Cultural Revolution of the 1920s. As the new military-bureaucratic secular elites strove to become a political as well as a social part of the Western self, Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk) ordered collective amnesia of the Islamic and, in particular, the Middle Eastern past of Turks. Nevertheless, both Islam and the Middle Eastern sentiments became the main referential point for the political opposition of the religious masses which, for the better part of the history of the secular republic, constituted the domestic Others. Importantly, this opposition has always been vigorous and numerically stronger. Due to the relatively pluralistic character of the polity, the political system of the secular republic has thus always been contaminated by the clash of identities. Gradually, the identity and interests of the Others were politically channeled by the representatives of political Islam. Both in the conservative form under the leadership of Necmettin Erbakan and under the Neo-Islamist brand of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Islamist politicians had radically different views on the identitary affiliation with the categories of Western and Eastern as well as the articulation of the foreign policy goals. Drawing upon the insights of social constructivism and the Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), the main aim of the thesis is to verify whether the domestic societal struggle over the political power and influence has had consequences for the articulation and implementation of Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP). More specifically, although attention will be paid to a contextual understanding of the problem, the focal point of the identity analysis will be the period between 1991 and 2010. The interconnection between the domestic level and the foreign policy execution will be observed through focus on the particular sub-regions of Central Eurasia (namely Central Asia and the Middle East). Moreover, using the theoretical framework of critical geopolitics, the aim of the thesis also includes the detection of geopolitical discourses and the so-called geopolitical metaphors which were used by the Turkish elites in order to approximate the above mentioned sub-regions throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Theoretical Framework Using the interconnection between modified social constructivism and the Foreign Policy Analysis, the thesis will verify / falsify that the domestic level matters in the articulation and the implementation of foreign policy. Considering the fact that Turkey represents a typical case of a society divided along the identity lines, the country is also an appropriate candidate for the analysis of the constitutive relation between the Turkish decision-makers’ identity and TFP. Hence, the aim of the thesis is to further examine the center – periphery cleavage within the Turkish (Ottoman) society as well as the impact of the 1920s reforms on the identity conflict which has been present in the Turkish society. Paying attention to the dichotomy between the we-ness and other-ness, the thesis analyzes the potential consequences of this identity conflict on the formulation of TFP towards Central Eurasia, and its particular sub-regions (Central Asia, the Middle East). While investigating the decision-makers’ identity, the attention will be paid to the representatives of the governing political