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The Perception of Turkey in the Middle East in the Last Decade: the Cases of Egypt and Tunisia

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The Perception of Turkey in the Middle East in the Last Decade: the Cases of Egypt and Tunisia University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2013 The Perception Of Turkey In The Middle East In The Last Decade: The Cases Of Egypt And Tunisia Mesud Hasgur University of Central Florida Part of the International Relations Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Hasgur, Mesud, "The Perception Of Turkey In The Middle East In The Last Decade: The Cases Of Egypt And Tunisia" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2830. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2830 THE PERCEPTION OF TURKEY IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE LAST DECADE: THE CASES OF EGYPT AND TUNISIA by MESUD HAMZA HASGUR B.A. Fatih University, 2010 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Political Science in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2013 Major Professor: Houman A. Sadri © 2013 Mesud Hamza Hasgur ii ABSTRACT This study examined the factors affecting the perception of Turkey in the Middle East from 2002 onwards by analyzing the combination of media, political elite discourse and people's political predispositions in the cases of Egypt and Tunisia. The research is separated into two parts. In the first part of 2002-2010, the factors of democratization, economic development, foreign policy activism, Islamic Oriented Government as well as Turkish TV series were found to be critical in the explanation of Turkey's popularity. In the second part of 2010-2013, democratization and foreign policy activism were the most effective factors while the other variables still had some effect. In particular the study looked at the news titles, articles, headlines in newspapers, as well as the views of journalists, activists, bloggers, politicians, and academics, which together shaped public perception. A brief historical background is also given in regards to the mutual prejudices and stereotypes between Arabs and Turks during Ottoman rule and the 20th century. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the continuation of democratic progress and reforms in Turkey as well as the need for foreign policy adjustment according to crisis situations as a policy recommendation for the government. The present study also seeks to contribute to both the public opinion theory of Zaller and the recent literature on the “Turkish Model”. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Hypothesis........................................................................................................................................... 3 Data/ Methods ................................................................................................................................ 4 Goals and Significance of the Research .................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE AND THEORY ................................................................. 16 Theoretical Approach ........................................................................................................................ 16 Democratic Peace Theory ............................................................................................................. 17 The Theory of Soft Power ............................................................................................................. 19 Theory of Public Opinion............................................................................................................... 20 Literature ................................................................................................................................... 21 Losing Reform Spirit and Majoritarian Understanding of Democracy .................................. 24 Transformation of Turkish Foreign Policy .............................................................................. 26 Soft Power/ “Turkish Model” ................................................................................................ 29 Turkey’s Potential and Responsibility .................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER THREE: PERCEPTIONS OF TURKEY IN EGYPT ........................................... 36 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Testing ........................................................................................................................................... 40 2002-2010 ................................................................................................................................. 40 Opinions on “Turkish Model” or Experience ........................................................................ 44 “Erdogan Factor” ................................................................................................................... 47 2010-2013 ......................................................................................................................... 49 Public opinion................................................................................................................ 52 Examples from the Media ............................................................................................. 54 CHAPTER FOUR: PERCEPTIONS OF TURKEY IN TUNISIA .......................................... 58 Testing ............................................................................................................................................... 60 2002-2010 ..................................................................................................................................... 60 Opinions on the “Turkish Model” or Experience ...................................................................... 62 2010-2013 ............................................................................................................................. 63 iv “Arab Spring” ..................................................................................................................... 65 Gezi Park Incident.............................................................................................................. 67 Gezi Park in Arab Media .................................................................................................... 69 CHAPTER FIVE: GENERAL VIEWS FROM THE REGION .............................................. 75 Media Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 78 Foreign Policy Activism ................................................................................................................. 80 Davos and Mavi Marmara Crisis ................................................................................................ 81 2010 Constitutional Referendum .......................................................................................... 84 Turkish Television Series .................................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS ............................................................... 89 2002-2010 ......................................................................................................................................... 89 2010-2013 ..................................................................................................................................... 94 Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 95 LIST OF REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 99 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Specific Democratization Steps that Caused an Improvement in the Arab Perception of Turkey in the time period 2002-2010 .................................................................................. 42 Table 2 Decline in the Democratization Process Which Caused a Negative Perception among Arab Public in the time period 2010-2013 ............................................................................... 51 Table 3 Key Incidents that Positively Affected Perception of Turkey in the time period 2002- 2010.......................................................................................................................................... 93 vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Turkey’s modernization sped up with the start of the 21st century and the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Turkish politics. The government swiftly implemented many economic and political reforms, and many developments occurred in terms of democratization, such as the normalization of civil-military relations, constitutional changes enabling civil rights and liberties, and judicial reforms that reduced the role of the secular-nationalist Kemalist
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