Unpacking Coalitions: Explaining International Commitment in European Governments

A central debate in the Comparative Foreign Policy literature concerns the role of government composition on the international behavior of parliamentary democracies. For the past two decades, a multitude of studies have discussed whether single-party governments were more or less constrained than multiparty coalitions in their international behavior, yet they have failed to reach conclusive empirical findings. This dissertation responds to this puzzle by unpacking coalitions: as it captures the variation among coalition governments along mathematical and ideological dimensions, the dissertation introduces a nuanced \u27government composition\u27 approach to explain the international commitments of European parliamentary regimes during the post-Cold War period. To undertake this project, the dissertation utilizes the Comparative Politics literature on coalition theories, legislative politics and economic voting. Specifically, it introduces the veto players and clarity of government responsibility theories to frame the debate and to demonstrate that both theories remain inadequate in explaining commitment intensity unless two key variables are accounted for: (a) the types of multiparty governments that emerge in parliamentary systems and (b) the extent of ideological differences inside these coalitions, or their \u27policy incongruence.\u27 Furthermore, the dissertation challenges the existing understanding regarding the constrained nature of minority coalitions by bringing in the policy viability and fragmented opposition explanations into the analysis of foreign policy behavior. The dissertation employs a multi-method research strategy to comprehensively evaluate the analytical capacity of the \u27government composition\u27 explanation by (a) revealing the statistical relationships between government composition and international commitments, (b) uncovering the mechanisms that link the composition of governments to international commitments, and (c) testing the explanatory power of the \u27government composition\u27 approach against a series of alternative explanations at the individual, domestic and international levels. To these ends, the dissertation first utilizes a post-Cold War foreign policy events dataset to test the effects of government type and ideological cohesion by using multilevel regression techniques. Next, it complements these analyses with structured-focused case studies of the Danish decisions to join the 1990 Gulf and 2003 Iraq wars and the Dutch decision to support the 2003 Iraq war. The case studies evaluate a series of alternative explanations including public opinion, logrolling dynamics among political parties, threats to national survival and the role of political leadership as well as the domestic and international political contexts of these states to explain how they have decided to provide political and material support for these international military operations. The project firmly concludes that the dichotomous understanding of government composition that has long prevailed in the foreign policy literature is not only inadequate but misleading to explain the international commitments of parliamentary democracies. Quantitative and qualitative tests suggest that the type of multiparty governments and their ideological diversity together affect commitment intensity in different directions, through diverse mechanisms. Specifically, oversized coalitions engage in more intense commitments compared to single-party majority governments through responsibility diffusion. Minority coalitions engage in stronger commitments so long as their ideological setup leaves the parliamentary opposition fragmented, through policy viability. Finally, minimum winning coalitions can overcome their ideological fragility and increase their international commitments when the political parties engage in logrolling relationships with each other. The dissertation situates these findings within the context of factors that pertain to the motivations of key political leaders, domestic political norms and public opinion, as well as the broader historical foreign policy orientations of the states. With the conclusions of the statistical and case analyses, the dissertation ultimately offers a \u27coalition politics framework\u27 to explain foreign policy behavior in parliamentary regimes. In the end, the dissertation contributes to the literature on foreign policy analysis as the first study to introduce a multilevel, multicausal framework to evaluate the international behavior of parliamentary democracies

Using 2-Opt based evolution strategy for travelling salesman problem

Harmony search algorithm that matches the (µ+1) evolution strategy, is a heuristic method simulated by the process of music improvisation. In this paper, a harmony search algorithm is directly used for the travelling salesman problem. Instead of conventional selection operators such as roulette wheel, the transformation of real number values of harmony search algorithm to order index of vertex representation and improvement of solutions are obtained by using the 2-Opt local search algorithm. Then, the obtained algorithm is tested on two different parameter groups of TSPLIB. The proposed method is compared with classical 2-Opt which randomly started at each step and best known solutions of test instances from TSPLIB. It is seen that the proposed algorithm offers valuable solutions

Usefulness Of Derivative Instruments In Emerging Markets: Turkish Experience

This article presents an overview of derivative markets, definitions of derivative investment instruments, development of global derivative markets and the applicability of derivative markets in Turkey, given their economic value added to the Turkish economy. Readers will acquire insight into investing in various investment instruments and hedging against risk. Turkish derivative markets will be described, supportive statistical data will be presented, and readers will be introduced to the development and current status of these derivative markets in the Turkish emerging market. Finally, the contribution of derivative instruments and derivative markets to the Turkish economy will be discussed

Effects of dried dairy ingredients on physical and sensory properties of nonfat yogurt

Physical and sensory attributes are important factors that influence food acceptance and choices. In this study, sensory and texture properties of nonfat yogurts made from reconstituted skim milk powder ( SMP) fortified with SMP as a control, whey protein isolate ( WPI), yogurt texture improver ( TI), and sodium caseinate ( NaCn) were investigated over a 12-d storage period. Viscosity and syneresis were measured as physical quality parameters. Descriptive sensory analysis was carried out for each sample to determine the profiles of the products. Consumer acceptance testing ( n = 143 consumers) was also conducted to measure the acceptability of yogurts; panelists were asked to rank their preference for the different yogurt samples. Differences among physical and sensory attributes of yogurts were defined. Addition of WPI improved the physical properties of yogurts, resulting in the highest viscosity and the lowest syneresis. On the other hand, yogurt with WPI did not have desirable sensory properties. The descriptive panel indicated that yogurt with WPI had the lowest fermented flavor attribute. In general, yogurts fortified with NaCn and TI displayed better physical and sensory properties than did control and WPI-fortified yogurts. Consumer testing showed that yogurts with NaCn and TI were not different from the control with regard to their flavor acceptability. Yogurts fortified with NaCn and TI were the most preferred samples by Turkish consumers

Afet Süreçlerinde Kadınlara Yönelik Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitsizliğinde Sivil Toplum Kuruluşu Çalışanlarının Deneyimleri: Çanakkale İli Örneği

Afet süreçleri tüm toplumları etkileyen kısmi olarak tahmin edilip zararlarla aza indirebilen, çoğu zaman can ve mal kayıpları ile Türkiye ölçeğinde olduğu gibi örnekleri dünyada da izlenen süreçlerdir. Bu süreçler içerisinde profesyonel afet dönemi destekçileri sivil toplum kuruluşları ve çalışanları önemli bir role sahiptir. Bu çalışma sivil toplum kuruluşlarında çalışan ve afet süreçlerinde arama kurtarma faaliyetleri esnasında görev alan arama kurtarma personelinin afetzede kadınlara yönelik tecrübelerini kayıt altına almayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu çerçevede Çanakkale’de görev yapan 20 sivil toplum kuruluşu çalışanı ile nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden yarı yapılandırılmış mülakat gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmada elde edilen veriler ile arama kurtarma personelinin deneyimlerine dayanarak kadınların afet süreçlerinde dezavantajlı konumda olduğu tespit edilmiş, kadınların afet süreçlerinden daha az etkilenmeleri için neler yapılması gerektiğine yönelik çözüm önerileri getirilmiştir.

Turkey's Role in Energy Diplomacy from Competition to Cooperation: Theoretical and Factual Projections

This study aims to build up a conceptual framework for energy diplomacy together with examining the development of this concept in world politics. By using these, it attempts to analyse Turkey’s energy diplomacy practice. The study argues that energy diplomacy is an amalgamation of diplomatic methods for utilizing energy (reserves or transfer routes) for maximizing national energy interests in bilateral, multilateral, regional and global relations of energy demand and supply. In this respect, the variables for the formation and the implementation of energy diplomacy are analysed in worldwide historical basis and then with a particular focus on Turkey. Finally, the research focuses on the conditions that Turkey can utilize its energy diplomacy for collaboration, cooperation, and stability rather than struggle, confrontation or conflict. Keywords: Energy diplomacy; energy politics; energy competition JEL Classifications: F53; F55; N40; Q48

Perifosine and vitamin D combination induces apoptotic and non-apoptotic cell death in endometrial cancer cells

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system. Combination treatment with specific agents has been widely used as a targeted therapy for cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of varying concentrations of perifosine and vitamin D on the human endometrial cancer cell line (HEC-1A). HEC-1A cells were exposed to perifosine (10 μM, 30 μM), vitamin D (50 nM, 200 nM) and combinations of both for 48 h and 72 h. Monitoring of cell proliferation in a time-dependent manner was performed with the xCELLigence RTCA DP system. The levels of BCL2, BAX and P53 mRNA expression were examined using RT-qPCR. Apoptosis was determined using Annexin V, which were followed by flow cytometry analysis. Ultra-structural morphology of cells was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for 72 h. The anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of the perifosine+vitamin D combination (30 μM + 200 nM at 48 h and 10 μM + 200 nM at 72 h) on HEC-1A cells were higher than in perifosine and vitamin D alone. It was observed that perifosine has increased the expression of BAX mRNA in HEC-1A cells in a dose-dependent manner. While perifosine+vitamin D combinations increased P53 mRNA expression in HEC-1A cells we did not find any significant change in BCL2, BAX mRNA expression levels. In TEM examinations of HEC-1A cells, perifosine appeared to lead autophagic cell death, whereas vitamin D caused paraptosis-like cell death and combination of perifosine+vitamin D caused apoptotic and non-apoptotic (paraptotic, autophagic and necrotic) cell death. Therefore, it is considered that the combination of both drugs in the treatment of endometrial cancer might be an alternative and effective treatment option through activating the apoptotic and non-apoptotic cell death mechanisms in cancer cells