Examining leaders' orientations to structural constraints: Turkey's 1991 and 2003 Iraq war decisions

Explanations of states' security decisions prioritise structural - systemic, institutional and cultural - constraints that characterise foreign security decisions as a function of external/international, domestic/institutional, or normative/cultural factors. By examining Turkey's 1990-1991 and 2003 Iraq war decisions systematically, we problematise this prioritisation of structure, and we investigate the dynamic relationship between structural constraints and leaders in their decision-making environments. In these cases, while the structural constraints remain constant or indeterminate, the decision outcomes and the decision-making process differ significantly. Our findings, based on structured-focused comparison, process tracing, and leadership trait analysis, suggest that the leaders' personalities and how they react to constraints account for this difference and that dependence on only one set of factors leads to an incomplete understanding of security policies and international politics. We contribute to the broader understanding of leaders' personalities by suggesting that self-confidence and cognitive complexity are the key traits distinguishing leaders' orientations towards structural constraints. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd

PSCI1430-02.World Politics.Sp16.Ozkececi-Taner,Binnur

Goals: To introduce students to major issues in contemporary international relations and varying approaches to studying them, including the role of the state and non-state actors and sources of conflict and cooperation in world politics. Content: Realism (and its variants), Liberalism (and its variants), Marxism, Social Constructivism, Postmodernism, and Feminism; the nature of war and peace, the challenges the “global south” faces, environmental politics, cultural differences and their impact on global politics, state and human security, nationalism and ethnic conflict, international organizations, and transnational crime, including terrorism. Taught: Annually. Credits:

The role of ideas in coalition government foreign policymaking: Turkey as an example, 1991--2002

This dissertation examines the role of institutionalized political ideas on foreign policy by comparing twelve foreign policy cases under four different Turkish coalition governments between 1991 and 2002. The theoretical framework advanced in this project calls for three interrelated steps to be taken in examining the relationship between political ideas and foreign policy: (1) a clear conceptualization of political ideas, (2) a careful analysis of the institutionalization of these ideas, and (3) a methodological exploration of the discord among political actors that represent them. The framework proposes that coalition governments present a potential venue for analyzing and operationalizing how the \u27battles of ideas\u27 at the decision-making level affect foreign policy. The dissertation finds that institutionalized political ideas are highly influential in shaping foreign policy choices in coalition government settings when several conditions are met. These conditions are categorized in three subheadings: (1) reasons to enter into coalition governments, (2) nature of coalition governments, and (3) characteristics of parties. The findings of this dissertation contribute to the following literatures: (1) general IR literature on the role of ideas by (a) specifying some of the necessary conditions for ideational influence on state action and (b) providing a partial answer to how Constructivism can generate actor-specific theories; (2) general Foreign Policy Analysis literature by (a) using the \u27operational code\u27 construct in specifying and examining how political groups such as parties with different \u27operational codes\u27 engage in policymaking and (b) proposing ways to enhance the predictive power of \u27decision-units\u27 model, especially with regard to \u27coalition of autonomous actors\u27; and (3) general comparative politics literature by (a) filling an important gap in the coalition politics literature by focusing on policymaking and (b) offering new ways to measure policy distance among coalition partners. The dissertation also contributes to general literature on Turkish politics by entering theory and coalition policymaking in Turkish Foreign Policy, arguing that Turkish political parties, in fact, are important actors in foreign policymaking and examining some of the previously unexamined Turkish foreign policy decisions

PSCI3540-01.Political Research & Analysis.Sp17.Ozkececi-Taner,Binnur

Goals: To introduce fundamental concepts of politics and contemporary methods of political analysis and research. Content: The development of political science as a discipline, various theories and approaches in political analysis, methods of research in political science, and practical experience in empirical analysis. Taught: Annually. Credits: 4 credit

PSCI1430-01.World Politics.Sp16.Ozkececi-Taner,Binnur

Goals: To introduce students to major issues in contemporary international relations and varying approaches to studying them, including the role of the state and non-state actors and sources of conflict and cooperation in world politics. Content: Realism (and its variants), Liberalism (and its variants), Marxism, Social Constructivism, Postmodernism, and Feminism; the nature of war and peace, the challenges the “global south” faces, environmental politics, cultural differences and their impact on global politics, state and human security, nationalism and ethnic conflict, international organizations, and transnational crime, including terrorism. Taught: Annually. Credits:

PSCI3580-01.Politics & Society Middle East.F16.Ozkececi-Taner,Binnur

Goals: To examine politics and society in the contemporary Middle East, within the context of the region\u27s historical, cultural, and economic environment. To understand both the major themes and issues in Middle Eastern politics and the diverse experiences of individual countries (e.g., Egypt, Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia.) Content: Islam, Arab, and Ottoman Empire, the colonial legacy and nationalist movements, Arab nationalism, the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the impact of ethnic and religious diversity on politics, and Middle Eastern foreign policies and the impact of external and regional development. Taught: Alternate years. Credits:

PSCI1430-01.World Politics.F13.Ozkececi-Taner,Binnur

Goals: To introduce students to major issues in contemporary international relations and varying approaches to studying them, including the role of the state and non-state actors and sources of conflict and cooperation in world politics. Content: The role of the nation-state, international organizations, and other non-state actors; determinants of state behavior; international conflict; global patterns of economic development and trade; ecological political challenges; and the role of the U.S. in a changing global environment. Taught: Annually

PSCI3570-01.Ethnic and Civil Conflict.Sp16.Ozkececi-Taner,Binnur

Goals: To explore the use of ethnic identities as a source of collective political mobilization. To examine the implications of ethnic conflicts for global peace and for the present character of the state. Content: Emphasis on theoretical works and selected case studies from the contemporary world. Students will be encouraged to develop independent perspectives regarding both the sources of ethno-national politicization in the contemporary world and viable means of minimizing prospects that such politicization will contribute to tension and conflict with members of other groups that are perceived as distinct. Extensive case studies will be drawn from various parts of the world. Taught: Alternate years. Credits: