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Strong foreign relations among nations are crucial for fostering global stability, economic growth, and cross-cultural understanding. A stable global system that resolves conflicts through dialogue rather than confrontation benefits from positive foreign relations. This paper examines Turkiye's changing foreign policy approach towards Sub-Saharan African regional blocs, with an emphasis on their political, cultural, and economic facets. Turkiye's strategic involvement with influential regional bodies such as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), among others, reflects its broader objective to expand its influence and cultivate multifaceted partnerships across the African continent. The scope of this paper is limited to the AU and ECOWAS. Through a comprehensive analysis, the paper evaluates Turkiye's economic initiatives, including trade agreements and investment flows, as well as its contributions to infrastructure development. The findings established Turkiye's peacekeeping roles, cultural diplomacy, diplomatic efforts, and educational exchanges. Through the investigation of these diverse aspects, the conclusion outlines a comprehensive understanding of Turkiye's place in geopolitical dynamics and regional integration in Sub-Saharan Africa. Keywords: Foreign Policy, Foreign Relations, Turkiye, Sub-Saharan Africa, Regional Blocs, Introduction Following the end of the Cold War, a new concept emerged to deal with international and foreign affairs. This concept was dubbed the 'New World Order.' (1) However, the [...]

Since around 2005, Turkiye has focused on establishing close relations with African countries, spanning politics, economics, culture, and media. This study aims to briefly touch upon the transformation of press and media in Africa and examine Turkiye's initiatives in the African media landscape, particularly since 2005. This original work aims to serve as a guide for both media professionals and decision-makers in Turkiye's foreign policy. Additionally, it seeks to ensure that the country's media relations with African countries are based on a solid foundation. Due to the broad scope of the subject, Turkiye's media initiatives have been analyzed under separate headings. Moreover, Turkiye's steps in media relations with African countries, especially since 2005, have been investigated. To gather information on the topic, news articles, official statements, agreements signed by Turkiye with African countries in the media field, and decisions made during this process have been examined. Upon examination of the country's media relations with African countries, it is observed that various initiatives have been taken, particularly since 2008. These relations in the media field have seen an upward trend through the 2020s. However, there is a need for further steps to be taken, particularly in areas such as the employment of African media professionals and collaboration in the media field, as well as producing more content related to Africa. Keywords: Africa, Media, Foreign Policy, TRT, Anadolu Agency, Introduction The press and media sector in Africa has been directly influenced by changing political, economic, and technological conditions throughout its historical process. Colonial activities, missionary efforts, independence movements, the [...]

South Africa occupies a strategic geographic position at the southern tip of the African continent, serving as a potential trade and investment gateway for countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It is a key partner for Pakistan's Look Africa Policy. Pakistan and South Africa, bound by shared values and a focus on common interests since establishing diplomatic ties in 1994, have cultivated a long-standing partnership. However, a significant gap remains in the academic exploration of this relationship. This study delves into the politico-diplomatic, economic, and defence aspects of Pakistan-South Africa relations, employing the concept of national interest as outlined by Morgenthau and Neuchterlein. Employing a qualitative analysis, this study argues that high-level visits, the establishment of institutional mechanisms, and the formalisation of cooperation through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have significantly shaped the direction, facilitation, and governance of Pakistan-South Africa relations. This research highlights three key findings: despite frequent leadership-level exchanges and interactions between parliamentarians and policymakers, the relationship lacks the necessary vigour; while trade between Pakistan and South Africa has grown steadily, Pakistan experiences a trade deficit with its partner; and defence collaboration remains a significant aspect of their relationship. This article posits that the existing Pakistan-South Africa bilateral relationship holds the potential to blossom into a more formalised and enduring strategic partnership, contingent upon the implementation of well-defined and practical initiatives. Keywords: African continent; Pakistan; South Africa; national interest; bilateral relations, 1. Introduction Pakistan's geostrategic location offers a win-win paradigm for enhanced connectivity with African countries. Being the second largest continent, home to 54 sovereign states with a total population of [...]

Using Nadkarni's theoretical framework, this study argues that Turkiye has been unable to raise its relations with Indonesia to the level of strategic partnership. This study examines the reasons for this in two separate layers: First, as a rising middle power, Indonesia is a country where the role of the leader in the foreign policymaking process is relatively influential. This situation shows that Turkish policymakers should take into consideration the leaders' foreign policy orientations in their relations with Indonesia. Secondly, Turkish decision-makers need to carefully analyze internal factors such as culture and domestic politics when developing relations with middle-power countries. In this context, although this study finds that military and commercial relations between Turkiye and Indonesia have reached a significant level, it argues that this is still not sufficient for a strategic partnership. Finally, this study suggests that Indonesia and Turkiye should build their relations by thoroughly considering the internal dynamics in each country Keywords: Indonesia, Turkiye, Strategic Partnership, Middle Power, Introduction Throughout the 2010s, Turkiye tried to rejuvenate its ties to the Asia-Pacific countries. In this context, since 2010, Turkiye has established strategic partnerships (1) with six nations in the [...]

This study aims to illustrate that multi-vectorial approaches in foreign policy could not only be practical but also productive for middle powers. With this aim, the study conceptualizes Turkish foreign policy in Asia with multi-vectorism, a foreign policy behavioral pattern that has been mainly utilized for post-Soviet countries' concurrent interactions with the West (the EU, the U.S.) and the non-West (Russia). The study, firstly, argues that Asian international relations require a more composite re-definition of multi-vectorism, since in Asia, due to the intra-regional fragmentations and diversions, there are more than the conventional two vectors, the West and the non-West. By considering this argument the study applies multi-vectorism to Turkiye's foreign policy in Asia by comparing the practicability of different interaction patterns, e.g., multilateralism, minilateralism, and bilateralism. The study, secondly, argues that Turkiye's multi-vectorial foreign policy in Asia is particularly successful in its bilateral relations and less so in its multilateral and minilateral interactions. Keywords: Turkiye, Asia, Foreign Policy, Multi-Vectorism, Bilateralism, Minilateralism, Multilateralism, Introduction This study examines Turkiye's relations with the South, Southeast, and East Asian sub-regions of the Asian continent (1) from the perspective of multi-vectorial foreign policy. Multi-vectorism is not clearly [...]

This article investigates whether campaign speeches during the US presidential elections can help predict foreign policy behavior. We use speeches made by Donald J. Trump during his bid for president in 2016. We compare the analysis from 2016 with his actual foreign policy decisions during his tenure, 2017-2020. Operational code analysis and leadership traits analysis approaches are used to analyze candidate Trump's foreign policy beliefs and strategies associated with them. We use Profiler Plus software to conduct content analysis which produces OCA and LTA results. We use three separate datasets to analyze Trump's beliefs and traits focusing on his general foreign policy speeches, the MENA region, and a third one only about Islamic State and Syria. Our results show that Trump's profile indicates a foreign policy orientation that avoids involvement in affairs that are perceived as beyond immediate interests. The consistency between his beliefs and traits during the 2016 campaign and his actual foreign policy behavior leads us to conclude that individual level analysis, and specifically OCA and LTA approaches, are useful tools to analyze, explain and predict foreign policy. Keywords: Political Beliefs, Leadership Typologies, Contextualized Sampling, Campaign Speeches, Foreign Policy Analysis, Introduction Donald Trump's election as the 45th United States (US) President took many observers by surprise. Many foreign policy decisions during his presidency also surprised academics and followers of US [...]

The Crimea crisis marked one of the latest critical points in the European Union (EU)-Turkey-Russia triangle. This article analyzes Turkey's position between the EU and Russia, after the events that unfolded in February 2014, by adopting Holsti's role theory. Developing a research map through official documents, this article assesses Turkey's two-sided strategic position, by asking the following question: How did Turkey's intertwined relationships with the EU and Russia affect its foreign policy formulation in the Crimea crisis? Turkey's role formulation during the Crimea crisis is defined by empirical data acquired through the official documents of EU institutions and the Turkish and Russian foreign policy ministries. MAXQDA software was utilized to provide a systematic qualitative analysis of the 123 official declarations. This article argues that Turkey's response to the Crimea crisis was affected by several factors stemming from its asymmetric relationship with Russia, its EU candidate status, and kinship with the Crimean Tatars. Keywords: Crimea crisis, Turkey-EU relations, Turkey-Russia relations, Turkish foreign policy, role theory., Introduction The Crimea crisis has been described as one of the latest confrontations between the West and Russia after the Cold War. (1) The crisis revealed existing cleavages and challenged [...]

This essay provides a novel history of Christian Realism, its key themes, and the persistence of this analytical framework for nearly a century. Christian Realism is a community of discourse associated with scholars and foreign policy observers like Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Ramsey, but lives on today in the writings of Christian just war thinkers, international relations scholars, ethicists, and policy experts. Three generations of Christian Realism focus on anti-utopianism, anti-totalitarianism, and similar perspectives. Christian Realists share a continuity of approach to policy analyses from a distinctly Augustinian perspective. Both the theological themes--sin, human potential, limits and restraint, neighbor love--and the major foreign policy questions of war, security, and peace, have a certain perennial quality, whether the theorist is of the first (1932-65), second (1965-90), or the contemporary third generation (1991-present). This essay looks at the theological themes, the perennial questions Christian Realists address, and the increasingly orthodox theological commitments of today's Christian Realists as compared to the theological liberals of Niebuhr's era., WHAT IS CHRISTIAN REALISM? When Reinhold Niebuhr passed away on 1 June 1971, many thought that Christian Realism passed along with him. Jean Bethke Elshtain rightly called Niebuhr the 'most [...]

After World War II, Japan became a major recipient of foreign aid from the USA. As Japan's economy improved in the 1960s, it played a significant role as a global aid donor in world politics through its Official Development Assistance (ODA). This commitment continued into the 1990s when Japan, as one of the leading proponents of the concept of human security, began providing humanitarian aid to more countries across the globe. To better understand the notion of human security in international politics, this paper examines Japan's endorsement of the concept in its foreign policy strategy. This paper provides an overview and critical assessment of Japan's Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects (GGP) in the state of Sabah in East Malaysia from 2000 to 2021. This paper argues that different contexts and circumstances in the state of Sabah require further study, especially for understanding Japan's focus and concern in the area of basic human security needs, as enshrined in the GGP philosophy. Despite Japan's GGP objective as part of its foreign policy to promote human development, the execution of its foreign aid in Sabah does have issues. This paper concludes that the implementation of Japan's GGP necessitates greater inclusion, particularly for other vulnerable groups and underdeveloped areas in Sabah. Despite Japan's GGP objective as part of its foreign policy to promote human development, the execution of its foreign aid in Sabah does have issues. This paper concludes that the implementation of Japan's GGP necessitates greater inclusion, particularly for other vulnerable groups and underdeveloped areas in Sabah., Author(s): Ramli Dollah [sup.1] , Diana Peters [sup.1] , Wan Shawaluddin Wan Hassan [sup.1] , Marja Azlima Omar [sup.1] , Md Saffie Abdul Rahim [sup.2] , Adi Jafar [sup.3] Author [...]

After some two decades of growing partnership between Seoul and Tehran, South Korea's bilateral relationship with Iran reached a bottom of absolute gloom under the leadership of Moon Jae-in. Most of his presidency coincided with the administration of Donald Trump who followed a relatively contrasting approach toward the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues. Washington's Pyongyang and Tehran policies were naturally bound to create opportunities as well as troubles for the Moon-led Korean government's dealing with North Korea and Iran. Arguing from a perspective of strategic choice, this study asserts that Moon almost forfeited the ROK's commercial interests in Iran for the sake of advancing his North Korean agenda. As a corollary, the South Korean-Iranian ties sank to an all-time low, culminating in unprecedented diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the issue of Iran's oil incomes frozen in Seoul. The Mideast country's subsequent resort to gunboat diplomacy by seizing a Korean oil tanker in the Persian Gulf did also little to break the gridlock over the dilemma of blocked assets because any satisfactory and lasting solution regarding this intractable trouble largely hinged on resolving the fate of Iran's nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington., Author(s): Shirzad Azad [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411301.6, 0000 0001 0666 1211, Department of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, , Mashhad, Iran Introduction Before Moon Jae-in acceded to the [...]

Abstract Do history wars shape international affairs? If so, how and for whom? Taking the historical dispute between China and South Korea over the ancient Gaogouli/Goguryeo Kingdom as a case [...]

This article aims to compare the position of Ukraine on world cognitive maps of European and Russian students obtained from a survey made in 2009-10 with strategic narratives of the European Union and Russia from the same period, allowing for the confrontation of high and low geopolitics. In the context of the Ukrainian crisis, where officials from the two sides consider Ukraine either as a close partner of the European Union or as part of Russia, it seeks to determine in which world region Ukraine is situated by students. It finds that students from both regions firmly believe that Ukraine is part of the European space, a finding that calls into question the effectiveness of Russian strategic narratives., Elaborating on and extending the work of Joseph Nye, Roselle, Miskimmon, and O'Loughlin assume that strategic narratives are levers of soft power used by governments to influence international relations and [...]

Informed by the third-level agenda setting model, also known as the Network Agenda Setting Model, this article contributes to our understanding of the dynamic between meanings by the leading national media and young opinion-influencers (media professionals and civil society members with public profiles) in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In focus are their meanings of Ukraine and its relations with the three Baltic countries and the EU. Our main findings-bifurcated meanings building 'storylines' about Ukraine in the Baltic region--raise the possibility that as the EU Baltic states become further embedded in the EU and as the next generation of leaders emerges, the resulting narratives will become more fractured and contested., The EU's Global Strategy (1)--its leading political communication document on the priorities of its foreign policy--signals a special place for its Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods in the EU's security architecture. [...]

This article analyzes the extent to which the EU's strategic narrative of regionalism and increasingly global gaze reflect the views of foreign policy actors and citizens in the Baltic states and Ukraine. Based on audience reception analysis in the four states, using the Q-sort method of participant narrative construction and interviews with young elites in each country, our data show that young Ukrainians narrate the future direction of their country with a strong focus on the self and Ukraine's internal problems. In contrast, young Estonians, Lithuanians, and (to a lesser extent) Latvians offer narratives about the international system. Young people in the Baltic states look to Brussels more than to Ukraine in their foreign policy understandings. The latent solidarity born of shared historical experience between Ukraine and the Baltic states may be in decline because of these diverging horizons., This article analyzes the extent to which the EU's strategic narrative of regionalism and increasingly global gaze reflect the views of foreign policy actors and citizens in the Baltic states [...]

Today, soft power plays an important role in advancing states' foreign policy goals. As one of the world's emerging economic powers, Turkey pays special attention to the development and maintenance of its soft power. This commentary uses a descriptive-analysis approach to address the components of Turkey's soft power in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region in the years 2011-2020, the second decade of AK Party governance. Turkey's soft power during this time period has mainly targeted and become influential in the Muslim-majority countries of the Middle East and Asia. Although certain events, such as the 2016 failed coup, the Gezi Park protests, the Syrian crisis, fluctuations in the value of the Turkish lira, etc., have somewhat tarnished the country's image, various indicators of Turkey's soft power demonstrate that it has remained strong in the MENA region during the time span of the present research. Keywords: Turkey, Soft Power, MENA, AK Party, Introduction Turkey has set a number of historic targets for the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the modern Turkish Republic, which will be celebrated in 2023; these include being [...]

The contemporary organisation of Jamaica's coffee industry has witnessed the infiltration of neoliberal policies which have led to a withdrawal of state participation, as well as facilitated the dominance of large private capitalist enterprises. 'Through the analysis of archival data, and information from key stakeholder interviews, the article charts the 68-year (1950-2018) historical trajectory of Jamaica's speciality coffee industry by presenting a systematic examination of the institutional, political, and socio-economic forces which have shaped the industry. Results from the analysis found that the declining role of the state has exacerbated several economic and climatic crises experienced within the island's coffee industry. Analysis of the Jamaican coffee statecraft also revealed how the 'backstage ' stance of the state and the emergent role of the private sector under deregulation have impacted smallholder coffee farming livelihoods within the Blue Mountain and non-Blue Mountain coffee zones, further highlighting the systemic roots of uneven development throughout the industry. Keywords: coffee, coffee statecraft, Jamaica, neoliberal, political economy. L'organisation contemporaine de l'industrie du cafe en Jamaique a etc temoin de I'infiltration de politiques neoliberales, qui ont conduit a un retrait de la participation de I'Etat et facilite la domination des grandes enrreprises capitalistes privees. Grace a l'analyse de donnees d'archives et d'informations tirees d'entretiens avec des parties prenantes cles, l'article retrace la trajectoire historique de 68 ans (1950-2018) de l'industrie jamaicaine du cafe de speciality en presentant un examen systematique des forces institutionnelles, polioques et socio-economiques qui ont faconne l'industrie. Les resultats de l'analyse montrent que le declin du role de I'Etat a exacerbe plusieurs crises econorniques et climatiques vecues par l'industrie du cafe de l'ile. L'analyse de l'Eitat jamaicain du cafe a egalement revele comment la position 'en coulisses' de I'Etat et le role emergent du secteur prive dans le cadre de la dereglementation ont eu un impact sur les moyens de subsistance des petits exploitants de cafe dans les zones de cate Blue Mountain et non-Blue Mountain, soulignant davantage les racines svstemiques du developpement inegal dans toute l'industrie. Mots-eles: cafe, politique du cafe, Jamaique, neoliberal, economic politique. La organizacion contemporanea de la industria del cafe de famaica ha sido testigo de la infiltracion de las politicas neoliberales que han llevado a una retirada de la participacion estatal, y abierto las puertas al dominio de las grandes empresas capitalistas privadas. Mediante el analisis de datos de archivo e informacion de entrevistas con partes interesadas clave, el articulo traza la trayectoria historica de 68 anos (1950-2018) de la industria del cafe de especialidad de |amaica al presentar un examen sistematico de las fuerzas institucionales, politicas y socioeconomicas que han dado forma a la industria. Los resultados del analisis muestran que la disminucion del papel del estado ha exacerbado varias crisis economicas v climaticas experimentadas por la industria cafetalera de la Isla. El analisis del gobierno de sector cafetalero de jamaica tambien revelo como la posicion 'tras bastidores' del gobierno y el papel emergente del sector privado bajo la desregularizacion lian impactado los medios de vida de los pequenos productores de cate en las zonas cafetaleras dentro v fuera de Blue Mountain, destacando aun mas las raices sistemicas del desarrollo desigual en toda la industria. Palabras clave: cafe, gobierno del sector cafetalero, Jamaica, neoliberal, economia politica., INTRODUCTION Generally, since the 1980s, nation states across the globe have experienced a continuous expansion and intensification of the neoliberal capitalist agenda (Deranivagala 2005, 99). As the centralitv and liberality [...]

France's Mediterranean policy can be analyzed from a historical perspective and through the actual conjuncture related to its geopolitical and geo-cultural elements, such as the West-East civilization dilemma and colonization background. Although these two elements are complementary to each other, they intersect with the political and economic interests of the Turkish state in the region. France's policy has become intertwined with its involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean dispute against Turkey as a result of the natural gas discovery in recent years in the region. France's identification of Turkey as an external enemy reflects the former's political and economic concerns in regard to the Mediterranean gas reserves. Therefore, the envisaged French leadership in the region insists that the EU adopt an exclusionary political approach toward Turkey with the political and diplomatic support of France for Greece and Cyprus. The existing regional problems, however, need to be resolved on the basis of equity, not by ignoring the rights of the parties, but by integrating them. This is necessary for the peaceful resolution of these concerns. Keywords: France, Turkey, Greece, European Union, Eastern Mediterranean, Islamophobia, Introduction Frances Mediterranean policy can be analyzed from a historical perspective and through the actual conjuncture related to its geopolitical and geo-cultural elements, such as the West-East civilizational dilemma and [...]

Zuma's ascendancy to the South African Presidency coincided with the lingering global economic crisis of 2007-2009, which affected many of the Western economies. By this time, China experienced a rapid economic growth and became a potential partner for commodities exporting countries like South Africa. As such, it became a potential partner in the face of declining commodity demand from the West. Against this background, Zuma deepened South Africa's ties with China to rescue the domestic economy. China has since received much attention in Zuma's administration resulted in many scholars emanating from International Relations and other cognate academic disciplines and members of the media describing the move as a shift in South Africa's foreign policy This article employs Afrocentricity as an alternative theoretical framework to interrogate the question as to whether closer ties between the two countries marked a shift or Zuma prioritised China. Methodologically, this is a desktop article that relied on secondary data and employed an Afrocentric qualitative research methodology to establish whether the deepening relations led to a shift in South Africa's foreign policy or China received priority in Zuma's administration. Keywords: Afrocentricity; South Africa; Foreign Policy; Zuma; China; Shift., 1. Introduction South Africa's democratic dispensation led to a shift in both domestic and foreign policy. The newly democratic elected African National Congress (ANC) led government redefined South Africa's image [...]

Since Korea's transition to democracy in 1987, Korean leaders have become increasingly confrontational toward Japan, with such steps ranging from verbal threats filled with hawkish rhetoric to material threats, such as displays of military force and threats of actually using it. To explain South Korean leaders' hawkish approach to Japan, we build a theory of 'prospective diversion' by combining insights from the diversionary theory of international conflict and prospect theory. We argue that foreign policy leaders have a strong tendency to overvalue political losses relative to comparable gains in their approval ratings. As a result, they are inclined to take risk-seeking diplomatic actions toward foreign adversary to avoid further losses. By conducting statistical analyses and developing case studies of Korean leaders' confrontational policy decisions regarding Japan, we present empirical findings consistent with our hypothesis that Korean leaders are inclined to engage in prospective diversion toward Japan when they suffer domestic losses. This article provides an enhanced understanding of the domestic political foundation of South Korean leaders' increasingly contentious attitude toward Japan. Keywords South Korea, Japan, prospect theory, diversionary theory, political loss, disapproval, confrontational diplomacy, 101.1017/jea.2019.36 INTRODUCTION During the Cold War, the relatively stable relationship between South Korea and Japan, which was backed by active United States military and diplomatic engagement, was a linchpin of [...]