Turkey's balkan polıcy under ak party and claıms for neo-ottomanısm

139 Pages·2013·2.45 MB·Turkish

by  Suat Beylur

Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences
Department of International Relations

TURKEY’S BALKAN POLICY UNDER AK PARTY
AND
CLAIMS FOR NEO-OTTOMANISM

Suat Beylur

Master’s Thesis

Ankara, 2013

TURKEY’S BALKAN POLICY UNDER AK PARTY
AND
CLAIMS FOR NEO-OTTOMANISM

Suat Beylur

Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences
Department of International Relations

Master’s Thesis

Ankara, 2013

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Müge Kınacıoğlu
who has made so crucial contributions to the thesis since the beginning of this study and
been highly patient and interested in my various questions throughout this process. I am
also grateful to Assoc. Prof.Dr. Havva Kök Arslan, Assist. Prof. Akça Ataç and Assist.
Prof. Murat Önsoy who lent a great assistance for me to advance in this study. Their
guidance in both theoretical and practical senses with valuable comments and
suggestions has been essential for me to achieve the goals of the thesis. I should also
acknowledge Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emel Oktay who was my first advisor at the beginning of
this process. Finally, my special thanks are for the all members of my family and friends
who have always encouraged and supported me to complete this study.
ii

ÖZET

Bu tez, Ahmet Davutoğlu etkisiyle şekillenen Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP)
dönemi Türkiye’nin Balkan politikasını incelemekte ve bu bağlamda kendisine
yöneltilen neo-Osmanlıcı iddialarının doğru olup olmadığını, varsa ne oranda ve hangi
alanlarda olduğunu ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Söz konusu amaca ulaşmak için
öncelikle neo-Osmanlıcılık kavramının güncel politik anlamını kavramaya matuf
Osmanlıcılığın tarihi, siyasi ve entelektüel temelleri incelenmiştir. Sonra, AKP
döneminde yeniden ortaya çıkan neo-Osmanlıcı iddialarının nedenlerini anlamaya katkı
sağlayacağı düşüncesiyle sırasıyla Türk dış politikası analizi ve ardından Balkanların
Osmanlı öncesi tarihine dair kısa bir giriş yapıldıktan sonra Osmanlı Devleti ve
Türkiye’nin Balkan politikası ana hatları ile özetlenmeye çalışılmıştır.

Sonraki bölümlerde ise ABD, AB, Ortadoğu, Kafkasya ve Orta Asya gibi ana bölge ve
konular üzerinden AKP dönemi Türk dış politikası“Stratejik Derinlik” doktrini
bağlamında incelenmiştir. Daha sonra ise AKP dönemi Türkiye’nin Balkan ülkeleri ile
siyasi, ekonomik, sosyal ve kültürel ilişkileri detaylı olarak ele alınmıştır. Bunun
yanında bu politikaların üst düzey ziyaretler, söylemler ve diğer kamu diplomasisi
kapsamında değerlendirilecek kurum ve kuruluşların faaliyetlerine nasıl yansıdığı
üzerinde durulmuştur. En sonunda, bütün bu veri ve bilgiler üzerinden AKP’ye
yöneltilen neo-Osmanlıcı iddiaların geçerli olup olmadığı değerlendirilmiştir.

Anahtar Sözcükler: AKP, Balkanlar, Türk Dış Politikası, Türkiye’nin Balkan
Politikası, neo-Osmanlıcılık, Stratejik Derinlik, Çok Boyutlu Dış Politika, Kamu
Diplomasisi, Ahmet Davutoğlu
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ABSTRACT

This thesis studies Turkey’s Balkan policy in the period of the Justice and Development
Party (AKP) which is shaped by the Ahmet Davutoğlu’s factor and, in this context aims
to find out if Turkey’s Balkan policy under AKP is neo-Ottomanist or not, and in which
aspects and to what extent? In order to achieve that objective, historical, political and
intellectual roots of Ottomanism for the purpose of better understanding of current
political understanding of neo-Ottomanism were examined. Then, the Balkan policy of
Ottoman Empire and Turkey was summarized with the main lines after analyzing
Turkish foreign policy in general and giving a brief information about the pre-Ottoman
Balkans history which are expected to provide some background to understand the
grounds of claims of neo-Ottomanism reemerged in the period of the AKP.

In the subsequent chapters, Turkish foreign policy on the issues and regions such as the
US, the EU, the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Central Asia were examined in the
context of “Strategic Depth” doctrine. Afterwards, political, economic, social and
cultural relations between Turkey and Balkan countries were handled in detail. In
addition, it was put emphasis on how these policies reflect on high level visits,
discourses and activities of foundations and institutions which can be considered as
public diplomacy instruments. Finally, out of all of this data and information it is
evaluated whether the claims for neo-Ottomanist oriented to the AKP are valid or not.

Key Words: AKP, The Balkans, Turkish Foreign Policy, Turkey’s Balkan Policy, Neo-
Ottomanism, Strategic Depth, Multidimensional Foreign Policy, Public Diplomacy,
Ahmet Davutoğlu
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................. i
ÖZET ............................................................................................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... iv
ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. viii
CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................................. 6
THEORIETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................. 6
2.1. Neo-Ottomanism ...................................................................................................................................... 6
2.2. An Overview of Turkish Foreign Policy ....................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER 3................................................................................................................................ 20
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .................................................................................................. 20
3.1. The Land and Its Habitants ............................................................................................................... 20
3.2. A Brief History of the Balkans and pre-Ottoman Period ....................................................... 21
3.3. The Ottomans and Balkans ............................................................................................................... 22
3.4. Turkey’s Balkan Policy from Atatürk to AKP ............................................................................. 29
3.4.1. Interwar Period (1923-1947) ................................................................................ 29
3.4.2. The Cold War Period (1947-1989) ........................................................................ 31
3.4.3. The Post Cold War Period (1989-2002) ................................................................ 33
3.5. Neo-Ottomanism Discussions in 1990s ....................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER 4................................................................................................................................ 49
AKP and TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY ................................................................................... 49
4.1. New Era: AKP in Power ...................................................................................................................... 49
4.2. AKP’s Foreign Policy and Davutoğlu’s Factor; Strategic Depth ......................................... 50
CHAPTER 5................................................................................................................................ 64
TURKEY’S BALKAN POLICY UNDER AKP ............................................................................. 64
5.1. The Principals of Turkey’s Balkan Policy .................................................................................... 64
5.2. Turkey’s Political and Economic Relations with the Balkans ............................................. 66
5.2.1. Turkey and Bosnia Herzegovina ............................................................................ 67
v

5.2.2. Turkey and Serbia ................................................................................................... 73
5.2.3. Turkey and Montenegro ......................................................................................... 78
5.2.4. Turkey and Kosovo .................................................................................................. 82
5.2.5. Turkey and Macedonia ............................................................................................ 84
5.2.6. Turkey and Albania ................................................................................................. 88
5.2.7. Turkey’s Policy for The Turkish Minority in Greece and Bulgaria ...................... 91
5.3. Turkey’s Social and Cultural Relations with Balkans; Public Diplomacy ....................... 95
5.3.1. Coordination Office of Public Diplomacy ............................................................... 96
5.3.2. Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency ................................................... 97
5.3.3. Yunus Emre Institute .............................................................................................. 99
5.3.4. Presidency for Turks Abroad and Relative Communities .................................. 100
5.3.5. Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, Anatolian Agency and Directorate
General of Press and Information .................................................................................. 101
5.3.6. Practice of Sister Municipalities ........................................................................... 102
5.3.7. The Other Instruments and Practices .................................................................. 103
5.4. Reemergence of Neo-Ottomanism in the AKP Period ..........................................................104
CHAPTER 6.............................................................................................................................. 108
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 108
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 112