CHANGING ALLIANCE AND COOPERATION DYNAMICS

595 Pages·2010·2.44 MB·English

CHANGING ALLIANCE AND COOPERATION DYNAMICS:
GLOBALIZATION, NATION-STATE AND THE THREAT

Volume I

A Ph.D. Dissertation

by

BARIŞ ÇAĞLAR

Department of International Relations

Bilkent University

Ankara

March 2010

To perseverance,
CHANGING ALLIANCE AND COOPERATION DYNAMICS:
GLOBALIZATION, NATION-STATE AND THE THREAT
Volume I

The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences
of
Bilkent University

by

BARIŞ ÇAĞLAR

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in

THE DEPARTMENT OF
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
BILKENT UNIVERSITY
ANKARA

March 2010
I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as
a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations.

Assistant Prof. Mustafa Kibaroğlu
Supervisor

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as
a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations.

Assistant Prof. Nur Bilge Criss
Examining Committee Member

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as
a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations.

Assistant Prof. Tarık Oğuzlu
Examining Committee Member

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as
a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations.

Assistant Prof. Esra Çuhadar Gürkaynak
Examining Committee Member

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as
a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations.

Associate Prof. Mithat Çelikpala
Examining Committee Member

Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences

Prof. Erdal Erel
Director
ABSTRACT

CHANGING ALLIANCE AND COOPERATION DYNAMICS:
GLOBALIZATION, NATION-STATE AND THE THREAT

Çağlar, Barış
Department of International Relations
Supervisor: Assis. Prof. Mustafa Kibaroğlu
March 2010

This dissertation is a study about the form and dynamics of inter-state cooperation
and alignment against transnational terrorism epitomized by Al-Qaeda. Since
international security is traditionally regarded as the parcel of nation-states,
transnational terrorism is a conceptual new-comer to the playground of politics. Its
scale of operations occurs in a security environment structurally different from that
of the Cold War. The recurrent reason given for debating the role and relevance of
alliances in regard to counterterrorism is discussed in the literature to be a systemic
change in world affairs marked by the end of the Cold War and globalization. The
latter must be disaggregated to determine the essential elements and features of the
systemic differences and related threats. Does contemporary inter-state cooperation
and alignment against transnational terrorism correspond to the previous alignment
behaviors of states that were conducted against other states? Analyzing the
evolving forms of cooperation in general and the form of cooperation in alliances is
the aim of the study. Through a three-pronged analytical discussion based on the
factors of globalization, unit-level preferences and the features of the threat itself,
the study concludes that cooperation form in general and in alliances in particular -
including the form of cooperation in NATO- is experiencing a shift from a
‘defensive nature’ to a ‘security nature’. Coalitions of the Willing type of
cooperation appears to be the re-emergent form of inter-state security cooperation,
especially against ambiguous threats such as transnational terrorism that erodes the
distinction between internal and external threats.

Key Words: cooperation, alliance, alignment, globalization, the new threat, NATO,
security culture, transnational terrorism

iii
ÖZET

DEĞİŞEN İTTİFAK VE İŞBİRLİĞİ DİNAMİKLERİ:
KÜRESELLEŞME, ULUS-DEVLET VE TEHDİT

Çağlar, Barış

Doktora, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü

Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Mustafa Kibaroğlu

Mart 2010

Bu doktora tezi, devletlerin ulus-ötesi terörizme karşı gösterdikleri işbirliği ve
gruplaşma biçimleri ve dinamikleri hakkındadir. Uluslararası güvenlik çalışmaları
geleneksel olarak devletlerin ilişkilerini incelediğinden, ulus-ötesi terörizm bu
alanda görece yeni bir kavramsallaştırmadır ve faaliyetleri Soğuk Savaş ortamından
farklı bir güvenlik ortamında gerçekleşmektedir. Literatürde ittifakların rollerinin
ve terörle mücadeleyle ilintilerinin tartışılmasının başlıca nedeni, Soğuk Savaşın
bitmesi ve küreselleşmeyle gelen sistemik değişiklikler olarak gösterilmektedir.
Son dönem müttefiklik ve işbirliği dinamiklerinin anlaşılabilmesi için sistemik
değişimlerin ve beraberinde getirdiği tehditlerin çözümlenmesi gerekmektedir.
Devletlerin ulus-ötesi terörizme karşı günümüzde gösterdikleri işbirliği ve
gruplaşma davranışları daha önce kendi aralarında diğer devletlere karşı
gösterdikleri işbirliği davranışlarıyla örtüşmekte midir? Tezin amacı ittifak içinde
ve dışında gelişmekte olan işbirliği biçimlerinin getirdikleri yeni boyutlarıyla
beraber çözümlenmesidir. Küreselleşme, devletlerin tercihleri ve tehdidin farklı
boyutları saçayağında yürütülen inceleme, gerek genelde gerekse ittifaklar içindeki
işbirliği yapısının -NATO içindeki işbirliği biçimi dahil- ‘savunma ağırlıklı’
olmaktan ‘güvenlik ağırlıklı’ olmaya doğru evrildiği sonucuna ulaşmıştır.
Kurumsal olmayan koalisyonlar çerçevesindeki işbirliği, devletlerarası güvenlik
işbirliğinin başat biçimi olarak tekrar kendini göstermektedir. Bu işbirliği türü, iç
ve dış tehditler arasında yapılagelen ayrımı zorlaştıran ulus-ötesi terörizm benzeri
muğlak tehditlere karşı özellikle kullanılacak işbirliği biçimi olarak gözükmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: işbirliği, ittifak, küreselleşme, yeni tehdit, NATO, güvenlik
kültürü, ulusötesi terörizm

iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I do want to start by expressing my heartfelt gratitude and acknowledgment
to my supervisor Mustafa Kibaroglu. His academic support was vital throughout
my study. His mentorship has been precious in that the academic and intellectual
baggage he provided for me will certainly continue to help conduct my future
studies.
I am indebted to our department-head Associate Professor Ersel Aydinli
who helped shape the general structure of the study. Dr. Tarik Oguzlu helped to
fine-line the argumentation in organization. His constant academic and morale
support had been highly precious. Occasional debates with Dr. Nur Bilge Criss
helped shape raw ideas into educated and refined propositions. Associate Professor
Mithat Celikpala was of great assistance regarding the presentation of my study,
and he was also most encouraging with respect to studying a novel research
question that does not correspond to any prevailing theory or extant research
program. I want to express my staunch acknowledgment to Dr. Esra Cuhadar
Gurkaynak for her invaluable guidance on research methods. I am also indebted to
Professor Cinar Ozen for his academic support and encouragement to what he
emphasizes as a pioneering doctoral study in non-state violence, globalization and
alliances/inter-state cooperation.

v
I acknowledge the academic advice provided by Professor Stephen M. Walt
in Harvard University to whom I had the privilege to get acquaintance. I also want
to express my gratitude to Professors Bruce Russett at Yale University, and Robert
J. Jervis at Columbia University for they shared their views during several lengthy
conversations, gave their own materials, photocopies of relevant articles and their
reading-lists to be used for my research.
Last but not least, I owe much to my mother, grandmother and grandfather
for their permanent support. Their morale support and love was an utmost
energizer.

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT……………………….…….…………......…………………………..iii
ÖZET…………………………………….……………….......…………………….iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS….………….......………………….................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………….……………………………………........vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………......……………..…………..1

1.1.The Organization of the Dissertation………..……………..….............…......4
1.2. The Research Question…………….........…........……………………..........10
1.3. Departure Point of the Study: The Argument.......…………..……................10
1.4. Methodology………………...…………………………………………........11
1.5. Place of the Study……………………………………………………………16

CHAPTER 2: THE METHODOLOGY AND THE SYNOPSIS.…………….......26

2.1. The Research Question………………….……..………………………….....26
2.2. Departure Point of the Study: The Argument…..………………………........27
2.3. What’s in the Research Question? – The Backgrounder.........…………........28
2.4. The Differences between Cooperation and Alliance……………..…….........34
2.4.1. Alliance……………..…………………………………........................34
2.4.2. Cooperation….…………………………………………….……..........35
2.5. Terrorism and International Relations……...….……..………………........36
2.6. Why Study Forms of Cooperation and Alliance………..……………...........37
2.7. The Methodology……………………..………….………………….........…42
2.8. The Independent Variable of Globalization………………..…………..........54
2.9. How does Globalization Condition ‘the New Threat’?..................................59
2.10. How does Globalization Condition Cooperation Problems
within and among Nations?...........................................................................62
2.11. The Unit-Level Independent Variable:
Contending Counterterrorism Cultures….……………………………........66
2.12. The Working Definition of Transnational Terrorism Threat……….….......69
2.13. Why is the New Threat Itself
an Independent Variable?: Transnationality……………………................72
2.14. Why does ‘the New Threat’ have the most explanatory power
in comparison to other independent variables?............................................79
vii