A Transnational Account of Turkish Foreign Policy

Book excerpt: This book offers an analysis of Turkish foreign policy based on transnational(ist) perspectives. In order to counterbalance the state-centric accounts that dominate this area of study, the authors provide theoretical frameworks as well as historical and contemporary case studies that emphasize transnational dynamics. The content is divided into four complementary sections that explain and exemplify transnational (f)actors in the context of Turkish foreign policy. The first addresses theoretical and ideational frameworks that illustrate the relevance of a transnational account, while the second demonstrates the possibility of developing transnationally oriented approaches even in historical cases, going beyond a presentist focus. In the third and fourth sections, the book focuses on two prominent non-state actors, namely diaspora communities and non-governmental organizations, which operate at the interstices of the domestic and the international. This allows the authors to highlight the significance of transnational dynamics in Turkey's foreign policy. ​Hazal Papuççular is an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, Istanbul Kültür University, Turkey. She completed her Ph.D. in Modern Turkish History at Boğaziçi University's Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History and has written several books, articles and book chapters on Turkish foreign policy. She is the author of Türkiye ve Oniki Ada (1912-1947) (Türkiye İş Bankası Yayınları, 2019) and is currently focusing on Turkey's transnational diplomatic history. Deniz Kuru is a Lecturer of Political Science at Goethe Universität Frankfurt in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. His current research areas include the intellectual history and sociology of International Relations, German and French foreign policies, Turkey's global position, global intellectual history and global International Relations. He has published articles in Review of International Studies, International Relations, All Azimuth, Global Affairs and Mediterranean Politics.