Ph.D. Theses

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A comparative analysis of financial regulation reforms in Turkey and Poland : evidence from the 2000s
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2023., 2023) Çetinkaya, Murat.; Kadirbeyoğlu, Zeynep.
This thesis focuses on identifying the determinants of financial regulation reforms. It investigates the reasons behind the introduction of or changes to financial regulations by governments and other regulators, with specific reference to the financial regulations undertaken by Turkey and Poland in the 2000s. The research question is explored from a comparative political economy perspective, and the answer is arrived at by employing the most similar systems design method using two cases. This limited number facilitated an in-depth comparative analysis. The determinants that I hypothesized would have an effect on financial regulations were domestic learning, policy diffusion, global shocks, local shocks, financial development, and trade development. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to investigate the effects of these factors. The results are largely compatible with each other. The findings in this thesis provide evidence that these variables are effective in financial regulation reforms, but there are significant differences in the direction of their effects. One significant difference is observed in the learning factor. Both exogenous (policy diffusion) and endogenous (domestic learning) types of learning turned out to have a negative effect on the pace of financial liberalization reforms in Turkey and Poland. The thesis finds that this difference is primarily the result of the rise in state intervention in response to financial crises that triggered concerns about financial stability. The findings further suggest that the effects of these factors vary across critical junctures and spatial and temporal dimensions.
A critical history of the concept of progress: Salvaging the repressed normative content
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2017., 2017.) Yasin, Buğra.; Gambetti, Zeynep Ç.
This study revisits the concept of progress for the purpose of excavating and laying bare its normative content. The critical examination of its conceptual history enables me to delineate two ideal-types of progress which can be differentiated from one another based on their level of affinity with the utilitarian logic and instrumental rationality of market relations characteristic of modern bourgeois society. Auguste Comte's unilinear and scientific conceptualization of progress displays contiguity with the economic and social conditions following the dissolution of the ancien régime and works predominantly to contain the contradictions that posed a threat to the well-being of the bourgeois society. Tapping into the irrational elements of civil society, Kant posits two distinct areas of progress - moral and civilizational, the relations between which are shown to be marked with tension and contain a dynamic and dialectical dimension. Following this typological analysis, I explore Friedrich Nietzsche's critique of progress and do so by investigating his diagnosis of modernity as a period of nihilism. I show that Nietzsche rejects both Comte's and Kant's theorization of progress on account of their stark incompatibility with the model of agonistic individuality that Nietzsche judges to be the sole antidote for overcoming nihilism. In the final chapter, I direct my attention to Theodor Adorno's determinate negation of the concept of progress, which is argued to extend beyond the predominantly individualistic and abstract nature of Nietzsche's criticisms and develop a socially engaged and concrete idea of progress by sharpening its critical edge and rejuvenating its repressed emancipatory aspects.
Alevis, the state and the Sivas incident :|problems of democratization
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2022., 2022.) Önen, Levent.; Arat, Yeşim,
The Sivas Incident is one of the most tragic and controversial events of the Republican history. It is a multidimensional event involving many critical issues that pertain to democratization of Turkey: the inadequate protection of basic civil rights, the issue of relationship between state and religion, freedom of religion and Alevi Question and the political Islamist challenge. This study aims to understand how political actors in the Parliament, judicial institutions and Alevi organizations politicized the Incident and formed competing narratives around it. I use the political contestation of the Incident between 1993 and 2015 as a novel lens to look at the problematic working of democratic institutions in Turkey and the challenge that Alevi civil society presented to it for further democratization. The methodology of this dissertation rests on the content analysis of the parliamentary records, court documents and the publications of Alevi organizations. I’ve also made use of interviews with the representatives of Alevi organizations. I benefited from a review of secondary resources including the newspaper records in my research. I show how certain violent incidents are politicized in the Turkish context because of structural vulnerabilities that have been there since the foundation of the nation state. The examination of competing narratives establishes that the dismissal of existence of sectarian motives and tensions has characterized the responses of political and judicial actors. I demonstrate the difficulty of Turkish political system to meet the demands of a marginalized community for recognition and justice.
Business associations and foreign policy: revisiting state-business relations in Turkey
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2013., 2013.) Atlı, Altay, 1974-; Eder, Mine,
Economic considerations are increasingly playing a role in defining Turkey’s foreign policy, and as a result, non-state actors from the economic realm like the business associations as the institutional representatives of the private sector are emerging as key actors in the formulation and implementation of policy. This study deals with the question of whether the increasing activism of business associations in foreign policy issues represents a transformation of state-business relations in Turkey from a state corporatist mode with clientelistic tendencies and patronage relations towards more formal, institutionalized and participatory forms such as liberal corporatism. In order to illuminate this issue, the experience of three business associations (Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, Turkish Contractors’ Union, and Turkish Exporters’ Assembly) over the past three decades is analyzed by employing using a two-tiered principal-agent model, which positions the state as the principal and the business associations as the agents performing certain tasks on the state’s behalf and receiving incentives in return, within a historical institutional framework. The model has the dimensions of the interaction between the government and bureaucracy; the contract between the state and the business associations; autonomy of business associations; interaction between the administration and the constituency of business associations; and cooperation and competition between the business associations. Investigating the changes in these dimensions over time, this study discusses the development and limitations of state-business relations in Turkey. In this way, the study hopes to make a contribution to the literature on Turkish political economy and foreign policy.
Collective desert in distributive justice
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2023., 2023) Yapıcıoğlu, James Cem.; Çıdam, Volkan.
The literature of desert in distributive justice almost strictly focuses on personal desert claims. This is inadequate. Distributive justice involves distribution at a massive scale, which can only take place through collective acts. At the same time, there is nothing that inherently limits a group of people deserving together. This thesis argues that collective agents can be desert subjects by relying on the everbuilding consensus within social ontology regarding the agency of collectives and in parallel to the recent use of collective agents in the field of state culpabilities. It reconsiders prominent desert claims by introducing a collective desert subject or a collective perspective. The thesis specifically explores the collective alternatives to desert of compensation and merit-based hiring, and adapts Feldman’s community essential needs based desert approach to a collective perspective. Not only is it possible to formulate collective desert claims that function in a similar way to the individual ones, but this helps to better explain existing claims and handle some of their shortcomings. The results of these discussions suggest new areas of desert that can be pursued and new approaches to strengthen the case of desert against its naysayers.
Constitutional courts during political upheavals :|the case of the Turkish Constitutional Court
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2022., 2022.) Demirtaş, Abdullah Erdem.; Eder, Mine,
Constitutional courts operate at the intersection of law and politics. Their task is to defend the normative superiority of the constitution by reviewing the constitutionality of laws. In doing so, they engage with other political institutions such as political parties, legislatures and executives. In times of political upheaval, the nature of the relationship between constitutional courts and other governmental organs is contested. This provides an ideal situation to observe the political dynamics of constitutional judicial review. This study aims to understand how constitutional courts fare during political upheavals by examining the Turkish Constitutional Court over an extended period of time. The Turkish Constitutional Court is a crucial case because Turkey has undergone episodic political upheavals where constitutional norms have been contested by different governmental institutions. The methodology of this study can be described as constitutional ethnography, which involves a close examination of the socio-political context that underlies legal institutions and relations. To this end, I examined politically salient court cases, interviewed judges, reviewed newspaper articles; I also used various secondary sources. My research has determined that the Turkish Constitutional Court has adopted one of three strategies during episodes of political crises: judicial activism, deference and avoidance. Furthermore, I contend that the court strategy depends on the degree of fragmentation of political power, the profiles of sitting justices, and extra-judicial alliances that the court can leverage against challengers.
Disappearing onion producers in Karacabey: a micro analysis of farmers and land after structural reform
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2013., 2013.) Döner, Fatma Nil.; Çalışkan, Koray,
In the last decade, for the first time in Anatolian history, farmers have no longer been the largest working population. The decreasing number of farmers and the shifts in their strategies for agricultural production, employment, livelihood, and market incorporation are a direct result of SAPs of the post-1980 era. This dissetation investigates the multifaceted impacts of structural adjustment reforms, as well as the hardships and the challenging processes that farming families have faced during the last three decades in Turkey. The original contribution is to show ongoing rural transformation in a micro-environment of Bursa Karacabey, by emphasizing what the SAPs mean on the ground. Surveys and statistical data reduce farmers to production units so many goods and services they generate become invisible from a neoliberal perspective. Therefore, here, the challenge is to tease out the political, social, and economic consequences of the SAPs in a micro-environment with special emphasis on the experiences of farmers who are facing impacts of structural reform one-to-one. For the majority of small farmers, SAPs continuously diminish the level of income and farming on its own becomes unable to provide sufficient livelihood for rural dwellers. This dissertation teases out the process of easing away from a strictly agrarian existence and engaging in multiple activities by examining recent trends in rural employment, occupational shifts, changes in the main income sources, emerging economic activities, and spatial relocation in Harmanlı village. It illustrates how rural inhabitants in the village manage their subsistence and overhaul consumption patterns, gender roles, and environment in order to surmount the vicissitudes of structural reform with reference to the political dimensions of livelihood adaptation and relations with the state. In this dissertion, the attention given to real experiences of rural producers instead of statistics enables us to investigate micro-level impacts of SAPs and what kind of coping strategies derive in Harmanlı village. Besides, a comprehensive analysis on livelihood strategies reminds us that resistance to free-market system begins with the mechanisms used by households to preserve subsistence level and social reproduction. Finally, a critical perusal of the rural-urban linkages which are useful lens for understanding the complexities of rural inhabitants’ livelihoods and their coping strategies including some form of mobility, diversification of income sources and occupations, and rural dwellers’ mechanisms of confrontation enriches our analysis in this dissertation.
Encounters with neoliberal globalization :|South Korea and Turkey in comparative perspective
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2021., 2021.) Kim, Thergill.; Eder, Mine,
Despite being on different development paths, South Korea and Turkey faced economic crises triggered by external shocks and unsustainable industrial policies in the late 1970s. The economic policies of both countries started to converge into neoliberalism around 1980, under international financial institutions and military regimes; however, neoliberal transformation varied in the two countries over time. This thesis investigates why such divergence occurred, even though both countries launched similar neoliberal programs at the same time. This thesis aims to examine economic policymaking and to compare the interaction among political leaders, economic policymakers, and business circles of the two countries in the 1980s and early 1990s. Through comparative historical analysis, it draws from the development state literature and reframes the discussion by focusing on how pre-crisis conditions were worse for Turkey than for South Korea and how South Korea’s state capacity was different from Turkey’s during its neoliberal transformation. The neoliberal reforms continued in both countries after a full-scale democratization in 1987. Nevertheless, more than a decade of neoliberalization remained incomplete by the early 1990s, and South Korea and Turkey tended to regress to pre-reform development paths, handing these heavy tasks over to the next governments. In conclusion, this thesis asserts the importance of state capacity in neoliberal reforms and finds the changeability of the developmental state and its internal political-institutional dynamics through Korea’s case. Additionally, it examines the domestic and international factors that influenced state capacity and defines the limitations in the analysis of neoliberalization based on the developmental state theory.
Europeanization of Turkish civil society organizations during the accession process to the EU : a Gramscian analysis
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2011., 2011.) Zihnioğlu, Özge.; Yılmaz, Hakan.
The EU has long recognized the importance of civil society organizations for European integration. In parallel with this, the urge for their Europeanization in the candidate countries, meaning their increased role in matters relating to the accession process, and thereby to the liberal-democratic transition of the respective society has been prevailing. The related EU policy draws from the liberal-democratic tradition that links civil society with democratization process. The EU displays one of the most vivid examples of this civil society policy during Turkey’s accession. As part of its policy, the EU has increasingly been providing various instruments to civil society organizations since the official announcement of Turkey’s candidature in 1999. In this respect, this dissertation aims to understand the interaction between the EU and the civil society organizations in Turkey as well as how these organizations are instrumentalized during the accession process. Accordingly, this dissertation problematizes the EU civil society policy and questions how well it fits the Turkish context. This problematization begins with delineating the EU policy for Turkish civil society organizations by looking into official documents, setting out the method and instruments employed by the EU and discussing their wider implications such as the legal and institutional changes. The in-depth interviews conducted with civil society organizations as well as experts and public officials working with these organizations help to identify the predicaments and their reasons emerging during the implementation of this policy. This reveals not only the discrepancy between the expectations and the outcome regarding the EU civil society policy, but also that the civil society organizations are autonomous agents interacting with various dynamics. On the other hand, the domestic socio-political conditions relevant to contemporary Turkish civil society that would relate to its reaction to the EU policy are also analyzed. This dissertation establishes the inappropriateness of the EU civil society policy in the Turkish context and challenges the very definition of civil society adopted by the EU. In doing so, this dissertation offers to go beyond the problematic of democratization which has been the focus of most academic work on this subject.
Germany's commitment to and impact on European integration: |continuity or change?
(Thesis (Ph.D.)- Bogazici University. Institute of Social Sciences, 1998., 1998.) Kaiser, Bianca.; Avcı, Gamze.
This study examines whether, and to what extent, united Germany's commitment to and impact on European integration has changed. A cO)llparative analysis over time is undertaken by contrasting West Germany's European policy with that of united Germany. Special importance is attributed to political parties and public opinion. Both influence the shaping of European policy, that occupies a position in-between foreign policy and domestic policy, because the European Union is not only an arrangement between nation-states, but affects individual citizens directly. The process of German unification, Germany's new foreign policy and Germany's impact on European integration are studied for indications of Germany's alleged new "assertiveness". Our main finding is that the commitment of German political parties to European integration has not decreased, but even increased. However, Germany's foreign policy has shifted towards "benign" realism, and its European policy has become more . pragmatic due to new challenges in the international environment. United Germany's influence in the European Union has increased, and is, at the same time, decreasing as Germany is pushing for more supranational decision-making. The "permissive consensus" of the German public is eroding due to the changed nature of the European Union that has started to confer more rights and duties on individual citizens since the Maastricht Treaty. Notwithstanding certain changes, Germany's basic consensus on European integration continues to exist. As a trading state, the country can best ensure its interests in a peaceful and cooperative environment and considers European integration as the best tool to prevent history from repeating itself.|Keyword: Germany - European Integration - German Unification - Political Parties - Public Opinion.
Identifty, informal institutions and collective action in Istanbul’s Rum community in the twenty-first century
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Theodorelis-Rigas, Charalampos.; Yılmaz, Hakan.
This thesis explores the contemporary Istanbul Rum community from a series of new and provocative perspectives. It focuses on Rum identity, institutions, space and collective action through the prism of recent challenges and developments. Drawing on theoretical traditions such as constructivism, communitarianism, new institutionalism and Subaltern Studies, and on an interdisciplinary methodological approach (archival research, participatory observation, in-depth interviews), it examines communal institutions as the basis of Rum political life. It offers a detailed historical analysis of Rum identity, its different trajectories in Turkey, Greece and Syria, and its profound relationship with the urban space of Istanbul, focusing –for the first time in the relevant literature– on secular, rather than linguistic or confessional aspects. Its findings suggest that due to historical pressures and legal grey areas pertaining to its corporate status, the community has developed a set of informal but robust institutions that revolve around philanthropic activity and the vakıf system. Combined with Rum education and healthcare, this peculiar type of philanthropic activity constitutes a uniquely Rum institutional architecture that may be seen as the community’s social capital par excellence and an alternative, micro-wellfare ‘state’ that defines the community, forms its elites and shapes the political behaviour of its members. Together with suggestions for further research the thesis provides a series of policy recommendations for the community’s sustainability and survival in the twenty-first century.
Immanuel Kant's philosophical-anthropological approach to international relations: |freedom, equality and human rights within constitutional and international legality
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute of Social Sciences, 1996., 1996.) Sinirlioğlu, Feridun Hadi.; Parla, Taha,
This dissertation attempts to challenge the axiomatic separation and isolation of the international from the domestic politics through the. medium of Kant. In this context, the "republican constitutionalism with a cosmopolitan intent" appears as the underlying concept. In a critical dialogue with Kant, this study tries to show why his position with respect to the "international relations" is directly locked into his critical philosophy as a whole. Thus, it demonstrates that Kant's approach to "international relations" provides us with a theoretical framework which considers "domestic" as well as "international" as interdependent parts of a cosmopolitan whole. The praxis-oriented, forward-looking conception of history together with a theoretical humanism lays down the foundations for a novel approach to the international relations theory, which combines morality with legality through politics.
In search of sustainable peace :|conflict transformation in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Vila, Jubjana.; Kut, Gün.
The struggle for the establishment of the sustainable peace continues in some Western Balkan countries like Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. This comparative case study explores the role of intervention process on post-conflict structural transformation and progress toward sustainable peace in Kosovo and in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The main objective is to show that the way a conflict is handled might have an important impact on post-conflict environment and progress towards the establishment of sustainable peace. This exploratory research is based on a secondary analysis of existing qualitative data. The findings of this research reveal that there is stable but not sustainable peace in Kosovo and in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The main structural problems remain institutionalization of ethnicities in Bosnia-Herzegovina; a limited sovereignty in Kosovo; and lack of a state building culture for both cases. This study suggests the revision of power sharing structure in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the clarification of Kosovo’s status as first steps toward positive peace. The importance of this research rests on its criticism to the orientation in conflict resolution towards negative peace and on understanding the long-term (post-conflict) effects of interventions. Overall, it contributes to the literature of conflict studies by trying to uncover the relation between intervention and conflict transformation.
Islamism and islamic literature in contemporary Turkey: From epic to novel understandings of Islam
(Thesis (Ph.D.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering, 2004., 2004.) Çayır, Kenan.; Arat, Yeşim,
This study explores Islamism and Islamic identities through literary representations of Islamism in Turkey in the last two decades, a period in which Islamism came on the public agenda through novels, films, music and other artistic productions. My focus will be in particular on the Islamic novels of the 1980s and 1990s in order to elucidate Islamist actors' perceptions of 'self' and 'other' and of the social milieu in which they lived. I will note a change in emphasis in Islamic representations and discourse between the 1980s and 1990s. I will argue that with their didactic and pedagogical narratives detailing 'how Muslims should live in the modern world,' Islamic novels of 1980s provided Islamists with a means to disseminate ideas in popularized form and to develop life strategies that paved the way for assertive collective Islamic subjectivity. By contrast, in the 1990s more self-reflexive/self-exposing novels have emerged in Islamic circles that mirror the questioning of radical conceptions of the previous decade in Islamic circles. The new Islamic novels, with their self-reflexive forms and their narratives exploring the inner conflicts of Islamic actors in the face of changing social relations challenge the collective definitions of Islamic identity and signify novel practices and interpretations of Islam.
Labor resistance against neoliberal challenges to the traditional trade unionism in Turkey: 1986-1991
(Thesis (Ph.D.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2010., 2010.) Doğan, Mustafa Görkem.; Candaş, Ayşen.
It is a well established tendency to depict the aftermath of the military intervention of 1980 as an era devoid of any significant labor mobilization. This study aims to shed light on the last important cycle of protest led by the organized labor movement spanning from the mid eighties to the beginning of the nineties. This last process of mobilization contains two of the most noteworthy episodes of labor protest, spring actions and the great march of miners to be exact. These two instances from that overlooked era were usually accounted as spontaneous reactions to the deteriorating living conditions of the workers. This study claims that the second part of the eighties witnessed a protest cycle led by the unionized workers and the dynamics of the mobilization can be understood using the political process model of the social movements’ literature. It also argues that the main factor instigating the workers to act was a perceived assault on the moral economy of the industrial relations’ regime of Turkey, existing mostly in the public sector. This moral economy is constructed historically and in a mutual interaction between the state, workers and related political developments in three subsequent periods of the Turkish Republic. Firstly, the late thirties set the pattern of the state led industrialization and the ideological mainframe of the industrial relations; secondly the transition to multi-party politics also determined the circumstances of acceptable union activities and appropriate government responses and finally the introduction of import substitution enlarged the place of the organized labor within the political system. The neoliberal transformation implemented under the Özal administration targeted this moral economy among other things and trade unions mobilized in these circumstances creating one of the most illustrious moments of the Turkish labor history.
Migrants and the city: gentrification, ethnicity and class in a Berlin neighborhood
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2015., 2015.) Kadıoğlu Polat, Defne.; Yılmaz, Hakan.
The term gentrification has found its way into everyday vocabulary. However, neither in the academic nor in the non-academic community does there seem to be a consensus about what gentrification is, how and why it happens and what the consequences for local populations are. This thesis attempts to contribute to this debate by examining the relation between the gentrification of the working-class neighborhood Reuterquarter in Berlin, Neukölln and the social exclusion of immigrants from Turkey. It uses Henri Lefebvre’s sociology of space, particularly his notions of abstract and lived space, to understand why, how and with what effects on the local population Reuterquarter is gentrifying. Research is based on qualitative methods, combining field work in the form of 80 semistructured interviews to understand the repercussions of gentrification on the local populace and the analysis of secondary material such as newspaper articles, policy reports, websites and brochures to trace the evolution of this process. This dissertation firstly argues that research on gentrification must take into account both: economic and cultural change. Secondly, this work shows that the German state, despite its long welfare tradition, has played a pivotal role in Reuterquarter’s gentrification. Lastly, this study argues that gentrification’s consequences go beyond physical displacement and encompass effects such as overcrowding, emotional displacement and diversion to informal work. These effects can only be unraveled by research on the neighborhood-level, taking the experiences of residents into account.
Militarism, capitalism and the State: putting the military in its place in Turkey
(Thesis (Ph.D.)-Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering, 2006., 2006.) Akça, İsmet.; Parla, Taha,
This dissertation̕s overriding objectives are to theoretically come to terms with and toempirically expose the complex forms of articulation between militarism and capitalismin Turkey. Following a critical evaluation of theoretical approaches to the complex relationship among militarism, capitalism, and the state, it first lays out a nonreductionisttheory to analyze state-class relations, which is indispensable for theanalysis of the militarization of state forms. Drawing on Gramsci, Poulantzas, andJessop, I propose a Marxist theoretical framework which conceptualizes the state as a social relation, recognizes its constitutive impact on the formation of class relations, andwhich analyzes the class struggles through the concepts of hegemonic projects andaccumulation strategies. Secondly, I critically evaluate the prevailing state-centric modesof analysis of the state and the military in Turkey. Then, I focus on two phenomenal forms of articulation between militarism and capitalism. I analyze the militarization ofstate form through the case study of the May 27 Coup. I argue that the militarizationprocess was organically embedded in capitalist power relations. The militaryintervention was both constrained by and constitutive of capitalist class relations and capitalist hegemonic projects. Lastly, I analyze the militarization of the capitalisteconomy through a specific form of military-industrial complex whereby the militarybecomes an economic actor. Through the study of military capital (OYAK), I exposehow the military has historically become embedded in class power relations and accumulation strategies. I also underline the high military expenditures and war industryas a factor further accelerating the militarization of the economy.
One-party regime in Turkey and communications 1923-1946
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute of Social Sciences, 1984., 1984.) Öcal, Hakkı.
Post-cold war Turkish-Russian relations: the limits of competition and cooperation in Eurasia
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2012., 2012.) Kelkitli, Fatma Aslı.; Kut, Gün.
This dissertation examines post-Cold War Turkish-Russian relations in their political, economic and military aspects. The study, first of all, aims to shed light on the current nature and motives of the relationship, whether it is an example of genuine rapprochement based on common determination and willingness on both sides or a conjectural coupling which drew two states closer due to their discomfort and disappointment with some policies of other actors such as the EU and the USA. Secondly, the dissertation intends to find out to what extent the growing economic relations, especially Turkey’s energy dependence on Russia, contributes to the easing out of political tensions between the two countries. Lastly, the study explores whether the growing economic cooperation and intensifying political dialogue between Turkey and Russia can bring out common outlook and joint policy actions toward the resolution of the regional conflicts in the South Caucasus. The research based on an analysis of documents concerning the topic along with the in-depth interviews I have conducted with the representatives of the Turkish-Russian business associations and officials in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs demonstrates that Turkey and Russia have been engaged in a deliberate compromise which is strengthened by their ascending economic relations particularly by the increasing and diversifying collaboration in the energy field. However, consolidated economic ties and increasing contacts at the governmental as well as at business and people-to-people levels are not adequate to prevail over the competition and political divergence regarding Nagorno Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia issues in the South Caucasus.
Rethinking the political economy of contemporary water struggles in Turkey from a comparative perspective :|space, structures and agency
(Thesis (Ph.D.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2016., 2016.) Kavak, Sinem.; Eder, Mine,; Bastard, Benoit.
This dissertation examines role of political economy in contemporary agrarian mobilizations. By focusing on recent water struggles in Turkey against the run-ofthe- river hydropower plants (SHPs); the research digs into the societal and economic factors that enable or inhibit the emergence of strong mobilizations through a comparison of reactions against SHP projects in four localities of Eastern Black Sea region. The main logic behind the cross comparison is to find out if there is a relationship between the forms of rural livelihoods; mostly defined in terms of production, marketing, place in the general economic system, migration and viability of space; and political mobilization against SHP construction combined with the other possible reasons leading to an unrest and contention. The research revealed that prior transformation of the rural spaces affects the ways, means and discourses of the local struggles. I argue that spatio-economic transformation of the localities that unevenly transform rural settings in terms of production and consumption activities have impact on the patterns, discourses and agency in the contemporary ‘rural’ mobilizations. Therefore, the dissertation advocates for a need for theorization of contemporary agrarian mobilization from this perspective by putting the emphasis on the livelihood transformations, transformation and viability of space, commercialization of production and differentiation within the peasantry and the agency.

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