Articles by Huseyin Zengin
Third World Quarterly, 2023
This paper argues that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has instrumentalised the Turkish a... more This paper argues that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has instrumentalised the Turkish army by conducting military operations in the run-up to elections. Although ending military tutelage has been interpreted in other countries as a sign of the professionalisation of the army, in Turkey it has done the opposite: the civilianisation discourse and civilian hegemony over military institutions have led to the instrumentalisation of the army. I demonstrate that the number of military operations significantly increased in the lead-up to elections, which strongly indicates the extent of instrumentalisation. Previous studies have primarily focused on the army's praetorian role, neglecting the instrumentalisation process in which the military is engaged. This paper analyses the operational aspect of the army and introduces the concept of instrumentalisation. I contend that the cessation of military tutelage in Turkey has resulted in the securitisation of both society and politics. The failed coup in 2016, the double elections of 2015, and the heightened interest in the defence sector during election periods provide strong grounds for examining the instrumentalisation hypothesis.
Research & Politics, 2022
Naming and shaming has been widely used by governments and non-governmental organizations to addr... more Naming and shaming has been widely used by governments and non-governmental organizations to address human rights violations. Yet despite the prevalence of this foreign policy instrument, the question of when states publicly denounce norm-violators received relatively little scholarly attention. We examine this question in the context of China's repression of its Uyghur minority. This case offers a unique opportunity to study not only when countries engage in naming and shaming but also when they explicitly defend or endorse rights violations. We analyze the official positions of 174 countries between 2019 and 2021. We find that while geopolitical alignment is a significant predictor of both shaming and defending, a nation's strong trade links with China has a less straightforward effect. Similarly, while democracies are significantly less likely to defend China's Uyghur policy, they are not more likely to denounce it. We also find that identity-related factors have a muted effect. The paper advances our understanding of a broader spectrum of government behavior visa -vis human rights violations in other countries, and has implications for the role of identity in interstate shaming.
Democratization, 2021
Coups are forceful acts of removal staged against incumbent governments. Yet, the democratic coup... more Coups are forceful acts of removal staged against incumbent governments. Yet, the democratic coup hypothesis indicates the possibility of coup-led democratisation. Do coups really lead to democratisation? And if so, why do only some coups trigger a democratic transition? I analyse successful and failed coup events from 1950 to 2015 to address these questions, focusing on the mediating effects of domestic factors. The theoretical framework suggests that while successful coups lead to democratisation in wealthier countries, high levels of income and state capacity allow authoritarian-leaning leaders to autocratize the country following a failed coup attempt. These findings have broader implications for civil–military relations and the international community’s effect on military behaviour in post-coup settings.
Studies in Comparative International Development, 2021
Populism and nationalism have been described as major threats to democracy. But ambiguities linge... more Populism and nationalism have been described as major threats to democracy. But ambiguities linger over their conceptual boundaries and overlaps. This article develops a typology of nationalist narratives to historically situate the recent global rise of populist nationalism. Specifically, we identify three common types of historical experience with empire that have shaped contemporary expressions of nationalism by populist leaders: imperial power, where a nation's forerunner was the leading polity in a regional or global empire; imperial subject, where a nation was ruled and dominated by an imperial power, and imperial holdout, where a nation battled off imperial encroachments with relative success. Collective memories of these divergent imperial experiences are associated with three distinct types of nationalist narratives today: restorative nationalism in former imperial powers, redemptive nationalism in former imperial subjects, and retentive nationalism in former imperial holdouts. We illustrate this typology in three major cases of twenty-first-century populism: Turkey under Erdogan, the Philippines under Duterte, and Thailand under Thaksin. We tentatively contend that restorative nationalism is an especially likely conduit for greater political disruptions at home and abroad.
Turkish Studies, 2020
This article investigates the effects of populist discourse on leadership and state behavior at t... more This article investigates the effects of populist discourse on leadership and state behavior at the international level. From 2002 to 2013, Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) gradually consolidated its power, largely by deploying populist discourses and actions. However, after the party faced a number of challenges, including the Gezi protests, corruption allegations, and a failed coup, its populist rhetoric did not only begin to weaken but also seems to have created a problem of path dependency, which limited the decision-making capability at the hands of its leadership. By comparing the 2001-2002 and 2018-2019 economic crises based on the most-likely case research design, we assert that the AKP's discursive turn into anti-Western and anti-establishment politics pushed the party into a corner, making it less likely to collaborate with international organizations, such as the IMF and even private consulting companies despite the country's high inflation rates and currency depreciation.
New Perspectives On Turkey, 2019
This paper analyzes a hundred Turkish aid recipient countries in order to explore the determinant... more This paper analyzes a hundred Turkish aid recipient countries in order to explore the determinants of Turkey’s foreign aid behavior during the period 2005–2016. By estimating the model with the system-GMM estimator, it is demonstrated that Turkey is a regular donor whose amount of foreign aid is positively influenced by the export-based embeddedness of Turkish firms in the recipient countries. Recipients with low levels of per-capita income attract more Turkish aid. However, this income’s effect diminishes in states that were formerly part of Ottoman territory. Recipient countries in an aid relationship with OECD-DAC members also receive more foreign aid from Turkey. In addition, Turkey disburses more foreign aid to recipient countries that can be classified as Turkic republics. Turkish foreign aid behavior is also motivated by Ottomanism, especially in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Finally, and interestingly, although Islam has a considerable impact on attracting Turkish aid overall, this impact disappears in former Ottoman states and Turkic republics.
Social Science Information, 2019
Despite the growing literature that adapts the Italian thinker Giorgio Agamben’s theory of sovere... more Despite the growing literature that adapts the Italian thinker Giorgio Agamben’s theory of sovereignty to the analysis of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) increasing authoritarian politics in Turkey, this article draws attention to the theoretical pitfalls of this tendency and argues that these studies mostly fall into the trap of mistaking the consolidation of populist power with the establishment of sovereignty. Utilising the AKP’s biopolitical agenda over Syrian refugees fleeing to Turkey as a case study, we attempt to realize a theoretical twist and offer to read Agamben backwards; that is to say, instead of starting with the assumption that the AKP has established sovereignty in the country, we question whether the party is indeed able to perform a consistent type of biopolitics over the Syrian refugees that would suggest the existence of such sovereignty in the first place. Consequently, our analysis reveals that it is not an Agambenian ‘state of exception’ established by the AKP leadership in Turkey that makes recent Turkish politics look more authoritarian than ever; instead, what we witness is a continuation of a strong state tradition inherited from Turkey’s founding Kemalist era that still determines the boundaries of state–society relations in the country.
Rising Powers Quarterly, 2016
Since the end of World War II, the infamous structure-agent problem in studies of International R... more Since the end of World War II, the infamous structure-agent problem in studies of International Relations has perhaps never been as complicated and multi-dimensional as it is today. The popular phenomenon of the emerging middle powers (EMPs) has led to further conflicts—particularly in investigating the agent dimension. EMPs have also presented a new challenge to the conventional theoretical attempts. Employing a Bourdieusian understanding of structuration, this study aims to reveal the gap between theoretical expectations from and practical limitations of EMPs. The three chosen cases concern Turkey's increasing foreign assistance, its mediation in Iran's nuclear swap deal, and its involvement in the Syrian civil war. Selecting these cases has implications and affects projections for an EMP's policy-makers with regard to discourse and actions within a boundary that the structure has plotted to halt other agents' potential threats against the international system's functioning. The distinction between high-politics and low-politics is also highlighted here as an important factor that determines the limits and positioning of EMPs in the international order.
Öneri, 2017
Öz Bu çalışma, Sanayi Devrimi olgusunu devlet ve birey düzeyinde Osmanlı Devleti ve İngiltere kar... more Öz Bu çalışma, Sanayi Devrimi olgusunu devlet ve birey düzeyinde Osmanlı Devleti ve İngiltere kar-şılaştırması yaparak ele almaktadır. Karşılaştırma çalışmanın İslam tasavvufunu da içermesi sebebiyle 11. yüzyıla dek uzanmaktadır. Üzerinde durduğumuz merkantilizm, iktisadî zihniyet, tasavvuf ve eko-nomi, provizyonizm, sermaye birikimi gibi kavramlar iki ülkenin ekonomik olarak farklılaşmasını açıklamak için kullanılmıştır. Osmanlı Devleti'nde neden Sanayi Devrimi gibi bir ekonomik atılım gerçekleşmediği sorusunu esas itibariyle sermaye birikiminin belli başlı bazı sebeplerle oluşamaması ve sahip olunan tasavvufî iktisadî zihniyetin ve iktisat-dışı insan tipolojisinin Sanayi Devrimi için ge-rekli ticarî ve finansal yetkinliği besleyememesi bağlamında, değişkenlerimizi devlet ve birey düze-yinde temellendirerek cevaplamaya çalıştık. Diğer bir deyişle, birey ve devlet kalkınma için birbirini etkileyen ve dönüştürebilen iki değişken olarak ele alınacaktır. Abstract This study focuses on the Industrial Revolution phenomena through a comparison between En-gland and the Ottoman State on both state and individual levels of analysis. The comparison dates back to 11 th century due to the study's inclusion of Islamic sufism. Mercantilism, economic mentality, sufism and economy, provisionism, and capital accumulation are among the notions used to explain
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been central for the contemporary Turkish history due... more The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been central for the contemporary Turkish history due to the its novel domestic identity grounded on the moderate Islamism, and an assertive, autonomous foreign policy, beyond the Western axis. For more than a decade, Turkey developed an active agenda as an emerging middle power, thus opening new spaces and increasing its presence in global political economy forums such as G-20. Until recently, Ankara tried to generate a non-turbulent regional environment to boost its political, economic and cultural relations with the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans. At the same time, Turkey started developing particular strategies for new regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. These spaces were chosen mainly to expand global influence and presence, and pursuit market diversification through the creation of official representations, high-rank visits, and commercial initiatives. This paper attempts to bring some arguments about the sources of Ankara’s diplomatic opening toward these regions in the age of the emerging middle powers, while, at the same time, comparing the similarities and differences of the opening’s process and outcomes in both regional spaces.
Book Chapters by Huseyin Zengin
Papers by Huseyin Zengin
Democratization
Coups are forceful acts of removal staged against incumbent governments. Yet, the democratic coup... more Coups are forceful acts of removal staged against incumbent governments. Yet, the democratic coup hypothesis indicates the possibility of coup-led democratisation. Do coups really lead to democratisation? And if so, why do only some coups trigger a democratic transition? I analyse successful and failed coup events from 1950 to 2015 to address these questions, focusing on the mediating effects of domestic factors. The theoretical framework suggests that while successful coups lead to democratisation in wealthier countries, high levels of income and state capacity allow authoritarian-leaning leaders to autocratize the country following a failed coup attempt. These findings have broader implications for civil–military relations and the international community’s effect on military behaviour in post-coup settings.
Studies in Comparative International Development, 2021
Populism and nationalism have been described as major threats to democracy. But ambiguities linge... more Populism and nationalism have been described as major threats to democracy. But ambiguities linger over their conceptual boundaries and overlaps. This article develops a typology of nationalist narratives to historically situate the recent global rise of populist nationalism. Specifically, we identify three common types of historical experience with empire that have shaped contemporary expressions of nationalism by populist leaders: imperial power, where a nation’s forerunner was the leading polity in a regional or global empire; imperial subject, where a nation was ruled and dominated by an imperial power, and imperial holdout, where a nation battled off imperial encroachments with relative success. Collective memories of these divergent imperial experiences are associated with three distinct types of nationalist narratives today: restorative nationalism in former imperial powers, redemptive nationalism in former imperial subjects, and retentive nationalism in former imperial holdouts. We illustrate this typology in three major cases of twenty-first-century populism: Turkey under Erdogan, the Philippines under Duterte, and Thailand under Thaksin. We tentatively contend that restorative nationalism is an especially likely conduit for greater political disruptions at home and abroad.
New Perspectives on Turkey, 2019
This paper analyzes a hundred Turkish aid recipient countries in order to explore the determinant... more This paper analyzes a hundred Turkish aid recipient countries in order to explore the determinants of Turkey’s foreign aid behavior during the period 2005–2016. By estimating the model with the system-GMM estimator, it is demonstrated that Turkey is a regular donor whose amount of foreign aid is positively influenced by the export-based embeddedness of Turkish firms in the recipient countries. Recipients with low levels of per-capita income attract more Turkish aid. However, this income’s effect diminishes in states that were formerly part of Ottoman territory. Recipient countries in an aid relationship with OECD-DAC members also receive more foreign aid from Turkey. In addition, Turkey disburses more foreign aid to recipient countries that can be classified as Turkic republics. Turkish foreign aid behavior is also motivated by Ottomanism, especially in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Finally, and interestingly, although Islam has a considerable impact on attracting Turkish aid over...
Öneri Dergisi, 2017
Bu çalışma, Sanayi Devrimi olgusunu devlet ve birey düzeyinde Osmanlı Devleti ve İngiltere karşıl... more Bu çalışma, Sanayi Devrimi olgusunu devlet ve birey düzeyinde Osmanlı Devleti ve İngiltere karşılaştırması yaparak ele almaktadır. Karşılaştırma çalışmanın İslam tasavvufunu da içermesi sebebiyle 11. yüzyıla dek uzanmaktadır. Üzerinde durduğumuz merkantilizm, iktisadî zihniyet, tasavvuf ve ekonomi, provizyonizm, sermaye birikimi gibi kavramlar iki ülkenin ekonomik olarak farklılaşmasını açıklamak için kullanılmıştır. Osmanlı Devleti'nde neden Sanayi Devrimi gibi bir ekonomik atılım gerçekleşmediği sorusunu esas itibariyle sermaye birikiminin belli başlı bazı sebeplerle oluşamaması ve sahip olunan tasavvufî iktisadî zihniyetin ve iktisat-dışı insan tipolojisinin Sanayi Devrimi için gerekli ticarî ve finansal yetkinliği besleyememesi bağlamında, değişkenlerimizi devlet ve birey düzeyinde temellendirerek cevaplamaya çalıştık. Diğer bir deyişle, birey ve devlet kalkınma için birbirini etkileyen ve dönüştürebilen iki değişken olarak ele alınacaktır.
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Articles by Huseyin Zengin
Book Chapters by Huseyin Zengin
Papers by Huseyin Zengin