Arama Sonuçları

Listeleniyor 1 - 5 / 5
  • Yayın
    Al-Qaida, 'war on terror' and Turkey
    (Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2007) Aras, Bülent; Toktaş, Şule
    The new wave of international terrorism gained strength in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, threatening not only the USA and its allies but also, as seen in the latest incidents, a significant part of the world. Continuing al-Qaida attacks signify the vulnerability and weakness of defence, security and intelligence systems in the face of the new international terror. The terror network has created an image of a postmodern virtual state. We argue that it has been shaped by a common ideology rather than in physical terms. Thus it is necessary to develop novel approaches. In this article we discuss Turkey's struggle against the new terror, underlining the fact that it is a Muslim majority state and has lively and dynamic Islamic traditions and different shades of Islamic belief. This situation makes the discussion more interesting, focusing on the position, perception, difficulties and struggle of a Muslim state with a democratic and secular mode of government vis-a-vis an allegedly Islam-inspired international terror network. There is an urgent need to develop an international terror strategy to counter terror attacks against Turkey, Britain, Egypt and others. We underscore the vital requirement of reconciling the macro-schemes and priorities of the global 'war on terror' with the national conditions and needs of the other countries involved in the struggle against the terror network.
  • Yayın
    Turkey and the Middle East: frontiers of the new geographic imagination
    (Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis LTD, 2007-12) Aras, Bülent; Karakaya Polat, Rabia
    [No abstract available]
  • Yayın
    Afghanistan's security: Political process, state-building and narcotics
    (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008-06) Aras, Bülent; Toktaş, Şule
    Establishing political authority and constructing a state instrument would increase trust, which would contribute to stability.1 The lack of political institutions necessary for stability encourages the interference of individuals and groups with "special" interests, at both the state and societal levels.2 Stability is not only a prerequisite for the development of the political process and security within the country; it is also a risk to security, as it would require the involvement of groups and factors in the political process that might hinder security itself. [...] in a setting where fierce security measures are needed, running security operations without supplying adequate security personnel and munitions is an absolute risk.48 CONCLUSION The long-term objective for Afghanistan is to strengthen the state structurally and to set mechanisms in place that would prevent it from working only for narrow or factional interests.
  • Yayın
    Azerbaijan's Far Eastern orientation and South Korea
    (Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2009-09) Aras, Bülent; Yılmaz, Reha
    This paper focuses on Azerbaijan's outreach toward East Asian countries and its relationship with South Korea. Despite their geographical distance from Azerbaijan, countries in the Far East, especially China, Japan, and South Korea, have demonstrated an interest in engagement and explored potential avenues of cooperation. Azerbaijan established support for its political priorities and for its stance on the Karabakh issue as prerequisites and confidence-building measures for potential investors. East Asian states easily fulfilled these two criteria, due to their geographical and ideological distance from the political dynamics of the Caucasus. South Korea showed a genuine concern for Azerbaijan's national interests and problems and played a key role in its economic development. While South Korea was a latecomer, mutual political trust and fruitful economic relations were quickly established. The Azeri administration has entrusted South Korean public and private investors with many significant current and future projects in the oil-and non-oil-related fields. This paper concludes that these projects are indicators of the central role that South Korea will play in Azerbaijan's future.
  • Yayın
    Dances with wolves: Russia, Iran and the nuclear issue
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2006-12) Aras, Bülent; Özbay, Fatih
    The Iran-Iraq War, combined with escalating tension with the United States, paved the way in Iranian security circles to new ideas on obtaining nuclear weapons to defend Iran in a hostile regional and international environment. Whether for peaceful nuclear purposes or for producing nuclear weapons, there was a desperate need for external support to pursue a nuclear program. Russian experts spent an initial three months at the site planning how to finish the nuclear plant and placing new reactors in it.3 Under this deal, Russia agreed to educate 20 to 30 Iranian experts in nuclear science at Russian institutes and promised to provide technological and scientific assistance and supply three light-water reactors (1000 MW each) to the nuclear plant.