The ISTIAS team participated in the Third INTPOLSEC International Security Conference
Security in the Changing Global Politics
The ISTIAS team participated in the Third INTPOLSEC International Security Conference on May 29-30, 2024, which featured a dedicated session on the South Caucasus. The special session centered on analyzing the regional dynamics in the South Caucasus, with a particular focus on the Second Karabakh War. The discussion encompassed a diverse range of considerations, incorporating political, economic, and legal dimensions.
Rebuilding a Syrian Nation and State After Civil War: Prospects and Challenges
13 December 2024
By Cenap Çakmak and Murat UstaoÄŸlu
On an unexpected full-scale move, major armed groups that claimed to be legitimate opposition were able to topple the long-standing Assad regime and take political control in the country within a strikingly short period of time. There is cautious optimism both among the Syrians, particularly those who have been brutalized under the previous regime, as well as within the international community. Many questions remain to be addressed, including as to how the state and nation should be rebuilt, whether radicalism and extremism will reign in the future of the country, and whether political stability will ever be maintained. Any analysis that claims to offer insights into the new state of affairs in the country needs to acknowledge the fact that there are a vast number of uncertainties, particularly in terms of the composition of the opposition forces, their true intentions and of whether their rule will be endorsed by the regional powers, international institutions and the large segments of the Syrian society. The authors, hoping to contribute to the potential discussions on these major questions, summarize their findings that they believe are relevant to the ongoing process, based on a comprehensive research study they conducted during the initial years of the Syrian uprisings, with the participation of political and social opposition groups....
The feud between the US and China has seen multiple highs and lows; the sentiment of being anti-communist (which usually means anti-Russian and Chinese) is embedded within the American government identity, and the fight against it has never stopped. In a post-WWII world, proxy wars have set the trend for nations to protect their interests and security, as opposed to wars that completely drain states of all their resources. For major powers, spreading influence has always been a main objective with different dimensions, whether cultural, technological, economic, political, or environmental, which we will probably see more of in the future. China is fiercely challenging the US, which remains the reigning hegemon and superpower in various aspects. The upcoming AI revolution contributes to the growing polarization between the US and China, as the latter has access to raw materials such as gallium and germanium, and holds half of the world's supply of rare minerals.Meanwhile, the US retains the blueprint for key technologies such as microchips and semiconductors. If China fails to procure these materials, it runs the risk of falling behind.
Notwithstanding the plethora of instances that positively illuminate the labor market, the agenda is occupied with pessimistic expectations for the near future. The cartoon that appeared on the October 2017 cover of The New Yorker magazine depicts humanoid robots traveling to work and presenting alms to a beggar. This particular cartoon effectively illustrates certain concerns that occupy the human mind regarding this subject. A comprehensive analysis of the relationship between human and machine labor, as well as the manner in which workers engage with sophisticated production machinery, is published in the same issue of the magazine. An analysis is conducted to determine the effects of actively implementing contemporary automation technologies in the manufacturing process. Additionally, the potential ramifications of technological advancements on the labor market are assessed (De Stefano, 2019). These analyses, which were carried out just prior to the advent of AI as a paradigm shift in technology, suggest apprehensions regarding the imminent consequences of technological advancements on the labor market.
Both the development of Kelsen's political beliefs and the influences of the political milieu of his day can be observed in his writings on the nature and importance of democracy. Despite not being a political theorist, Kelsen was careful to keep his legal philosophy intact within the political framework, which allowed him to present a cohesive approach in this work. In a book that focuses on the nature and value of democracy, Kelsen actually emphasized and defended the normative principles and features of the constitutional order against the possible implications of his identity as a positivist jurist. In doing so, Kelsen also made an effort to uphold the principles of the purity of law theory while addressing and elucidating the politics of the law. Indeed, Kelsen's method shows that his concept of the "purity" of the legal system has to do with enhancing its political responsibility and activity. To put it another way, Kelsen argues that democracy and the integrity of the law as expressions of political will do not necessarily have to conflict with one another; rather, they frequently do so and even strengthen one another while remaining independent.
The Significance of Education in the Context of Poverty and Migration Movements
8 March 2024
By Murat Ä°stekli
Complex and multifaceted is the relationship between migration movements, which involve the movement of people from one location to another, either domestically or internationally, and poverty, which is defined as the insufficiency of resources required to satisfy fundamental needs. There are several crucial factors to contemplate in order to attain a more comprehensive understanding of this relationship. Access to education, health care, housing, sustenance, and other fundamental necessities is also impacted by poverty. Both "push" factors, which represent unfavorable circumstances for countries of origin, and "pull" factors, which represent favourable circumstances for countries of destination, exert an influence on global migration movements. Access to education, improved employment prospects, elevated standards of living, and social opportunities are all appealing attributes for countries of destination. Along with the aforementioned sub-reasons, poverty, which is an example of the driving factors in the starting point countries, is the most important reason why people pursue better living conditions and opportunities elsewhere.
Comparing/
Contrasting Roles and Functions of the Parliament in Different Types of Government
8 February 2024
By Cenap Çakmak
This article compares and contrasts the role of parliament as a legislative body in parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential governance systems. To that end, it first identifies the general roles that a legislative body is expected to play in a functioning democracy, referring to the principle of separation of powers and how such roles are described in the text of a specific constitution.The paper then situates the parliament and its activities within the context of the operation of political regimes and administration in the three types of government, with the goal of emphasizing the overlaps between these regimes in terms of the functions that the parliament performs. The paper's overall discussion then moves on to an elaboration of the differences in how the parliament interacts with other bodies, i.e., the executive and judicial branches, under various types of political systems, in order to gain a better understanding of the nature of the relationship between the parliament and other state organs. Finally, the paper discusses the findings to highlight the differences and similarities between the parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems, with a focus on the role of parliament and its relationship with the other major bodies of the constitutional structure.
Wage Structure and Inflation-Wage Relationship in Turkey
24 January 2024
By BüÅŸra Çil
The Turkish economy's structural features amplify the impact of wage increases on economic balance. In Turkey, minimum wage earners constitute around 40% of the workforce, a much higher percentage than in European countries. The large number of workers earning minimum wage is a concern for both employers and employees. Furthermore, wage increases are a crucial factor in inflation, which is the most significant issue facing the Turkish economy in the short term. Wage levels have a positive impact on price movements through demand and supply channels. Therefore, the rate of increase in the minimum wage is closely monitored by all segments of society except for employers and employees. Analyzing the relationship between the wage structure and indicators such as inflation in Turkey is one of the factors that facilitates the predictability of the economy in the short and medium term.
Containment
Policy of the United States
23 November 2023
By Zehra Korkmaz-Kökdere
The policy of containment was one of the two ways in which the United States was able to demonstrate and even use its power during the Cold War against the threat of the Soviet Union. While the first of these power strategies was nuclear deterrence, which was based on the country's military power as well as the political, psychological, and perceptual dimensions of power, the second power strategy developed during this period was containment. In this article, the focus will be on analyzing and understanding the main components of the containment policy by showing the strategies developed by the US during the Cold War. In doing so, it would be possible to explain the foreign policy attitudes of the US during this period, which were mainly derived from the speeches of George Kennan, who could be considered as the founding father of this policy.
