Abstract ▼

State identity not only defines how elite decision-makers, as well as the informed public, identify their governmental affiliation but also informs the actions of the policymakers in the conduct of their foreign policy. There are numerous studies dealing with the role of ideas, identity and norms in international relations by scholars belonging to the constructivist school of thought in International Relations Theory. This study purports to offer such a constructivist analysis of Turkish foreign policy behaviour based on the gradual change of Kemalist state identity from a secular Western-oriented identity to that of a religious-based affiliation under the current Justice and Development Party (2002-2020). While realist variables are significant for explicating major events of Republican Turkey, such as its alignment with the United States after World War II, Turkey’s policy decisions towards Cyprus and the Turkic republics of the former Soviet Union cannot be explained by purely materialist factors. For an adequate understanding of these policies, we need to resort to analytical eclecticism employing both realist and constructivist variables for a more sophisticated analysis of Turkey’s foreign relations. When it comes to the JDP government, however, constructivist variables trump realist explanations as Turkish foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, has been clouded and shaped by an Islamically-framed Weltanschauung.

Abstract ▼

The main aim of the paper is to analyse France’s position in a global and regional geopolitical context. That also means in EU affairs related to enlargement policy and views about the Western Balkans and North Macedonia. The European Union is modelled on the spread of democratic values and economic benefits for the members. Also, the EU has recently developed sustainable neighbourly policies. Nevertheless, recent events like Brexit, misunderstandings within the Union, and the enlargement process blockade led to deconstructive processes and opened up new dilemmas that require comprehensive scientific analysis. The paper aims to analyse France geopolitically and its influence on the Western Balkans and the EU enlargement policy. The changing methodology of the EU approaching stopped North Macedonia and Albania in 2019. We will try to research and provide a solution for North Macedonia, considering the new aspect of its foreign policy and France’s possible role in that process. From a theoretical point of view, this paper is based on critical geopolitics, i.e., a practical geopolitical approach. Primarily, the authors used articles and online data as a source of analysis.

Abstract ▼

The cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries aims to promote both the development of China-EU relations and the construction of the “Belt and Road”, and has gone through various development periods such as the initiation period, the golden period and the deep-water period. During different historical periods, China and Central and Eastern European countries have made positive progress in cooperation, but as the internal and external pressure increases, there is the need to further tap into the potential of bilateral cooperation. By releasing comprehensive reforms China has to free itself for more development benefits, while maintaining good China-EU relations and deepening practical cooperation in various fields, addressing in a timely manner the challenges and problems cooperation faces and promoting cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries in order to achieve long-term, stable and sustainable development.

Abstract ▼

The political situation in Spain, after the failed attempt of a unilateral declaration of the independence of Catalonia, has become the subject of study by the scientific and professional public throughout Europe and the world. The strained political relations between official Madrid and Catalonia have reached their peak in the last few years, which leads us to the conclusion that the Spanish state is in a political crisis. In this paper, we will examine the potential sources of this crisis, which may include the crisis of the regional model of the state, the future of the monarchy, the crisis of Spanish identity, separatism in Catalonia and the Basque Country, the rise of the far-left and far-right, and other factors that may further induce political crisis (such as the economic and demographic situation). In conclusion, we will propose the improvement of the regional state as a solution (as opposed to the proposals on the federalization of Spain), as well as the abandonment of radical strategies wherever they come from.