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‘Global’ IR and Self-Reflections in Turkey: Methodology, Data Collection, and Data Repository

Year 2022, , 123 - 142, 19.01.2022
https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.1032115

Abstract

This article covers the disciplinary debates on ‘global’ IR and the self-reflections of IR scholars about the state of the discipline in Turkey. It argues that high quality methodological training can contribute to overcoming the dissatisfaction felt by scholars of IR in Turkey. It suggests that inclusion of IR knowledge produced in the non-core into the ‘Global’ pool can be achieved through local ‘revolutions’, and that the potential for progress in this direction lies in methodological improvement and data-collection projects. The article offers three exemplary data projects to crystalize the argument: the Social Sciences Data Repository, the Global Security Database (GloSec) and the Global Risk Assessment Dataset (GRAD). These projects aim to: disseminate data-based research and encourage data sharing among scholars in Turkey, train prospective IR scholars to produce research based on clear, replicable, and rigorous methodology in Turkey, encourage graduate students in Turkish universities to have a global scholarly outreach and talk to the global scholarly community, and contribute to IR scholarship with these local pedagogical and academic experiences. Two separate groups of researchers composed of graduate students from various universities across Turkey are trained in the ways of research design, the fundamentals of data collection, and writing research papers based on rigorous methodological design, data, and replicable findings. Thus, the paper not only discusses the diagnoses in the literature regarding the shortcomings of the International Relations discipline in Turkey, but also offers concrete directions for a potential treatment.

References

  • Acharya, Amitav. “Advancing Global IR: Challenges, Contentions, and Contributions.” International Studies Review 18, no. 1 (2016): 4–15.
  • ———. “Global International Relations (IR) and Regional Worlds.” International Studies Quarterly 58, no. 4 (2014): 647–59.
  • Acharya, Amitav, and Barry Buzan. Non-Western International Relations Theory: Perspectives on and Beyond Asia. London: Routledge, 2010.
  • Aktürk, Şener. “Temporal Horizons in the Study of Turkish Politics: Prevalence of Non-Causal Description and Seemingly ‘Global Warming’ Type of Causality.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 117–33.
  • Anderl, Felix, and Antonia Witt. “Problematising the Global in Global IR.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 49, no. 1 (2020): 32–57.
  • Aydinli, Ersel. “Methodological Poverty and Disciplinary Underdevelopment in IR.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (January 22, 2019): 109–15.
  • Aydinli, Ersel. “Methodology as a Lingua Franca in International Relations: Peripheral Self-Reflections on Dialogue with the Core.” The Chinese Journal of International Politics 13, no. 2 (2020): 287–312.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, Erol Kurubaş, and Haluk Özdemir. Yöntem, kuram, komplo: Türk uluslararası ilişkiler disiplininde vizyon arayışları. Istanbul: Kure Yayınları, 2015.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, and Gonca Biltekin. “Time to Quantify Turkey’s Foreign Affairs: Setting Quality Standards for a Maturing International Relations Discipline.” International Studies Perspectives 18, no. 3 (2017): 267–87.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, and Julie Mathews. “Are the Core and Periphery Irreconcilable? The Curious World of Publishing in Contemporary International Relations.” International Studies Perspectives 1, no. 3 (2000): 289–303.
  • ———. “Periphery Theorising for a Truly Internationalised Discipline: Spinning IR Theory out of Anatolia.” Review of International Studies 34, no. 4 (2008): 693–712.
  • ———. “Turkey: Towards Homegrown Theorizing and Building a Disciplinary Community.” In International Relations Scholarship Around the World, edited by Arlene B. Tickner, 208–22. London: Routledge, 2009.
  • ———. “Türkiye uluslararası ilişkiler disiplininde özgün kuram potansiyeli: Anadolu ekolünü oluşturmak mümkün mü?” Uluslararasi Iliskiler 5, no. 17 (2008): 161–87.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, Mustafa Aydın, Emre Baran, Andrey Makarychev, Karen Smith, Ramazan Gözen, Pınar İpek, et al. “Roundtable Discussion on Homegrown Theorizing.” All Azimuth 7, no. 2 (2018): 101–14.
  • Aydın-Düzgit, Senem, and Bahar Rumelili. “Discourse Analysis: Strengths and Shortcomings.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 285–305.
  • Bezci, Egemen. “Secrecy and the Study of International History: Missing Dimension in Turkish Foreign Policy.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 327–38.
  • Bilgin, Pinar. “‘Contrapuntal Reading’ as a Method, an Ethos, and a Metaphor for Global IR.” International Studies Review 18, no. 1 (2016): 134–46.
  • ———. “How to Remedy Eurocentrism in IR? A Complement and a Challenge for The Global Transformation.” International Theory 8, no. 3 (2016): 492–501.
  • ———. “Looking for ‘the International’ beyond the West.” Third World Quarterly 31, no. 5 (2010): 817–28.
  • ———. “The International Political ‘Sociology of a Not So International Discipline.’” International Political Sociology 3, no. 3 (2009): 338–42.
  • ———. “Thinking Past ‘Western’ IR?” Third World Quarterly 29, no. 1 (2008): 5–23.
  • Fisunoğlu, Ali. “System Dynamics Modeling in International Relations.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 231–53.
  • Hatipoğlu, Emre, Osman Zeki Gökçe, İnanç Arın, and Yücel Saygın. “Automated Text Analysis and International Relations: The Introduction and Application of a Novel Technique for Twitter.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 183–204.
  • Hobson, John M. “Is Critical Theory Always for the White West and for Western Imperialism? Beyond Westphilian towards a Post-Racist Critical IR.” Review of International Studies 33, no. S1 (2007): 91–116.
  • ———. The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics. The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
  • Hoffmann, Stanley. “An American Social Science: International Relations.” Daedalus 106 (2019): 41–60.
  • Jackson, Patrick Thaddeus. The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations: Philosophy of Science and Its Implications for the Study of World Politics. New York: Routledge, 2011.
  • Jorgensen, Knud Erik. “Would 100 Global Workshops on Theory Building Make A Difference?” All Azimuth 7, no. 2 (2017): 41–58.
  • Kaliber, Alper. “Reflecting on the Reflectivist Approach to Qualitative Interviewing.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 339–57.
  • Köstem, Seçkin. “International Relations Theories and Turkish International Relations: Observations Based on a Book.” All Azimuth 4, no. 1 (2015): 59–66.
  • Maliniak, Daniel, Susan Peterson, Ryan Powers, and Michael J. Tierney. “Is International Relations a Global Discipline? Hegemony, Insularity, and Diversity in the Field.” Security Studies 27, no. 3 (2018): 448–84.
  • Özdamar, Özgür. “An Application of Expected Utility Modeling and Game Theory in IR: Assessment of International Bargaining on Iran’s Nuclear Program.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 205–30.
  • Palabıyık, Mustafa Serdar. “Broadening the Horizons of the ‘International’ by Historicizing It: Comparative Historical Analysis.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 307–25.
  • Palmer, Norman D. “The Study of International Relations in the United States: Perspectives of Half a Century.” International Studies Quarterly 24, no. 3 (1980): 343–63.
  • Şan-Akca, Belgin. “Large-N Analysis in the Study of Conflict.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 135–56.
  • Smith, Steve. “The Discipline of International Relations: Still an American Social Science?” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 2, no. 3 (2000): 374–402.
  • Strange, Susan. “1995 Presidential Address ISA as a Microcosm.” International Studies Quarterly 39, no. 3 (1995): 289.
  • Sula, İsmail Erkam. “An Eclectic Methodological Approach in Analyzing Foreign Policy: Turkey’s Foreign Policy Roles and Events Dataset (TFPRED).” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 255–83.
  • ———. “Güvenlikleştirme kuramında ‘söz edim’ ve ‘pratikler’: Türkçe güvenlikleştirme yazınında ‘yöntem’ arayışı [‘Speech Acts’ and ‘Practices’ in Securitization Studies: A Search for ‘Methods’ in Turkish Securitization Literature].” Güvenlik Stratejileri Dergisi 17 (2021): 85-118.
  • Tickner, Arlene. “Seeing IR Differently: Notes from the Third World.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 32, no. 2 (2003): 295–324.
  • Tickner, Arlene B., and Ole Waever, eds. International Relations Scholarship around the World. London: Routledge, 2009.
  • Travlos, Konstantinos. “Mobilization Follies in International Relations: A Multimethod Exploration of Why Some Decision Makers Fail to Avoid War When Public Mobilization as a Bargaining Tool Fails.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 359–85.
  • Ünver, H. Akın. “Computational International Relations What Can Programming, Coding and Internet Research Do for the Discipline?” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 157–82.
  • Vasilaki, Rosa. “Provincialising IR? Deadlocks and Prospects in Post-Western IR Theory.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 41, no. 1 (2012): 3–22.
  • Waever, Ole. “The Sociology of a Not So International Discipline : American and European Developments in International Relations.” International Organization 52, no. 4 (1998): 687–727.
  • Yong-Soo, Eun. “Global IR through Dialogue.” The Pacific Review 32, no. 2 (2019): 131–49.
Year 2022, , 123 - 142, 19.01.2022
https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.1032115

Abstract

References

  • Acharya, Amitav. “Advancing Global IR: Challenges, Contentions, and Contributions.” International Studies Review 18, no. 1 (2016): 4–15.
  • ———. “Global International Relations (IR) and Regional Worlds.” International Studies Quarterly 58, no. 4 (2014): 647–59.
  • Acharya, Amitav, and Barry Buzan. Non-Western International Relations Theory: Perspectives on and Beyond Asia. London: Routledge, 2010.
  • Aktürk, Şener. “Temporal Horizons in the Study of Turkish Politics: Prevalence of Non-Causal Description and Seemingly ‘Global Warming’ Type of Causality.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 117–33.
  • Anderl, Felix, and Antonia Witt. “Problematising the Global in Global IR.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 49, no. 1 (2020): 32–57.
  • Aydinli, Ersel. “Methodological Poverty and Disciplinary Underdevelopment in IR.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (January 22, 2019): 109–15.
  • Aydinli, Ersel. “Methodology as a Lingua Franca in International Relations: Peripheral Self-Reflections on Dialogue with the Core.” The Chinese Journal of International Politics 13, no. 2 (2020): 287–312.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, Erol Kurubaş, and Haluk Özdemir. Yöntem, kuram, komplo: Türk uluslararası ilişkiler disiplininde vizyon arayışları. Istanbul: Kure Yayınları, 2015.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, and Gonca Biltekin. “Time to Quantify Turkey’s Foreign Affairs: Setting Quality Standards for a Maturing International Relations Discipline.” International Studies Perspectives 18, no. 3 (2017): 267–87.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, and Julie Mathews. “Are the Core and Periphery Irreconcilable? The Curious World of Publishing in Contemporary International Relations.” International Studies Perspectives 1, no. 3 (2000): 289–303.
  • ———. “Periphery Theorising for a Truly Internationalised Discipline: Spinning IR Theory out of Anatolia.” Review of International Studies 34, no. 4 (2008): 693–712.
  • ———. “Turkey: Towards Homegrown Theorizing and Building a Disciplinary Community.” In International Relations Scholarship Around the World, edited by Arlene B. Tickner, 208–22. London: Routledge, 2009.
  • ———. “Türkiye uluslararası ilişkiler disiplininde özgün kuram potansiyeli: Anadolu ekolünü oluşturmak mümkün mü?” Uluslararasi Iliskiler 5, no. 17 (2008): 161–87.
  • Aydinli, Ersel, Mustafa Aydın, Emre Baran, Andrey Makarychev, Karen Smith, Ramazan Gözen, Pınar İpek, et al. “Roundtable Discussion on Homegrown Theorizing.” All Azimuth 7, no. 2 (2018): 101–14.
  • Aydın-Düzgit, Senem, and Bahar Rumelili. “Discourse Analysis: Strengths and Shortcomings.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 285–305.
  • Bezci, Egemen. “Secrecy and the Study of International History: Missing Dimension in Turkish Foreign Policy.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 327–38.
  • Bilgin, Pinar. “‘Contrapuntal Reading’ as a Method, an Ethos, and a Metaphor for Global IR.” International Studies Review 18, no. 1 (2016): 134–46.
  • ———. “How to Remedy Eurocentrism in IR? A Complement and a Challenge for The Global Transformation.” International Theory 8, no. 3 (2016): 492–501.
  • ———. “Looking for ‘the International’ beyond the West.” Third World Quarterly 31, no. 5 (2010): 817–28.
  • ———. “The International Political ‘Sociology of a Not So International Discipline.’” International Political Sociology 3, no. 3 (2009): 338–42.
  • ———. “Thinking Past ‘Western’ IR?” Third World Quarterly 29, no. 1 (2008): 5–23.
  • Fisunoğlu, Ali. “System Dynamics Modeling in International Relations.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 231–53.
  • Hatipoğlu, Emre, Osman Zeki Gökçe, İnanç Arın, and Yücel Saygın. “Automated Text Analysis and International Relations: The Introduction and Application of a Novel Technique for Twitter.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 183–204.
  • Hobson, John M. “Is Critical Theory Always for the White West and for Western Imperialism? Beyond Westphilian towards a Post-Racist Critical IR.” Review of International Studies 33, no. S1 (2007): 91–116.
  • ———. The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics. The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
  • Hoffmann, Stanley. “An American Social Science: International Relations.” Daedalus 106 (2019): 41–60.
  • Jackson, Patrick Thaddeus. The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations: Philosophy of Science and Its Implications for the Study of World Politics. New York: Routledge, 2011.
  • Jorgensen, Knud Erik. “Would 100 Global Workshops on Theory Building Make A Difference?” All Azimuth 7, no. 2 (2017): 41–58.
  • Kaliber, Alper. “Reflecting on the Reflectivist Approach to Qualitative Interviewing.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 339–57.
  • Köstem, Seçkin. “International Relations Theories and Turkish International Relations: Observations Based on a Book.” All Azimuth 4, no. 1 (2015): 59–66.
  • Maliniak, Daniel, Susan Peterson, Ryan Powers, and Michael J. Tierney. “Is International Relations a Global Discipline? Hegemony, Insularity, and Diversity in the Field.” Security Studies 27, no. 3 (2018): 448–84.
  • Özdamar, Özgür. “An Application of Expected Utility Modeling and Game Theory in IR: Assessment of International Bargaining on Iran’s Nuclear Program.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 205–30.
  • Palabıyık, Mustafa Serdar. “Broadening the Horizons of the ‘International’ by Historicizing It: Comparative Historical Analysis.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 307–25.
  • Palmer, Norman D. “The Study of International Relations in the United States: Perspectives of Half a Century.” International Studies Quarterly 24, no. 3 (1980): 343–63.
  • Şan-Akca, Belgin. “Large-N Analysis in the Study of Conflict.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 135–56.
  • Smith, Steve. “The Discipline of International Relations: Still an American Social Science?” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 2, no. 3 (2000): 374–402.
  • Strange, Susan. “1995 Presidential Address ISA as a Microcosm.” International Studies Quarterly 39, no. 3 (1995): 289.
  • Sula, İsmail Erkam. “An Eclectic Methodological Approach in Analyzing Foreign Policy: Turkey’s Foreign Policy Roles and Events Dataset (TFPRED).” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 255–83.
  • ———. “Güvenlikleştirme kuramında ‘söz edim’ ve ‘pratikler’: Türkçe güvenlikleştirme yazınında ‘yöntem’ arayışı [‘Speech Acts’ and ‘Practices’ in Securitization Studies: A Search for ‘Methods’ in Turkish Securitization Literature].” Güvenlik Stratejileri Dergisi 17 (2021): 85-118.
  • Tickner, Arlene. “Seeing IR Differently: Notes from the Third World.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 32, no. 2 (2003): 295–324.
  • Tickner, Arlene B., and Ole Waever, eds. International Relations Scholarship around the World. London: Routledge, 2009.
  • Travlos, Konstantinos. “Mobilization Follies in International Relations: A Multimethod Exploration of Why Some Decision Makers Fail to Avoid War When Public Mobilization as a Bargaining Tool Fails.” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 359–85.
  • Ünver, H. Akın. “Computational International Relations What Can Programming, Coding and Internet Research Do for the Discipline?” All Azimuth 8, no. 2 (2018): 157–82.
  • Vasilaki, Rosa. “Provincialising IR? Deadlocks and Prospects in Post-Western IR Theory.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 41, no. 1 (2012): 3–22.
  • Waever, Ole. “The Sociology of a Not So International Discipline : American and European Developments in International Relations.” International Organization 52, no. 4 (1998): 687–727.
  • Yong-Soo, Eun. “Global IR through Dialogue.” The Pacific Review 32, no. 2 (2019): 131–49.
There are 46 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects International Relations
Journal Section Articles
Authors

İsmail Erkam Sula This is me 0000-0001-6011-4032

Publication Date January 19, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022

Cite

Chicago Sula, İsmail Erkam. “‘Global’ IR and Self-Reflections in Turkey: Methodology, Data Collection, and Data Repository”. All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace 11, no. 1 (January 2022): 123-42. https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.1032115.

Widening the World of IR