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Turkey’s New Vision for “Man’s Best Hope for Peace”: United Nations Reform and Reorganization of the Security Council

Year 2014, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 5 - 18, 31.01.2014
https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.167318

Abstract

References

  • “An Agenda for Peace-A/47/277S/24111.” UN Documents: Gathering a Body of Global Agreements, June 17, 1992. http://www.un-documents.net/a47-277.htm.
  • “Davutoglu Calls for UN Seat to Syrian Opposition.” Anadolu Agency, March 26, 2013. http://www.aa.com.tr/en/ news/148353--davutoglu-called-for-un-seat-to-syrian-opposition.
  • “Davutoğlu Says Supporters of Syria Should be Isolated.” Today’s Zaman, July 6, 2012. http://www.todayszaman. com/news-285743-davutoglu-says-supporters-of-syria-should-be-isolated.html.
  • “Davutoğlu Vows to Restore Historic Ties With Mideast.” Dünya, July 27, 2012. http://www.dunya.com/davutoglu- vows-to-restore-historic-ties-with-mideast-160940h.htm.
  • “Davutoğlu: International System About to Fail Syria Test.” TurkishNY, September 25, 2012. http://www.turkishny. com/english-news/5-english-news/101576-davutoglu-international-system-about-to-fail-syria-test.
  • “FM Calls for UN Resolution to Gain Humanitarian Access to Syria.” Today’s Zaman, February 15, 2013. http:// www.todayszaman.com/news-307199-fm-calls-for-un-resolution -to-gain-humanitarian-access-to-syria.html.
  • “Press Release.” May 18, 2011. http://www.un.int/turkey/Announcement.pdf.
  • “Speech Delivered by H. E. Ahmet Davutoğlu Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in the University of London School of Economics and Political Science.” March 7, 2013. http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-delivered-by-h_e_- ahmet-davutoglu_-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-turkey_-in-the-university-of-london-school-of-economics. en.mfa.
  • “Speech Delivered by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the UN Security Council.” August 30, 2012. http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-delivered-by-mr_-ahmet-davutoğlu_-minister-of- foreign-affairs-of-the-republic-of-turkey-at-the-un-security-council_30-august-2012_-new-york.en.mfa.
  • “Turkey Has No Plans for Alternative UN, Despite PM’s Statement.” Hürriyet Daily News, August 23, 2013. http:// www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-erdogan-floats-the-idea-of-alternative-un.aspx?pageID=238&nID=5308 6&NewsCatID=338.
  • “Turkey Rules Out Dialogue with Syria as Pointless.” Today’s Zaman, October 30, 2012. http://www.todayszaman. com/news-296584-turkey-rules-out-dialogue-with-syria-as-pointless.html.
  • “Turkey’s Religious Head Refuses UN Fund for Violence Against Women Project.” Hürriyet Daily News, August 22, 2013. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-religious-head-refuses-un-fund-for-violence-against- women-project.aspx?pageID=238&nID=53062&NewsCatID=341.
  • “Turkish Minister Says Violence in Syria is Threat for Turkey’s Internal Security.” PBS News Hour, September 26, 2012. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec12/turkey2_09-26.html.
  • “UN Security Council Members Demand Israel End Blockade.” Huffington Post, June 01, 2010. http://www. huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/01/un-security-council-israel-blockade_n_595610.html.
  • “Violence in Syria is Threat for Turkey’ and ‘Davutoğlu Criticizes Different Stances by UN in Mali, Syrian Crises.” Today’s Zaman, February 3, 2013. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-306007-davutoglu-criticizes-different- stances-by-un-in-mali-syrian-crisis.html.
  • Adolf, Antony. Peace: A World History. Cambridge: Polity, 2009.
  • Archibugi, Daniele, Sveva Baldini, and Marco Donati. “The United Nations as an Agency of Global Democracy.” In Global Democracy Key Debates, edited by Barry Holden, 125-142. London: Routledge, 2000.
  • Archibugi, Daniele. “A League of Democracies or a Democratic United Nations.” Harvard International Review, September 2009. Unpaginated.
  • -----. “The Reform of the UN and Cosmopolitan Democracy: A Critical Review.” Journal of Peace Research, 30, no. 3 (1993): 301-315.
  • Charlesworth, Hilary. “Feminist Methods in International Law.” American Journal of International Law 93, no. 2 (1998): 379-394.
  • Davutoğlu, Ahmet. Civilizational Transformation and the Muslim World. Kuala Lumpur: Mahir Productions, 1994.
  • Davutoğlu, Ahmet. Strategic Depth: Turkey’s Place in the World. İstanbul: Küre Yayınları, 2000.
  • Falk, Richard. The End of the World Order: Essays on Normative International Relations. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1999.
  • -----. “False Universalism and the Geopolitics of Exclusion: The Case of Islam.” Third World Quarterly 18, no. 1 (1997): 7-24.
  • Feder, Bernard. The United Nations: “Man’s Best Hope for Peace”? New York: American Book Company, 1968.
  • Figanmeşe, Melis. “Working to End Violence Against Women in Turkey.” Huffington Post, May 15, 2013. http:// www.huffingtonpost.com/melis-figanmese/working-to-end-violence_b_3279717.html.
  • Flinterman C., and J. Gutter. “The United Nations and Human Rights: Achievements and Challenges.” UNDP Paper No: 48 (2000). http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2000/papers/flinterman2000.pdf.
  • Gordon, Wendell C. The United Nations at the Crossroads of Reform. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1994.
  • Held, David. Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995.
  • İdiz, Semih. “The ‘Sunnification’ of Turkish Foreign Policy.” Al Monitor, March 1, 2013. http://www.al-monitor. com/pulse/originals/2013/03/akp-sunni-foreign-policy-turkey-sectarianism.html.
  • -----. “Turkey’s Syria Policy in Shambles Over Support for Jihadists.” Al-Monitor, July 23, 2013. http://www.al- monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/turkey-syria-policy-support-jihadists.html.
  • Jones, Peter. Pluralism, Justice and Equality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Kirişçi, Kemal. “New Patterns of Turkish Foreign Policy Behavior.” In Turkey: Political, Social and Economic Challenges in the 1990s, edited by Çiğdem Balım et al., 1-21. Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill, 1995.
  • Kostakos, Georgios. “UN Reform: The Post-Cold War World Organization.” In The United Nations in the New World Order: The World Organization at Fifty, edited by Dimitris Bourantonis and Jarrod Wiener, 64-80. London: MacMillan Press, 1995.
  • Launterpacht, Hersch. International Law and Human Rights. Hamden CT: Archon Books, 1950.
  • Luard, Evan. United Nations. London: Palgrave, 1994.
  • Maalouf, Amin. Le Déreglement du Monde. Paris: Grasset & Fasquelle, 2009.
  • Sellers, Mortimer N. S. The New World Order: Sovereignty, Human Rights and the Self Determination of Peoples. Oxford and Washington D.C.: Berg Publishing, 1996.
  • Simonsen, Jakop. “UN Reform Upon 60th Anniversary: The Great Bargain.” Perceptions: Journal of International Affairs 10, no: 2 (Summer 2005): 1-13.
  • The Commission on Global Governance. Our Global Neighborhood: The Report of the Commission on Global Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Turkey’s New Vision for “Man’s Best Hope for Peace”: United Nations Reform and Reorganization of the Security Council

Year 2014, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 5 - 18, 31.01.2014
https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.167318

Abstract

Despite its present reputation
as weak, inefficient, and discreditable, the United Nations is one of
humanity’s most noble endeavors. Although the structure of the Security Council
prevents its decision-making procedures from being more democratic, the UN
still seeks to suppress aggression, respect self-determination, and promote
human rights and well-being. Furthermore, political cosmopolitans’ proposals
for comprehensive UN reform, which goes far beyond increasing the number of
permanent members of the Security Council, give us hope for substantial
improvement. Nevertheless, the UN is still the sum of the states it is
comprised of and UN reform depends on the broader and ambitious project of
state reform as both concept and practice. Within this context, this paper
argues that focusing exclusively on the Security Council and the geographical
distribution of permanent membership only harms the comprehensiveness of the
analyses seeking to reform the UN from a larger perspective. The fact that the
success of a UN reform is closely related with the enhancement of member
states’ ethical capacities should also be taken into consideration. The next
round of debates for a proper solution to the UN impasse takes place in 2015,
and Turkey is emerging as an enthusiastic voice for further reform and for its
own potential permanent membership in the Security Council. However, Turkey has
also developed a significantly anti-UN discourse unprecedented in its foreign
policy, which now runs the risk of curtailing the country’s capacity to partake
in substantial change in UN decision-making procedures. Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu currently acts as a statesman, insisting on a statist
reform (which focuses more on states’ individual interests) of the Security
Council. Interestingly, in the 1990s, when Davutoğlu was a university
professor, his views of the UN tended to be more cosmopolitan and suggested a
civilization-based solution. This paper, while elaborating on the discussions
of reforming the UN from a cosmopolitan perspective, also probes Davutoğlu’s
conflicting approaches to the issue. It thus seeks to argue that Turkey,
instead of pushing for a purely statist model, should consider supporting
pluralistic, multilevel, and more-complex participation in the UN’s
decision-making procedures. Turkish 
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu currently acts as a statesman, insisting on a statist reform (which focuses more on states’ individual interests) of the Security Council. Interestingly, in the 1990s, when Davutoğlu was a university professor, his views of the UN tended to be more cosmopolitan and suggested a civilization-based solution. This paper, while elaborating on the discussions of reforming the UN from a cosmopolitan perspective, also probes Davutoğlu’s conflicting approaches to the issue. It thus seeks to argue that Turkey, instead of pushing for a purely statist model, should consider supporting pluralistic, multilevel, and more-complex participation in the UN’s decision-making procedures. 

References

  • “An Agenda for Peace-A/47/277S/24111.” UN Documents: Gathering a Body of Global Agreements, June 17, 1992. http://www.un-documents.net/a47-277.htm.
  • “Davutoglu Calls for UN Seat to Syrian Opposition.” Anadolu Agency, March 26, 2013. http://www.aa.com.tr/en/ news/148353--davutoglu-called-for-un-seat-to-syrian-opposition.
  • “Davutoğlu Says Supporters of Syria Should be Isolated.” Today’s Zaman, July 6, 2012. http://www.todayszaman. com/news-285743-davutoglu-says-supporters-of-syria-should-be-isolated.html.
  • “Davutoğlu Vows to Restore Historic Ties With Mideast.” Dünya, July 27, 2012. http://www.dunya.com/davutoglu- vows-to-restore-historic-ties-with-mideast-160940h.htm.
  • “Davutoğlu: International System About to Fail Syria Test.” TurkishNY, September 25, 2012. http://www.turkishny. com/english-news/5-english-news/101576-davutoglu-international-system-about-to-fail-syria-test.
  • “FM Calls for UN Resolution to Gain Humanitarian Access to Syria.” Today’s Zaman, February 15, 2013. http:// www.todayszaman.com/news-307199-fm-calls-for-un-resolution -to-gain-humanitarian-access-to-syria.html.
  • “Press Release.” May 18, 2011. http://www.un.int/turkey/Announcement.pdf.
  • “Speech Delivered by H. E. Ahmet Davutoğlu Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in the University of London School of Economics and Political Science.” March 7, 2013. http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-delivered-by-h_e_- ahmet-davutoglu_-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-turkey_-in-the-university-of-london-school-of-economics. en.mfa.
  • “Speech Delivered by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the UN Security Council.” August 30, 2012. http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-delivered-by-mr_-ahmet-davutoğlu_-minister-of- foreign-affairs-of-the-republic-of-turkey-at-the-un-security-council_30-august-2012_-new-york.en.mfa.
  • “Turkey Has No Plans for Alternative UN, Despite PM’s Statement.” Hürriyet Daily News, August 23, 2013. http:// www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-erdogan-floats-the-idea-of-alternative-un.aspx?pageID=238&nID=5308 6&NewsCatID=338.
  • “Turkey Rules Out Dialogue with Syria as Pointless.” Today’s Zaman, October 30, 2012. http://www.todayszaman. com/news-296584-turkey-rules-out-dialogue-with-syria-as-pointless.html.
  • “Turkey’s Religious Head Refuses UN Fund for Violence Against Women Project.” Hürriyet Daily News, August 22, 2013. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-religious-head-refuses-un-fund-for-violence-against- women-project.aspx?pageID=238&nID=53062&NewsCatID=341.
  • “Turkish Minister Says Violence in Syria is Threat for Turkey’s Internal Security.” PBS News Hour, September 26, 2012. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec12/turkey2_09-26.html.
  • “UN Security Council Members Demand Israel End Blockade.” Huffington Post, June 01, 2010. http://www. huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/01/un-security-council-israel-blockade_n_595610.html.
  • “Violence in Syria is Threat for Turkey’ and ‘Davutoğlu Criticizes Different Stances by UN in Mali, Syrian Crises.” Today’s Zaman, February 3, 2013. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-306007-davutoglu-criticizes-different- stances-by-un-in-mali-syrian-crisis.html.
  • Adolf, Antony. Peace: A World History. Cambridge: Polity, 2009.
  • Archibugi, Daniele, Sveva Baldini, and Marco Donati. “The United Nations as an Agency of Global Democracy.” In Global Democracy Key Debates, edited by Barry Holden, 125-142. London: Routledge, 2000.
  • Archibugi, Daniele. “A League of Democracies or a Democratic United Nations.” Harvard International Review, September 2009. Unpaginated.
  • -----. “The Reform of the UN and Cosmopolitan Democracy: A Critical Review.” Journal of Peace Research, 30, no. 3 (1993): 301-315.
  • Charlesworth, Hilary. “Feminist Methods in International Law.” American Journal of International Law 93, no. 2 (1998): 379-394.
  • Davutoğlu, Ahmet. Civilizational Transformation and the Muslim World. Kuala Lumpur: Mahir Productions, 1994.
  • Davutoğlu, Ahmet. Strategic Depth: Turkey’s Place in the World. İstanbul: Küre Yayınları, 2000.
  • Falk, Richard. The End of the World Order: Essays on Normative International Relations. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1999.
  • -----. “False Universalism and the Geopolitics of Exclusion: The Case of Islam.” Third World Quarterly 18, no. 1 (1997): 7-24.
  • Feder, Bernard. The United Nations: “Man’s Best Hope for Peace”? New York: American Book Company, 1968.
  • Figanmeşe, Melis. “Working to End Violence Against Women in Turkey.” Huffington Post, May 15, 2013. http:// www.huffingtonpost.com/melis-figanmese/working-to-end-violence_b_3279717.html.
  • Flinterman C., and J. Gutter. “The United Nations and Human Rights: Achievements and Challenges.” UNDP Paper No: 48 (2000). http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2000/papers/flinterman2000.pdf.
  • Gordon, Wendell C. The United Nations at the Crossroads of Reform. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1994.
  • Held, David. Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995.
  • İdiz, Semih. “The ‘Sunnification’ of Turkish Foreign Policy.” Al Monitor, March 1, 2013. http://www.al-monitor. com/pulse/originals/2013/03/akp-sunni-foreign-policy-turkey-sectarianism.html.
  • -----. “Turkey’s Syria Policy in Shambles Over Support for Jihadists.” Al-Monitor, July 23, 2013. http://www.al- monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/turkey-syria-policy-support-jihadists.html.
  • Jones, Peter. Pluralism, Justice and Equality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Kirişçi, Kemal. “New Patterns of Turkish Foreign Policy Behavior.” In Turkey: Political, Social and Economic Challenges in the 1990s, edited by Çiğdem Balım et al., 1-21. Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill, 1995.
  • Kostakos, Georgios. “UN Reform: The Post-Cold War World Organization.” In The United Nations in the New World Order: The World Organization at Fifty, edited by Dimitris Bourantonis and Jarrod Wiener, 64-80. London: MacMillan Press, 1995.
  • Launterpacht, Hersch. International Law and Human Rights. Hamden CT: Archon Books, 1950.
  • Luard, Evan. United Nations. London: Palgrave, 1994.
  • Maalouf, Amin. Le Déreglement du Monde. Paris: Grasset & Fasquelle, 2009.
  • Sellers, Mortimer N. S. The New World Order: Sovereignty, Human Rights and the Self Determination of Peoples. Oxford and Washington D.C.: Berg Publishing, 1996.
  • Simonsen, Jakop. “UN Reform Upon 60th Anniversary: The Great Bargain.” Perceptions: Journal of International Affairs 10, no: 2 (Summer 2005): 1-13.
  • The Commission on Global Governance. Our Global Neighborhood: The Report of the Commission on Global Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
There are 40 citations in total.

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Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Can Akça Ataç This is me

Publication Date January 31, 2014
Published in Issue Year 2014 Volume: 3 Issue: 1

Cite

Chicago Ataç, Can Akça. “Turkey’s New Vision for ‘Man’s Best Hope for Peace’: United Nations Reform and Reorganization of the Security Council”. All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace 3, no. 1 (January 2014): 5-18. https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.167318.

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