Research Article

The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015)

Volume: 11 Number: 21 November 25, 2019
  • Sevilay Zehra Aksoy
  • Seray Kılıç
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The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015)

Abstract

The Syrian civil war, which has been going on for more than eight years, gave rise to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis within both Syria and be- yond. The human tragedy that unfolded is a stark reminder of the unfulfilled responsibilities of the international community as embodied in the principle of the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). RtoP, involving both prevention and coercive tools, impose different kinds of obligations on different actors of the international community. Among state actors of the international community, close neighbours are critical players in the sense that they are the ones that are likely to be the most negatively affected by the conflict beyond their borders and thus are expected to have the greatest will, if not always the capacity, to effect the course of events. This paper seeks to examine how RtoP found expression in the foreign policy of Turkey that shares its longest border with Syria. Together with other neighbouring countries that host millions of refu- gees, Turkey, which also experienced serious security problems in its borders, stood as one of the most affected countries by this crisis and kept RtoP on its agenda both for instrumental and normative reasons for a long time. The aim of this study is to examine how RtoP in general and its preventive and coer- cive pillars in particular came to be understood and what concrete steps were taken to breathe life into them by the officials in Ankara. In pursuit of this aim, the policies from the beginning of the crisis (2011) till the period when national security discourse gained priority over protection discourse (2015) are analysed through official rhetoric and practices.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

International Relations

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Sevilay Zehra Aksoy This is me
Türkiye

Seray Kılıç This is me
Türkiye

Publication Date

November 25, 2019

Submission Date

December 25, 2018

Acceptance Date

-

Published in Issue

Year 2019 Volume: 11 Number: 21

DOI

https://doi.org/10.35705/bs.751771

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA57CL99PJ

Cite

RIS / Bibtex
APA
Aksoy, S. Z., & Kılıç, S. (2019). The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015). Bilge Strateji, 11(21), 155-199. https://doi.org/10.35705/bs.751771
AMA
1.Aksoy SZ, Kılıç S. The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015). Bilge Strateji. 2019;11(21):155-199. doi:10.35705/bs.751771
Chicago
Aksoy, Sevilay Zehra, and Seray Kılıç. 2019. “The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey During the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015)”. Bilge Strateji 11 (21): 155-99. https://doi.org/10.35705/bs.751771.
EndNote
Aksoy SZ, Kılıç S (November 1, 2019) The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015). Bilge Strateji 11 21 155–199.
IEEE
[1]S. Z. Aksoy and S. Kılıç, “The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015)”, Bilge Strateji, vol. 11, no. 21, pp. 155–199, Nov. 2019, doi: 10.35705/bs.751771.
ISNAD
Aksoy, Sevilay Zehra - Kılıç, Seray. “The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey During the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015)”. Bilge Strateji 11/21 (November 1, 2019): 155-199. https://doi.org/10.35705/bs.751771.
JAMA
1.Aksoy SZ, Kılıç S. The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015). Bilge Strateji. 2019;11:155–199.
MLA
Aksoy, Sevilay Zehra, and Seray Kılıç. “The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey During the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015)”. Bilge Strateji, vol. 11, no. 21, Nov. 2019, pp. 155-99, doi:10.35705/bs.751771.
Vancouver
1.Sevilay Zehra Aksoy, Seray Kılıç. The Responsibility to Protect Policy of Turkey during the Syrian Crisis (2011-2015). Bilge Strateji. 2019 Nov. 1;11(21):155-99. doi:10.35705/bs.751771