Israel, Central Asia and the New Peripheral Strategy

Abstract

Because of the security dilemma originating from both itself and the political and strategic realm around it, Israel began to develop a doctrine called Peripheral Strategy in the 1950’s in order to boost its security and evade the isolation it faced in the Middle East. In the resulting search for security, the country's administration has attempted to establish alliances with countries that are not of Arab origin Middle East and adjacent regions, as it sees the need for local allies in addition to the great powers. The aim of this doctrine, which targets non-Arab minority groups and countries in the Middle East and its immediate surroundings, is to free Israel from total isolation that faced. However, developments in the global political system have made the Peripheral Strategy Doctrine obsolete in a short time. In order to verify this claim, the study tried to analyze two regions whose relevance to Peripheral Strategy has not been studied much, through current research. These two regions are the Caucasus and Central Asia. In the study, the course of Israel's relations with the countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus was analyzed. In this analysis, items such as trade volume, arms sales and official relations were examined as data. However, above all, in order to establish the Caucasus and Central Asia connection of the Peripheral Strategy Doctrine, the relations with Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan will be examined. At this point, the relations with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are specifically mentioned.

Keywords

• The Peripheral Strategy Doctrine
• Central Asia
• Caucasus
• Azerbaijan
• Kazakhstan

İsrail, Orta Asya ve Yeni Çevresel Strateji

Abstract

İsrail, gerek kendisinden gerekse de etrafındaki siyasi ve stratejik konjonktürden kaynaklanan güvenlik açmazı sebebiyle 1950’li yıllarda güvenliğini attırmak ve Ortadoğu bölgesinde karşı karşıya kaldığı izolasyon halinden kurtulmak için Çevresel Strateji adını verdiği bir doktrin geliştirme yoluna gitmiştir. Ortaya çıkan güvenlik arayışında ülke yönetimi, büyük güçlerin yanında yerel müttefikler de gerekli olduğunu gördüğü için Ortadoğu bölgesi içinde ve ona bitişik bölgelerde Arap kökenli olmayan, hatta Araplarla aralarında husumet olan ülkelerle ittifak kurma girişimlerinde bulunmuştur. Bu kapsamda Türkiye, İran ve Etiyopya ve Ortadoğu bölgesindeki Arap ülkelerinde azınlık olarak yaşayan Kürtler vb. etnik gruplarla irtibat kurulmaya çalışılmıştır. Ortadoğu bölgesi ile yakın çevresindeki Arap olmayan azınlık grupları ile ülkeleri hedef alan bu politika ile amaçlanan İsrail’i Ortadoğu’daki topyekûn izolasyondan kurtarmaktır. Bu sayede ülkenin uluslararası siyasette daha etkin olabileceği düşünülmüştür. Ancak küresel siyasi sistemde yaşanan gelişmeler de Çevresel Stratejiyi kısa sürede demode hale getirmiştir. Çalışmada bu iddiayı doğrulamak için Çevresel Strateji ile olan ilgisi fazla çalışılmamış olan iki bölge güncel araştırmalar üzerinden incelenerek analiz edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu iki bölge ise Kafkasya ve Orta Asya’dır. Çalışmada İsrail’in Orta Asya ve Kafkasya’daki ülkelerle olan ilişkilerinin seyri tarihi arka planı oluşturmak adına analiz edilmiştir. Bu analizde veri olarak ticaret hacmi, silah satışı ve resmi ilişkiler gibi kalemler incelenmiştir. Ancak hepsinden önce Çevresel Strateji Doktrini’nin Kafkasya ve Orta Asya bağlantısını kurmak için Ermenistan, Gürcistan, Tacikistan, Kırgızistan, Türkmenistan, Özbekistan, Kazakistan ve Azerbaycan’la olan ilişkiler incelenecek bu noktada Kazakistan ve Azerbaycan’la olan ilişkilere özellik olarak değinilmiştir.

Keywords

• Çevresel Strateji Doktrini
• Orta Asya
• Kafkasya
• Azerbaycan
• Kazakistan

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