Conference Paper
BibTex RIS Cite

Foreign Policy as Domestic Power Struggle: The Northern Iraq as a Battlefield Between the AKP and the TAF in 2007-8

Year 2015, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 67 - 94, 18.09.2015

Abstract

The issue of rapprochement with Kurdish parties in the Northern Iraq turned a discursive battlefield between Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP) after the 2005 General Elections in Iraq from which Kurdish groups emerged as a strong political actor in Iraqi politics. When the AKP government declared its policy of rapprochement with the Kurdish regional government at the beginning of 2007, the then Chief of General Staff Yaşar Büyükanıt publicly criticized and rejected this new policy. Büyükanıt declined to talk with Kurdish leaders on the grounds that they were supporting for the PKK. This exchange of statements was the part of a political snowball rolling to which other areas of the struggle were included. The rift between the AKP government and the TAF over how to deal with Iraqi Kurds started just as Turkey gears up for key presidential elections. This paper will attempt to analyze the battle over the Northern Iraq between the TAF and the AKP in order to answer the following questions: How the TAF and the AKP came face to face on the issue of the Northern Iraq? Under what conditions the Northern Iraq turned a discursive battlefield between the TAF and the AKP? What was the function of the Northern Iraq in the domestic power struggle between the TAF and the AKP?

References

  • Aydınlı, E. (2009), “A Paradigmatic Shift for the Turkish Generals and an end to the Coup Era in Turkey”, The Middle East Journal, vol. 63, no. 4.
  • Balcı, A. (2011), “Türkiye’de Militarist Devlet Söylemi”, Kadim Yayınları, Ankara.
  • Balcı, A. (2012), “Foreign Policy as Politicking in the Sarıkız Coup Plot: Cyprus between the Coup Plotters and the JDP”, Middle East Critique, vol. 21, no. 2.
  • Balcı, A. (2015), “The Kurdish Movement’s EU Policy in Turkey: An Analysis of a Dissident Ethnic Block’s Foreign Policy”, Ethnicities, vol. 15, no. 1.
  • Barkey, H. J. (2011), “Turkey and Iraq: The Making of a Partnership”, Turkish Studies, vol. 12, no. 4.
  • Campbell, D. (1998), “Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity”, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
  • Campbell, D. (2005), “The Biopolitics of Security: Oil, Empire, and the Sports Utility Vehicle”, American Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 3.
  • Caporaso, J. A. et al. (1986 ), “The Comparative Study of Foreign Policy: Perspectives on the Future”, International Studies Notes, vol. 13, no. 2.
  • Cizre-Sakallıoğlu, Ü. (1997), “The Anatomy of the Turkish Military’s Political Autonomy”, Comparative Politics, vol. 29, no. 2.
  • Cizre, Ü. (2008), “Ideology, Context and Interest: the Turkish military”, The Cambridge History of Turkey: Turkey in the Modern World İçinde Ed. Reşat Kasaba, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Cizre, Ü. (2008), “The Justice and Development Party and the Military: Recreating the Past after Reforming It”, Secular and Islamic Politics in Turkey: The Making of the Justice and Development Party İçinde Ed. Ümit Cizre, Routledge, London.
  • Davutoğlu, A. (2013), “Teoriden Pratiğe: Türk Dış Politikası Üzerine Konuşmalar”, 2nd Edition, Küre Yayınları, İstanbul.
  • Duran, B. (2006), “JDP and Foreign Policy as an Agent of Transformation”, The Emergence of a New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Party İçinde Ed. Hakan Yavuz, The University of Utah Press, The Salt Lake City.
  • Gunter, M. M. and Yavuz, M. H. (2007), “Turkish Paradox: Progressive Islamists versus Reactionary Secularists”, Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 16, no. 3.
  • Gül, A. (2004), “Türkiye Küresel Barışın Teminatıdır”, Anlayış, No: 9, June.
  • Hale, W. and Özbudun, E. (2010), “Islamism, Democracy and Liberalism in Turkey: The Case of the AKP”, Routledge, London.
  • Hale W. (2013), “Turkish Foreign Policy since 1774”, Routledge, London.
  • İnat, K. and Duran, B. (2006), “AKP Dış Politikası: Teori ve Uygulama”, Demokrasi Platformu, vol. 1.
  • Karakaya-Polat, R. (2009), “The 2007 Parliamentary Elections in Turkey: Between Securitisation and Desecuritisation”, Parliamentary Affairs, vol. 62, no. 1.
  • Kardaş T. (2009), “Turkey: Secularism, Islam, and the EU”, The Borders of Islam: Exploring Samuel Huntington’s Faultlines, from Al- Andalus to the Virtual Ummah İçinde Ed. Tuncay Kardas, Stig Jarle Hansen and Atle Mosey, Hurst, London.
  • Lundgren, A. (2007), “The Unwelcome Neighbour: Turkey’s Kurdish Policy”, IB Tauris, London.
  • Müftüler Baç, M. and Gürsoy, Y. (2010), “Is There a Europeanization of Turkish Foreign Policy? An Addendum to the Literature on EU Candidates”, Turkish Studies, vol. 11, no. 3.
  • Nabers, D. (2009), “Filling the Void of Meaning: Identity Construction in US Foreign Policy After September 11, 2001”, Foreign Policy Analysis, vol. 5, no. 2.
  • Özcan, G. (2009), “Facing its Waterloo in Diplomacy: Turkey’s Military in the Foreign Policy-Making Process”, New Perspectives on Turkey, vol. 40.
  • Özcan, G. (2010), “The Changing Role of Turkey´s Military in Foreign Policy Making”, UNISCI Discussion Papers, vol. 23.
  • Sarigil, Z. (2007), “Europeanization as Institutional Change: the Case of the Turkish Military”, Mediterranean Politics, vol. 12, no. 1.
  • Taydaş, Z. and Özdamar, Ö. (2013), “A Divided Government, an Ideological Parliament, and an Insecure Leader: Turkey’s Indecision about Joining the Iraq War”, Social Science Quarterly, vol. 94, no. 1.
  • Uzgel, İ. (2003), “Between Praetorianism and Democracy: The Role of the Military in Turkish Foreign Policy”, The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations, vol. 34.
  • Yavuz, M. H. (2009), “Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey”, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Internet Resources
  • Bila, Fikret, “Kanıtlar MGK’ya”, Milliyet, 23 Şubat 2007.
  • Cemal, Hasan, “PKK’ya yönelik yeni bir çark”, Milliyet, 9 March 2008.
  • Çandar, Cengiz, “An Exceptional Reception for Büyükanıt in Washington”, Hurriyet Daily News, 15 February 2007.
  • Çandar, Cengiz, “The ‘two states’ in Ankara”, Hürriyet Daily News, 12 March 2008.
  • Enginson, Ümit, “Büyükanıt Warns Separatists, Iraqi Kurds and ‘Regime Change Seekers’”, Hurriyet Daily News, 15 February 2007.
  • Erdem, Tarhan, “Irak’a müdahale”, Radikal, 05 July 2007.
  • Finkel, Andrew, “General Büyükanıt - the Great Performer”, Today’s Zaman, 13 April 2007.
  • Fraser, Suzan, “Turkey Warns Iraqi Kurds on Interference”, The Washington Post, 9 April 2007.
  • Hacaoğlu, Selcan, “Turkey May Launch New Incursion in Iraq”, The Washington Post, 3 March 2008.
  • Tınç, Ferai, “Kürt Hükümeti ile Yakınlaşırız”, Hürriyet, 15 February 2007.
  • “Ben bir Kabile Reisiyle Görüşmem”, Milliyet, 8 June 2007.
  • “Erdoğan Resists Calls for Northern Iraq Incursion”, Today’s Zaman, 13 June 2007.
  • “Foreign Ministry Responds to Army Criticism over Iraq”, Turkish Daily News, 18 March 2005.
  • “Gov’t’s Final Word on Incursion: NO”, Hurriyet Daily News, 13 June 2011.
  • “Gov’t, Military Rift Resurfaces over Iraqi Kurds”, Today’s Zaman, 2 March 2007.
  • “Rafa Kalkan ‘Barzani’yle Temas’ MGK’da konuşulacak”, Hürriyet, 20 February 2007.
  • “Top General Calls for a Cross-border Operation to Northern Iraq”, Turkish Daily News, 13 April 2007.
  • “Top Turkish Commander Büyükanıt: Military Operation into Northern Iraq Necessary”, Today’s Zaman, 12 April 2007.
  • “Turkey and Northern Iraq: To Go or not to Go”, The Economist, 7 June 2007.
  • “Turkey Deploys Extra Troops to Iraq Border as Tension with Kurds Grows”, The Guardian, 1 June 2007.
  • “Turkey Faces more Dangers than ever”, Hurriyet Daily News, 15 February 2007.
  • “Week in Review”, Hürriyet Daily News, 16 June 2007.

İktidar Mücadelesi Olarak Dış Politika: 2007-8 Yıllarında Ak Parti ve TSK Arasında Bir Mücadele Alanı Olarak Kuzey Irak

Year 2015, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 67 - 94, 18.09.2015

Abstract

Kuzey Irak’taki Kürt partiler ile yakınlaşma meselesi Kürt gurupların önemli aktör olarak ortaya çıktığı Irak’taki 2005 seçimlerinden sonra Türkiye’de Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri ve Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi arasında söylemsel bir çatışma alanına dönüştü. AK Parti hükümeti 2007’nin başlarında Kürt bölgesel yönetimi ile yakınlaşma beyanını açıklayınca, dönemin Genel Kurmay Başkanı Yaşar Büyükanıt açık bir şekilde bu politikayı eleştirdi. Büyükanıt Irak’taki Kürt partilerin PKK’yı desteklediğini gerekçe göstererek böylesi bir yakınlaşmaya karşı olduğunu açıkladı. Bu karşılıklı açıklamalar 2007 yılı içinde yaşanan AK Parti ve TSK arasındaki daha geniş ölçekli çatışmanın bir uzantısıydı. Söz konusu dış politika tartışması Türkiye’nin Cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimine doğru gittiği bir ortamda patlak vermişti. Bu makale şu sorulara cevap vermek amacıyla AK Parti ve TSK arasında Kuzey Irak üzerinden yaşanan gerilimi analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır: TSK ve AKP Kuzey Irak konusunda nasıl karşı karşıya geldiler? Hangi koşullar tarafları arasında Kuzey Irak’ı bir söylemsel çatışma zeminine dönüştürdü? Kuzey Irak’ın AK Parti ve TSK arasında o dönemde yaşanan güç mücadelesindeki işlevi ne oldu?

References

  • Aydınlı, E. (2009), “A Paradigmatic Shift for the Turkish Generals and an end to the Coup Era in Turkey”, The Middle East Journal, vol. 63, no. 4.
  • Balcı, A. (2011), “Türkiye’de Militarist Devlet Söylemi”, Kadim Yayınları, Ankara.
  • Balcı, A. (2012), “Foreign Policy as Politicking in the Sarıkız Coup Plot: Cyprus between the Coup Plotters and the JDP”, Middle East Critique, vol. 21, no. 2.
  • Balcı, A. (2015), “The Kurdish Movement’s EU Policy in Turkey: An Analysis of a Dissident Ethnic Block’s Foreign Policy”, Ethnicities, vol. 15, no. 1.
  • Barkey, H. J. (2011), “Turkey and Iraq: The Making of a Partnership”, Turkish Studies, vol. 12, no. 4.
  • Campbell, D. (1998), “Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity”, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
  • Campbell, D. (2005), “The Biopolitics of Security: Oil, Empire, and the Sports Utility Vehicle”, American Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 3.
  • Caporaso, J. A. et al. (1986 ), “The Comparative Study of Foreign Policy: Perspectives on the Future”, International Studies Notes, vol. 13, no. 2.
  • Cizre-Sakallıoğlu, Ü. (1997), “The Anatomy of the Turkish Military’s Political Autonomy”, Comparative Politics, vol. 29, no. 2.
  • Cizre, Ü. (2008), “Ideology, Context and Interest: the Turkish military”, The Cambridge History of Turkey: Turkey in the Modern World İçinde Ed. Reşat Kasaba, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Cizre, Ü. (2008), “The Justice and Development Party and the Military: Recreating the Past after Reforming It”, Secular and Islamic Politics in Turkey: The Making of the Justice and Development Party İçinde Ed. Ümit Cizre, Routledge, London.
  • Davutoğlu, A. (2013), “Teoriden Pratiğe: Türk Dış Politikası Üzerine Konuşmalar”, 2nd Edition, Küre Yayınları, İstanbul.
  • Duran, B. (2006), “JDP and Foreign Policy as an Agent of Transformation”, The Emergence of a New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Party İçinde Ed. Hakan Yavuz, The University of Utah Press, The Salt Lake City.
  • Gunter, M. M. and Yavuz, M. H. (2007), “Turkish Paradox: Progressive Islamists versus Reactionary Secularists”, Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 16, no. 3.
  • Gül, A. (2004), “Türkiye Küresel Barışın Teminatıdır”, Anlayış, No: 9, June.
  • Hale, W. and Özbudun, E. (2010), “Islamism, Democracy and Liberalism in Turkey: The Case of the AKP”, Routledge, London.
  • Hale W. (2013), “Turkish Foreign Policy since 1774”, Routledge, London.
  • İnat, K. and Duran, B. (2006), “AKP Dış Politikası: Teori ve Uygulama”, Demokrasi Platformu, vol. 1.
  • Karakaya-Polat, R. (2009), “The 2007 Parliamentary Elections in Turkey: Between Securitisation and Desecuritisation”, Parliamentary Affairs, vol. 62, no. 1.
  • Kardaş T. (2009), “Turkey: Secularism, Islam, and the EU”, The Borders of Islam: Exploring Samuel Huntington’s Faultlines, from Al- Andalus to the Virtual Ummah İçinde Ed. Tuncay Kardas, Stig Jarle Hansen and Atle Mosey, Hurst, London.
  • Lundgren, A. (2007), “The Unwelcome Neighbour: Turkey’s Kurdish Policy”, IB Tauris, London.
  • Müftüler Baç, M. and Gürsoy, Y. (2010), “Is There a Europeanization of Turkish Foreign Policy? An Addendum to the Literature on EU Candidates”, Turkish Studies, vol. 11, no. 3.
  • Nabers, D. (2009), “Filling the Void of Meaning: Identity Construction in US Foreign Policy After September 11, 2001”, Foreign Policy Analysis, vol. 5, no. 2.
  • Özcan, G. (2009), “Facing its Waterloo in Diplomacy: Turkey’s Military in the Foreign Policy-Making Process”, New Perspectives on Turkey, vol. 40.
  • Özcan, G. (2010), “The Changing Role of Turkey´s Military in Foreign Policy Making”, UNISCI Discussion Papers, vol. 23.
  • Sarigil, Z. (2007), “Europeanization as Institutional Change: the Case of the Turkish Military”, Mediterranean Politics, vol. 12, no. 1.
  • Taydaş, Z. and Özdamar, Ö. (2013), “A Divided Government, an Ideological Parliament, and an Insecure Leader: Turkey’s Indecision about Joining the Iraq War”, Social Science Quarterly, vol. 94, no. 1.
  • Uzgel, İ. (2003), “Between Praetorianism and Democracy: The Role of the Military in Turkish Foreign Policy”, The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations, vol. 34.
  • Yavuz, M. H. (2009), “Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey”, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Internet Resources
  • Bila, Fikret, “Kanıtlar MGK’ya”, Milliyet, 23 Şubat 2007.
  • Cemal, Hasan, “PKK’ya yönelik yeni bir çark”, Milliyet, 9 March 2008.
  • Çandar, Cengiz, “An Exceptional Reception for Büyükanıt in Washington”, Hurriyet Daily News, 15 February 2007.
  • Çandar, Cengiz, “The ‘two states’ in Ankara”, Hürriyet Daily News, 12 March 2008.
  • Enginson, Ümit, “Büyükanıt Warns Separatists, Iraqi Kurds and ‘Regime Change Seekers’”, Hurriyet Daily News, 15 February 2007.
  • Erdem, Tarhan, “Irak’a müdahale”, Radikal, 05 July 2007.
  • Finkel, Andrew, “General Büyükanıt - the Great Performer”, Today’s Zaman, 13 April 2007.
  • Fraser, Suzan, “Turkey Warns Iraqi Kurds on Interference”, The Washington Post, 9 April 2007.
  • Hacaoğlu, Selcan, “Turkey May Launch New Incursion in Iraq”, The Washington Post, 3 March 2008.
  • Tınç, Ferai, “Kürt Hükümeti ile Yakınlaşırız”, Hürriyet, 15 February 2007.
  • “Ben bir Kabile Reisiyle Görüşmem”, Milliyet, 8 June 2007.
  • “Erdoğan Resists Calls for Northern Iraq Incursion”, Today’s Zaman, 13 June 2007.
  • “Foreign Ministry Responds to Army Criticism over Iraq”, Turkish Daily News, 18 March 2005.
  • “Gov’t’s Final Word on Incursion: NO”, Hurriyet Daily News, 13 June 2011.
  • “Gov’t, Military Rift Resurfaces over Iraqi Kurds”, Today’s Zaman, 2 March 2007.
  • “Rafa Kalkan ‘Barzani’yle Temas’ MGK’da konuşulacak”, Hürriyet, 20 February 2007.
  • “Top General Calls for a Cross-border Operation to Northern Iraq”, Turkish Daily News, 13 April 2007.
  • “Top Turkish Commander Büyükanıt: Military Operation into Northern Iraq Necessary”, Today’s Zaman, 12 April 2007.
  • “Turkey and Northern Iraq: To Go or not to Go”, The Economist, 7 June 2007.
  • “Turkey Deploys Extra Troops to Iraq Border as Tension with Kurds Grows”, The Guardian, 1 June 2007.
  • “Turkey Faces more Dangers than ever”, Hurriyet Daily News, 15 February 2007.
  • “Week in Review”, Hürriyet Daily News, 16 June 2007.
There are 51 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

Ali Balcı

Publication Date September 18, 2015
Published in Issue Year 2015 Volume: 2 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Balcı, A. (2015). Foreign Policy as Domestic Power Struggle: The Northern Iraq as a Battlefield Between the AKP and the TAF in 2007-8. Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi, 2(1), 67-94.

Creative Commons License

The published articles in TJMES are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License