A Neoclassical Realist Explanation of the Balfour Declaration and the Origins of the British Foreign Policy in Palestine

Öz

A number of developments in the first quarter of the 20th century have an important role in shaping the Middle East. The Sharif Hussein-Mc Mahon Negotiations, the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the Balfour Declaration and other secret agreements between Britain and France that emerged during the First World War deeply affected the subsequent period of Arab geography. The Balfour Declaration in 1917 can be called one of the founding texts of Israel. In this respect, the declaration has a great impact on all the Middle Eastern politics, especially Palestine. It will not be wrong to say that the Palestine issue, which has become one of the most important problems of the region in time, has its roots in the Balfour Declaration. For this reason, cognizance of the Balfour Declaration and Britain's Palestinian politics after the First World War is crucial to understand the region's later history. From this point of view, this article attempts to examine the regional policies of Britain through the declaration and to provide a causality for the emergence of the declaration. What is the key motivation behind the Balfour Declaration? How can one explain the emergence of the declaration only in 1917, although it came to the agenda in Britain as early as 1915? This study claims that a particular set of internal and external factors associated with British politics gave rise to the declaration. The present article dissects these factors from the perspective of neoclassical realist theory and evaluate the systemic modifiers and unit-level variables in order to explain the Balfour Declaration. Specifically, it examines decision-making process behind the declaration from a systematic and holistic perspective.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• The Balfour Declaration,Neoclassical Realism,Palestine,Sykes-Picot,Sykes-Picot,Britain’s Middle East Policy

İngiltere’nin Filistin Dış Politikasının Kökenleri ve Balfour Deklarasyonu’nun Neoklasik Realist Bir Açıklaması

Öz

20. yüzyılın ilk çeyreğinde yaşanan bir takım gelişmeler Ortadoğu’nun şekillenmesinde önemli role sahiptir. Birinci Dünya savaşı sürecinde ortaya çıkan Şerif Hüseyin-Mc Mahon Müzakereleri, Sykes-Picot Anlaşması, Balfour Deklarasyonu, İngiltere ile Fransa arasındaki diğer gizli anlaşmalar Arap coğrafyasının sonraki dönemini derinden etkilmiştir. 1917’de ortaya çıkan Balfour Deklarasyonu İsrail’in kurucu metinlerinden biri olarak adlandırılabilir. Bu bakımdan deklarasyonun başta Filistin olmak üzere bütün Ortadoğu siyasetine etkileri son derece fazladır. Zaman içerisinde bölgenin en önemli sorunlarından birine dönüşen Filistin meselesinin köklerinin Balfour Deklarasyonuna dayandığını söylemek yanlış olmayacaktır. Bu nedenle Balfour Deklarasyonunu ve İngiltere’nin Birinci Dünya Savaşı sonrasındaki Filistin siyasetini anlamak, bölgenin sonraki tarihini anlamak açısından son derece önemlidir. Buradan hareketle, bu makale deklarasyon üzerinden İngiltere'nin bölge politikalarını irdelemeye ve deklarasyonun ortaya çıkışına bir nedensellik ortaya koymaya çalışmaktadır. Balfour Deklarasyonunun ardındaki temel motivasyon nedir? İngiltere’de 1915 gibi erken bir tarihte gündeme gelmesine rağmen, deklarasyonun ancak 1917'de ortaya çıkışı nasıl açıklanabilir? Bu çalışma, İngiliz siyasetinde ortaya çıkan bir takım iç ve dış faktörlerin deklarasyonu ortaya çıkardığını iddia etmektedir. Makale, bu faktörleri neoklasik realist teori perspektifi ile incelemeyi ve Balfour Deklarasyonunu açıklamak için sistemik belirleyicileri ve birim düzey değişkenleri değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma özellikle Deklarasyonun arkasındaki karar alma sürecini sistematik ve bütünsel bir bakış açısıyla ele almaktadır. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Balfour Deklarasyonu,Neoklasik Realism,Filistin,Sykes-Picot,Sykes-Picot,İngiltere’nin Ortadoğu Siyaseti

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