Birleşik Krallık Denizaşırı ve Bağımlı Topraklarının Jeopolitik ve Jeostratejik Açıdan Değerlendirilmesi

Öz

Bu çalışmada Birleşik Krallık devletinin denizaşırı ve bağımlı topraklarının tanıtılması ve bu toprakların jeopolitik ve jeostratejik öneminin ortaya konulması amaçlanmıştır. Bunun sebebi olarak güvenlik stratejileri ve uluslararası ilişkiler bağlamında sömürgecilik döneminin birer bakiyesi olarak tezahür eden denizaşırı ve bağımlı toprakların, boyutlarıyla gayrı mütenasip oranda bir öneme sahip olması gösterilebilir. Bir başka ifadeyle tarihi yaklaşık dört yüz yıl öncesine istinat eden ve stratejik su yolları üzerinde bulunan bu toprakların geçmişte olduğu gibi günümüzde de dikkate alınması gereken birer siyasi ve coğrafi antiteler olarak ön plana çıktığı gözlemlenmektedir. Tarihi gelişmelere bakıldığında Birleşik Krallık devletinin küresel bir güç olarak belirmesinde bu denizaşırı toprakların yaşamsal bir işlev icra etmiş olduğu görülmektedir. Nitekim Birleşik Krallık bu denizaşırı topraklar sayesinde bir dizi imparatorluk koridoru oluşturarak insanların, ticaretin ve askerî gücün merkez ile çevre arasındaki hareketini sağlama yoluna başvurmuştur. Çalışmada Saint Helena, Ascension ve Tristan da Cunha, Akrotiri ve Dhekelia, Anguilla, Bermuda, Britanya Antarktika Toprakları, Britanya Hint Okyanusu Toprakları, Britanya Virjin Adaları, Cayman Adaları, Falkland Adaları, Cebelitarık, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Turks ve Caicos Adaları, Güney Georgia ve Güney Sandviç Adaları olmak üzere Birleşik Krallık’ın farklı statülere sahip on dört deniz aşırı ve bağımlı toprağı incelenmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Denizaşırı topraklar
• bağımlı topraklar
• Birleşik Krallık
• jeopolitik
• deniz ulaşım yolları

Geopolitical and Geostrategic Assessment of the United Kingdom’s Overseas and Dependent Territories

Öz

This study aims to introduce the overseas and dependent territories of the United Kingdom and to highlight their geopolitical and geostrategic importance. This is because, in the context of security strategies and international relations, these overseas and dependent territories, as remnants of the colonial era, possess an importance disproportionate to their size. In other words, it is observed that these lands, whose history dates back approximately four hundred years and which are located on strategic waterways, stand out as political and geographical entities that must be taken into consideration both in the past and in the present. Historically, these overseas territories played a vital role in the emergence of the United Kingdom as a global power. Indeed, the United Kingdom used these overseas territories to create a series of imperial corridors, facilitating the movement of people, trade, and military power between the center and the periphery. The fourteen overseas and dependent territories of the United Kingdom with different statuses have been examined: Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Turks and Caicos Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Overseas territories
• dependent territories
• United Kingdom
• geopolitics
• sea routes

Kaynakça

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