TURKEY'S ROLE IN POLITICAL DIALOGUE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Year 1997, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 0 - 0, 01.03.1997

Atila Eralp

Abstract

My comments will basically incorporate into the discussion insights from the 'globalist' perspective in the field of international relations. Based on that perspective, I will argue that the process of political dialogue in the Near East and the Mediterranean region should be contextualized within the changing global and regional environment. It seems that there is an urgent need to change the patterns of dialogue in this region. As is well known, there was not much dialogue in this region during the Cold War years. Rather than dialogue, the region witnessed polarisation along the lines of the East-West conflict as well as a major regional tension, ie. the Arab-Israeli conflict. If there existed any dialogue, it was mainly in a statecentric form, that is between the governments of the region. With the end of the Cold War, patterns of dialogue have been gradually changing in the international system. Since the East-West divide is no longer relevant, we are witnessing the emergence of new tendencies of regionalism affected by changes in the global system. In this new regional orientation, security considerations have become more complex and multidimensional and linked to economic, political and cultural factors. We also witness increasing ties not only between governments, but also among nongovernmental actors which lead to rise of the so-called 'trans-national relations'. As a result of such global and regional changes, there is more potential for economic and political co-operation in the world and more specifically in our region.