THE OSCE; QUO VADIS ?

ÖMER BURHAN TEZEL
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Turkey

Between 6-7 December 2002, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) held its 10th Ministerial Council meeting in Porto. From EU member states that are also participants in the OSCE, only three Foreign Ministers attended: one was the outgoing Portugese Chairman in Office, Minister Martins da Cruz, and the other the incoming Dutch Chairman in Office, Minister De Hoop Scheffer. Likewise, from across the Atlantic, neither the US, nor Canada were represented at Foreign Ministers' level. This was also the case with the countries from Central Asia, save Tadjikistan.

TOWARDS MORE FUNCTIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Dr. SEMA KALAYCIOGLU
Professor of International Economics at Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey. This artical was presented as a research paper at the MESA (Middle East Studies Association) meeting of 23-28 November, 02, in Washington D.C.

The Middle East (ME) is neither fully integrated as an economic region, nor does it stand out as a coherent socio-political context. It consists of countries among which the level of economic relationship is quite low. This is a major reason why, despite various attempts to cooperate since the 1950s, regional ...

TURKEY AND SOUTH AFRICA: TOWARDS THE SECOND DECADE

ALI KEMAL AYDIN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Head of Department, Directorate General for the EU

[This article is an attempt to provide some information and assess the present state of relations between Turkey and South Africa. It reflects the personal views of its author and not necessarily those of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.]

Although diplomatic relations between Turkey and South Africa were formally established only about a decade ago, contacts between the Turks as Ottomans and South Africa go back as far as the second half of the 19th century. The presence of a Muslim population and the discovery of rich gold and diamond resources in South Africa probably prompted the Ottomans to have a closer look at the region. Some scholars have even speculated that the expansion of the Ottoman Empire ...

THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES RIVERS CONTROVERSY AND THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

METE ERDEM
Mete Erdem is Edward Bramley Researcher in Public International Law at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom.

INTRODUCTION
Historically, international law governing the utilisation of transboundary freshwater resources has been concerned with the issue of water allocation between riparian states. The first major recorded water dispute of legal significance dates back to 1895, when Mexico charged the Unites States of America with diverting water from the Rio Grande in violation of international law. Before it eventually led to an agreement between Mexico and the US in 1906, the US Attorney General Judson Harmon had delivered a legal opinion on the state of international law, which ...

RELUCTANT GIANT: THE RISE OF JAPAN AND ITS ROLE IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA

BIROL AKGÜN & SABAN HE. ÇALIS
Drs Birol Akgün and Saban H. Çalis are assistant professors at Selçuk University, Department of International Relations

INTRODUCTION
The rise of Japan as an economic power in the international political economy is one of the most spectacular developments since the Second World War. It is not only the sheer size of the Japanese economy that illustrates its success, but also the country's technological innovations, quality of products and the prevalence of made-in-Japan goods in every quarter of the globe that manifests the ever growing Japanese influence in the world. More interesting still is that, despite its colossal economic power, second only to the United States, Japan...

TURKEY  IN THE NEW EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENCE ARCHITECTURE

ESRA DOGAN
Esra Dogan is a Second Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Turkey

INTRODUCTION
Turkey has been an active player in the arena of European security and defence architecture since the beginning of the Cold War. Nevertheless, the end of the Cold War changed the rules of the game and Turkey's status in this new environment was no exception. Turkey evaluated changing conditions, and came up with the conclusion that NATO membership would not suffice anymore,  ...

AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND SEPTEMBER 11

CENAP CAKMAK

Nearly all  political and economic pundits agree that the events of September 11 2001 have changed “everything”, including American foreign policy. The question is whether the degree of change is “remarkable”.  In the following pages an attempt will be made to describe some basic aspects of American foreign policy and to determine the implications of terrorist attacks on American foreign policy output.

BOOK REVIEWS

BINNUR ÖZKECECI-TANER
Binnur Ozkececi-Taner is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political Science and a research associate at the Global Affairs Institute in the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.

Thomas Diez ed. The European Union and the Cyprus Conflict: Modern Conflict, Postmodern Union  (Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York, 2002). Pp. 256, ISBN 0719060796, £45.00

The Cyprus question has been hotly debated within European Union (EU) circles in the last couple of years.  Indeed, the accession of the “Republic of Cyprus” (“RoC”) ...

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