Abstract ▼

The article examines the probability of achieving the self-imposed criteria for Turkey to become a macro-regional power by 2023. The author analyses components of variables in Davutoğluʼs equation of power and the results of the “zero problems with neighbours” policy as an essential prerequisite for Turkey becoming one of the poles of power at the global level. Presenting the state of progress in military industries, in the development of technological infrastructure and in the economy, the author assesses the limited progress and failure to materialise the country’s expected goals. After years of progress in various fields, the leading AKP party is now troubled by conflicts inside and outside the country. The author concludes that Turkey will not be able to realise its 2023 strategy due to combination of failures in internal, foreign and economic policies.

Abstract ▼

Despite the great geopolitical importance of U.S.-Turkish bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation in which both countries participate, it is noticeable that only a small number of authors outside the United States and Turkey deal with this topic directly. As both countries are considered to be important players in the international arena, such small number of authors outside the bilateral circuit can be understood as illogical in academic terms. Especially if we take into account a large number of countries which, after the adoption of Davutogluʼs foreign policy doctrine, found themselves in a stronger international interaction with Turkey. Therefore, we consider that a selective review and critical analysis of scientific literature on modern U.S. Turkish relations can provide the possibility of a deeper insight into the current Turkish foreign policy. In this paper author gives a critical review of thirty-five academic papers. In order to facilitate transparency and more complete analysis, the author suggests a classification of papers according to three criteria: the timeframe of the paper, the attitude of the author (towards the given problem), and theoretical approach of the author. The aim of this paper is to review the literature, and enable the reader to summarize certain conclusions which then can be used as guidelines for further research of U.S.-Turkish relations, and the Turkish foreign policy in general.

Abstract ▼

Contemporary Islamic religious fanaticism and terrorism is increasing in spite of the opposition of the international community and the measures taken to combat trafficking. In today’s highly complex and in many ways a specific stage of development of society, there was a typical terrorist formation - the Islamic state, which has seen such a rise that has become the strongest, largest and richest terrorist organization in the world. Because of its ideology and goals, brutality and violence that implements, it generates a huge threat to regional and global security generally speaking. Until a decade ago, this kind of epilogue to the expansion of Islamic extremism and terrorism was virtually unthinkable. That is why the title of this paper is trying to suggest to all the controversy and intricacy of global Islamist trends, linking radical fundamentalism, the state in which the dominating Muslim population and the Islamic religion, and terrorism is above all a product of the strengthening of radical Islamic teachings—wahhabism.

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The paper deals with the legal institute of transboundary environmental impact assessment and its application in concrete reality of international relations. The article starts from the recent judgment of the ICJ in the environmental dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua which was based on the analysis of the content, legal status and mode of application of this institute. The author firstly gives a brief overview of factual background and legal history of the dispute so as to enable the reader to understand the context of the judgment. The author points the climate and environmental factors that create the politically tense climate in the region. Then, the legal analysis of transboundary environmental impact assessment in general international law is given through the overview of legal scholarship, treaty norms and international jurisprudence. A separate section is devoted to the application of this institute in the branch of international law which regulates the use of international watercourses, since the crux of the dispute is about the usage of the shared San Juan river and its ecosystems. In the last part, the interpretation of this institute in the disposition of the judgment of the ICJ is given, and some examples of Court’s argumentation which represent a new understanding of some elements of this institute or which clear previous dilemmas concerning the modes of interpretation are presented. The author points out also that the Court has missed the opportunity to shed additional light on the mode of application of this institute in the emergency cases on the territory of the state which is under an obligation to apply it. The article concludes with the statement that the judgment in the dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua has on the whole contributed to the established status of this institute as the norm of general international law, however, it still stands for further legal practice to define the precise contents of the procedure for its application.

Abstract ▼

The paper deals with the use of geographic maps as evidence in the practice of the International Court of Justice with a view to the latest cases in which the Court in its judgments elaborated maps as evidence: the case Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) and Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica). The analysis comprehends the evidentiary value of geographic maps throughout the International Court of Justiceʼs jurisprudence and even in the case-law of its predecessors. The author emphasizes that the substantial element that affects whether a geographic map will be accepted as direct evidence before the International Court of Justice is the consent of the parties to the dispute, as well as the fact, that the map stands as an expression of the will of the state. The author concludes that the map properties— such as details, quality and consistency—have no impact on the acceptance of the map as direct evidence, but only on whether the geographic map is to be accepted as an indirect proof.

Abstract ▼

The paper analyses the application of the concept of soft power in contemporary international relations in the case of the implementation of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The author departs with the assumption that the government in Moscow uses a wide range of the soft power instruments and prove it on the case study of the combined use of hard and soft power instruments during the engagement in Syria. The analysis also includes the recent Russian foreign policy actions towards Serbia, and stresses out that the Russian Federation does not recognise sufficiently clear the benefits that our country provides in terms of promoting Russian national interests through the sophisticated application of the concept of soft power. The author concludes that the Russian Federation has not been using the full potential of their own sources of soft power in the foreign policy implementation process, and that the use of soft power is not sophisticated and optimal—except in the media.