New Book by Ali Bilgiç: “Turkey, Power, and the West”

17 October 2016 Comments Off on New Book by Ali Bilgiç: “Turkey, Power, and the West”

ali-bilgic-4irinternetsitesi-200-x-266Asst. Prof. Ali Bilgiç of the Department of International Relations has published his second book, “Turkey, Power, and the West: Gendered International Relations and Foreign Policy.”

The publisher, I.B. Tauris, offers this description of the book:

“From the Ottoman Empire to the present day, the book constructs an image of Turkish foreign policy as reflecting a gendered insecurity—one of a ‘non-Western’ Turkish masculinity subordinated to a ‘Western’ hegemonic masculinity—and shows how Turkey’s ‘subordination’ has in turn been internalised by its own politicians. turkey-power-west-cover-cxns-250-x-382Dr. Bilgiç takes advantage of feminist postcolonialism and critical security studies to paint a picture of a Turkish republic anxious to make its mark on the world stage, yet perennially insecure about its position as a global power. The book also evaluates Turkish domestic politics within the models of gendered non-Western ontological insecurities.”

A reviewer, Prof. Cynthia Enloe, adds: “Ali Bilgiç shows us here why asking smart gender-analytical questions is so crucial if IR practitioners hope to be useful and reliable. ‘Turkey, Power and the West’ reveals the ways in which masculinities are wielded by the US, the EU and current Turkish officials.”