Volume XVI Summer 2011

This particular special issue, a collection of six articles, examines security in the Middle East. The Middle East is at a critical juncture and is experiencing the consequences of systemic transformations at global and regional levels. In his contribution to the current issue, Mark Fitzpatrick deals with the question of how to contain the Iranian nuclear crisis. In his view, the idea of a fuel swap is still worthwhile. Andrea Ellner focuses on the possibility of a regional approach to the Iranian nuclear programme. Ellner examines the potential role Turkey and Brazil could play for initiating a ‘Nuclear Weapons Free Zone’ in the Gulf region. H. Sönmez Ateşoğlu analyzes the security of Turkey with respect to Syria, Iraq and Iran. His model relies on the realistic account of power, and military power in particular, for predicting the security of the states under scrutiny. Katarzyna Krókowska focuses on social, economic and political factors in the period between Syria’s independence in 1946 and its unification with Egypt in 1958, which led to the fall of democracy. N. Ateşoğlu Güney examines where the international community stands vis-à-vis the nuclear proliferation challenge in the Middle East. Güney assesses whether there is any chance for a nuclear cascade in the Middle East while the Iranian stalemate persists. Cengiz Dinç offers insights on Turkey’s security policy in the Middle East. He traces the roots of Turkey’s new policy and underlines the constitutive roles played by democratizations and economic growth at home in triggering the changes in foreign policy practice.

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