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(Δ2 8 007) -  KYRIAKOS MIKELIS (ΚΥΡΙΑΚΟΣ ΜΙΚΕΛΗΣ)

Περιγραφή Μαθήματος

Ac. year 2025-2026

!!! as of 28/2/26, bibliography has been enriched and uploaded in 'documents' folder) !!!

!!! as of 10/3/26 the document Central Notes_maps_tables etc_version1.pdfn  has been uploaded in 'documents' folder). It is the core text for the narration in the course and will be major part of the exams !!!

!!! Response Paper March has been uploaded in Assignments tool !!!

 

Turkey: Society, Economy and Political System

The course is taught in English and it is offered to both foreign Erasmus students, coming to the University of Macedonia, and the students of the Department of International & European Studies.

Its departmental code is ‘Δ2  8 007’, it assigns 5 ECTS and it belongs to the 4^th year (8^th semester, Spring).

Its educational platform site is https://openeclass.uom.gr/courses/IES267/

 

Teaching staff

Κ. Mikelis, Assistant Professor /Mr. (kmikelis@uom.edu.gr)

office hours: Wednesday 18:00-18:45 and Thursday 13:00-13:45, as well as other times by appointment.. Anyways, availability for virtual meeting at various time-slots, after e-mail arrangement. Office 430 (tower KZ) https://www.uom.gr/en/kmikelis

 

Welcome:

Dear student, I am Associate Professor Kyriakos Mikelis and I welcome you to the course. My field of expertise is ‘theory and historiography of International Relations’ and my work/reflections on the subject of the course, namely Turkey, can be found in various articles/chapters entitled: ‘‘Lessons Learned from the Development of Turkish IR: A View from Greece’’ (in All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace, 2023), ‘‘Just Another Form of Dependence? A Short Description of the Development of the Discipline of International Relations in Post-war Greece and Turkey’’ (in Balkan Studies, 2013), ‘‘Broader Middle East and the Dynamics of Regional Powers: The Case of Turkey’’ (in Greek, chapter in collective volume, 2018), ‘‘Lost in the Deep? The ‘Strategic Depth’ Thesis (Α. Davutoğlu) as Part of Turkish IR’’ (in Greek, in Aerial Review, 2013), ‘‘International Relations in Turkey and Security at the Heart of IR debates’’ (in Greek, in Naval Review, 2008).

 

Course content:

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the political, economic, social and diplomatic structures of Turkey (Türkiye), with an emphasis in the country’s international role and position as well as the interplay/nexus of domestic and international realms. The course covers the period from the late Ottoman period to the present day, highlighting key historical and political conditions for the formation and implementation of the Turkish ontology. It focuses on Turkish politics, Turkish economy, history and foreign policy, as well as fundamental issues that have shaped Turkish society, with the landmark of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey/Türkiye. The course material ranges from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of modern Turkey to current issues such as Turkish foreign policy in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey's relations with the US, EU, Russia, China, Erdoganism compared to Kemalism, Islam and secularism in Turkish society.

 

Course Learning Outcomes:

With the completion of this course students are expected to:

- Familiarize themselves with key concepts, facts, issues and arguments related to Turkey (Türkiye) in multiple sectors, with an emphasis in the country’s international role and position.

- Engage in problem-solving, in issues related to Turkey and particularly issues related to its international relations, society, economy and politics.

- Engage in critical analysis and evaluate key arguments and issues relevant to Turkey, its development, dynamics and relations within the state as well as with other international actors.

- Enhance skills in analyzing phenomena concerning Turkey by applying concepts of various social sciences, including International Relations.

- Cultivate the ability to generate innovative research ideas.

- Strengthen critical thinking skills.

- Foster free, creative, and inductive thinking.

- Improve decision-making abilities.

- Promote the capacity for independent work.

 

Mode of delivery:

Face to face (by means of lecturing, answers and questions, discussion)

 

Learning Activities and Teaching Methods:

Interactive lectures. Assignment completion, Report writing, Literature study and analysis, Group discussions and debates, Case studies and practical applications

 

Assessment methods and Criteria (SOS, read carefully):

A. Written paper, with oral presentation (40+10%)

B. Mini-activities (Response Papers) (10%)

C. Written final examination (Multiple-choice test) (40%)

The evaluation of students is done as follows:

A. Preparation of a term paper in written form (40%), plus its presentation (10%). The size of the paper is about 3.000 words, excluding bibliography /APA system. Presentation with ppt (of about 8-10 minutes) obviously precedes the final submission. Students are encouraged to do it as early as possible. The topics of a paper indicatively fall within the following categories:

- Describe the political role of one (older or newer) political party in Turkey (e.g. Justice and Development Party, Republican People’s party etc), likewise a political personality or the trajectory of a political ideology or a major political event or a political scandal

- Describe an economic sector of Turkey, an instance of respective crisis or an instance of respective peak

- Describe economic relations of Turkey with another country or regional organization

- Describe a specific feature of Turkish foreign policy or diplomacy (e.g. public, cultural, economic, coercive etc), or a feature of Turkish power or a case of bilateral relations of Turkey with another country (e.g. the US, Russia, Israel, Greece etc or a regional or international organization) or Turkish foreign policy in a specific region.  

- Describe the intricacies and politics of a social issue in Turkey or an issue pertraining to Turkish civil society

- Describe a security issue of Turkey (either internal or external).

Students send to Dr. Mikelis a proposed topic, until 15/3/26. After the deadline, no selection will be allowed, and thus the course cannot be passed.

B. Two mini activities (10%): response papers (most probably article review) of 2-3 paragraphs (to be uploaded in due time, in the openeclass platform).

C. Multiple choice test (40%), as a final exam, out of a fairly limited corpus of texts (to be announced soon).

 

Indicative structure of the course

- Introduction to the course. Introductory remarks on (Türkiye) and the perspective of International Relations (IR)

- General history of the Ottoman Empire (rise and demise) and the Republic of Turkey (transition from the empire and trajectory as nation-state)

- Political and social intricacies: the role of Personalities (20^th century: e.g. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , 21th century: e.g. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan), civil-military relations, juxtaposition of 20th century Turkey (and kemalist ruling class) with 21th century Turkey (and post-kemalist ruling class), the Kurdish Question, the role of Political Islam, contending ideologies and social movements
- Economic intricacies: Trajectory and key features of Turkish economy, the role of energy issues

- Power intricacies: Turkey and hard power, soft power, smart power, sharp power

- Foreign policy and external affairs of Turkey, including regional architecture, relations with the EU, assertive stance in the UN, the Davutoğlu thesis and doctrine as turning point (?), the Arab Uprisings as a juncture point
- Turkish civilizational and identity debates plus the role of securitization in Turkish politics

- Active learning and presentation of papers by students

- Summing up, general conclusions and self-reflection.

 Multimedia used (updated, as shown in class):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnCOe5Y3p-0      / Istiklal Marsi - Turkey National Anthem English lyrics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWOmuL11g8w       / National Anthem_ Turkey - İstiklâl Marşı _NEW VERSION_

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkEFO2T3M3Q      / Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96n33WWgE9g     / Ten Minute History - The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Birth of the Balkans (Short Documentary)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XJByxNyMfs&t=46s     / Turkey vs Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire vs Turkey Ottoman Empire Comparison Data Duck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaN9owpy9d8     / Turkey_ Atatürk's Reforms – Modernization or Erasure of Islamic Heritage_

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2sSucpCoyU     / Was Ataturk Revolutionary Turkey History

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH8hj04X1pY    / Turkey After Ataturk Turkey History

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ipo-KeXDGY&t=2s A Brief History of Women's Rights in Turkey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmFX-TeWAAY Turkey quits landmark Istanbul Convention protecting women from violence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTTdJlrfOE0 Women's rights: Outrage as Erdogan pulls Turkey out of European Treaty against violence

 

 

Distributed texts for the course:

Selection 1 (for Greek students): Davutoğlu, A. (2010) ‘‘Το Στρατηγικο Βαθος: Η Διεθνης Θεση της Τουρκιας’ (Strategic Depth: Turkey's International Position) Athens: Poiotita (Evdoxos code: 68397685)

Selection 2 (for non-Greek students, Electronic resource via heal-link springer ebooks,but anyway available to all, in the ‘documents’ file in the course’s openeclass):

2a. Bermek, S. (2019) The Rise of Hybrid Political Islam in Turkey. Springer (Evdoxos code: 91695699)

2b. Kutlay, M. (2019) The Political Economies of Turkey and Greece. Springer (Evdoxos code: 91695602)

 

Recommended Reading and other learning sources/tools 

The following bibliography is highly indicative and non-exhaustive. Τhose texts have been uploaded to the folder: documents in the Openeclass platform.

- Ahmad, F. (1993) The Making of Modern Turkey. London: Routledge.

- Arıkan, Harun, and Zeynep Alemdar. Turkey’s Challenges and Transformation. Spriger. 2023.

- Alaranta, Toni. Turkey's Foreign Policy Narratives. Springer International Publishing, 2022.

- Balci, B., & Monceau, N. (eds.) (2023) Turkey, a Century of Change in State and Society. Springer Nature.

- Ercan, P. G. (ed.) (2017) Turkish Foreign Policy: International Relations, Legality and Global Reach. Springer

- Dal, Emel Parlar, ed. Turkey's Political Economy in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.

- Hale, W. (1994) Turkish Politics and the Military. Routledge.

- Özkeçeci-Taner, Binnur, and Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe, eds. One Hundred Years of Turkish Foreign Policy (1923-2023): Historical and Theoretical Reflections. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.

- Tezcür, Güneş Murat, ed. The Oxford handbook of Turkish politics. Oxford University Press, 2022

- Zürcher, E. J. (2017) Turkey: A Modern History. Bloomsbury Publishing.

    

Relevant scientific journals:

- Turkish Studies

- Turkey Insight

- New Perspectives on Turkey

- Journal of Modern Turkish History

 

Ημερομηνία δημιουργίας

Πέμπτη 12 Φεβρουαρίου 2026