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Underlying factors of the economic miracle of Japan after the Second World War
Japan has undergone four significant phases in the post-war period: reconstruction in the late 1940s of the war-induced economic downturns, stability period in the 1950s, fast growth in the 1960s and early 1970s, and ending fast growth triggered by the first oil crisis in 1973. The aim of this thesis is to determine the factors related to the evolution of Japan's economic development called as Japanese miracle after the Second World War and until the oil crisis of the 1970s.In the post-war era, following the occupation and influence of the United States along with the increased intervention of the Japanese government in the economy, enhancing its capacity to foster sustainable growth through exports and investment, Japan experienced an economic miracle and became one of the most flourishing industrial economies in the world. A series of reform policies have been set out by the U.S. occupation of Japan aimed at rebuilding and restoring the ruined nation and ultimately creating an opportunity for Japan to become an industrial superpower. These reform policies have had a significant effect on the democratization and transformation of the nation which affected the capacity of the nation to evolve. Furthermore, Japan as a 'developmental state' set out policies aiming to achieve fast growth through promoting and protecting the key industries from foreign competition under the guidance and control of the state. In order to understand the Japanese economic miracle, the key concepts of political, social, and economic shifts accompanied by the impact of the state's capacity during the 20th century will be examined. Additionally, this thesis also seeks to contextualize the mechanism of Japanese growth under the state's intervention in a country of a different culture and that has been experiencing ongoing economic growth. Keywords: Japanese Government, Reforms, Economic Growth, Developmental State, Policies, State Capacity.
The impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth: The case of Eastern Africa
It is revealed that foreign direct investment, which is one of the main determinants of the global economy, has various benefits for the host countries. It is claimed that foreign direct investment is an important tool on knowledge and technology transfer, which plays an important role in economic development. Especially underdeveloped and developing countries implement many policies and offer incentives to attract foreign direct investments. In addition, empirical studies examining the economic benefits of host countries from foreign direct investments have reached different results. The results of the latest research claim that some domestic conditions must be created for foreign direct investments to have a positive effect. Foreign direct investments are one of the most important policy tools of African countries in order to ensure economic development. Therefore, it is important to understand the conditions under which FDI inflows occur in Eastern African countries. The general purpose of this thesis is to examine the conditions under which foreign direct investments lead to economic growth in East African countries. The data of selected countries for the period of 2000-2020 were evaluated and interpreted for this purpose. The data reveal that foreign direct investment contributes to economic growth in Eastern African countries with institutional quality, developed human capital and political stability. The effect of foreign direct investment on growth is low in Eastern African countries, which lack political and economic stability, inefficient infrastructure and low institutional quality. The high economic growth rates in Eastern African countries, where foreign direct investment inflows are high, reveal that there is a significant relationship between economic growth and foreign direct investment. These findings reveal that policies aimed at attracting foreign direct investments in Eastern African countries depend on improving domestic conditions in the host country. Keywords: Africa, Foreign Direct Investment, Eastern Africa, Economic Growth, Covid-19, Human Capital
Kore kamu diplomasisi: Twitter üzerinde bir pandemi analizi
The aim of this thesis is to examine how Korean public diplomacy has employed social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing whether this represents a practical evolution in diplomatic practices and if social media usage extends beyond cultural diplomacy aspects. This thesis investigates how Korean public diplomacy has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by using social media for diplomatic activities. It examines whether this shift reflects practical changes or remains theoretical. The research contributes to understanding the role of social media in modern public diplomacy, especially during the pandemic. Utilizing purposive sampling, the research deliberately chooses cases that align with its objectives, thereby enriching the collection of specific and detailed data. Through qualitative content analysis that follows, a deep investigation into textual and visual information takes place, capturing complex phenomena and underlying motivations that quantitative approaches could potentially miss. The incorporation of the Twitter Advanced Search tool further enhances data gathering, assuring congruence with research aims and meticulous curation. Within the scope of this thesis study, for the facilitation of understanding the amassed numerical data, which serves as the cornerstone of the analysis, the method of descriptive statistics was embraced. This entailed the creation of tables and preparation of visual materials to facilitate the subsequent discussion. The research findings in response to the study's questions revealed an increased use of social media during the COVID-19 period. However, a direct link between cases and Twitter activity couldn't be clearly established. Notably, a stronger correlation was noticeable with changes in government. While Twitter was predominantly used for cultural diplomacy, shifts in government led to an increased emphasis on sports diplomacy and humanitarian diplomacy, presenting them as alternatives. In the context of humanitarian diplomacy, the official Korea Public Diplomacy Office's Twitter account displayed discernible selectivity, yet the underlying reasons for this selectiveness remained uncertain and require further investigation. Keywords: Republic of Korea, Public Diplomacy, Digital Diplomacy, COVID-19, Twitter.
Söylem analizi üzerinden bir okuma: Xİ Jinping ve meşruiyet inşası
Bu çalışma, siyasal iktidar ve meşruiyet arasındaki ilişkiyi detaylı bir şekilde incelemekte ve siyasal iktidarın toplumsal rıza arayışının nasıl bir meşruiyet inşası sürecine dönüştüğünü söylem analizi yöntemiyle ele almaktadır. Çalışmanın temel amacı, siyasal iktidarın meşruiyet kazanma süreçlerini, özellikle de Çin'de, Xi Jinping dönemi üzerinden analiz ederek bu süreçlerin parti içi meşruiyet inşası üzerindeki etkilerini ortaya koymaktır. Araştırmanın sorusu, Xi Jinping'in nasıl bir meşruiyet inşası stratejisi izleyerek 3. dönem Çin Devlet Başkanı olmayı sağladığı üzerinedir. Bu bağlamda, çalışma statükonun nasıl haklılaştırıldığına ayrıca toplumun siyasal, sosyal ve ekonomik olarak nasıl yeniden yapılandırıldığına dair eleştirel bir perspektif sunmaktadır. Yöntem olarak nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden söylem analizi kullanılmış, Xi Jinping'in 19. ve 20. Ulusal Kongreleri sırasında yaptığı konuşmalar analiz edilerek, dönemler arası söylemsel devamlılıklar ve değişiklikler karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmiştir. Çalışma, Çin'in siyasal yapısında görülen bu dönüşümün, hem yerel hem de uluslararası arenada nasıl yankılandığını ele alarak, siyasal söylemin ve liderlik stratejilerinin toplumsal yapılar üzerindeki etkilerini belgelemektedir. Bu bağlamda, söylem analizi yönteminin kullanılması, literatürde nadiren ele alınan Çin siyasal dinamikleri ve liderlik retoriği üzerine derinlemesine bir bakış sağlamaktadır. Bu tez, Çin'in siyasal sistemi ve liderlik yaklaşımları üzerine yapılan çalışmalara metodolojik ve teorik katkılar sunmaktadır zira Xi Jinping'in söylemlerinin dönüşümünü ve bu dönüşümlerin toplumsal ve politik yapılarla olan dinamik etkileşimlerini kapsamlı bir şekilde ele almaktadır. Bulgular, Xi Jinping'in meşruiyet inşasının ÇKP içindeki ve genel toplum üzerindeki etkilerini detaylı bir şekilde gözler önüne sermekte ve bu stratejilerin Çin politikasında nasıl bir yenilik getirdiğini karşılaştırmalı yöntem ile vurgulamaktadır.
İran'da kadın hareketi: Reformist dönem ve yeşil hareketin karşılaştırmalı bir çalışması
In this thesis, two periods of Iranian women's movement are examined; the Reform period and the Green Movement. The reason for selecting these two specific period is due to important improvements in liberties that the society experienced during the Reform period and almost the complete opposite situation they experienced with the Ahmadinejad era, the same era that Green Movement took place. Hence, women's experiences in these periods were significant. These periods are examined through themes. In the Reform period's women's movement's characteristics are; fragmentation, pragmatism and multi-strategy. Green Movement's women's movement's characteristics are; diversity, political change, independence, disperse coalition and retreat due to repression. By looking at these two periods through the themes that are established to analyze the unique characteristics of these periods further, it is possible to see that women's movement in Iran is quite active. They have been fighting for gender equality for more than a century. This fact is apparent when looking at these periods comparatively. It is understood that women's movement in these periods, although differed in some aspects, showed similarities with each other.
Bulgaristan ve Gürcistan'ın Müslüman azınlıkları: Pomak ve Acaralıların karşılaştırmalı incelemesi
This thesis analyses the transformation of identities of two religious minorities, Pomaks and Ajarians, located on the opposite sides of the Black Sea region, in Bulgaria and Georgia respectively. Both minorities embraced Islam under the Ottoman rule and encountered difficulties with the growth of ethno-religious nationalism in their respective countries' national ideologies in the post-Ottoman era. The thesis reviews the literature on ethnic and religious nationalism, for the relation between religion and nationalism was intimate in both Bulgaria and Georgia, and religion has been an integral part of national identity as well as the national discourse of these countries, and it collects data through semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in Bulgaria and Georgia with elites and experts as well as the ordinary members of both Ajarian and Pomak communities. It underscores the intolerance Bulgarians and Georgians, whose faith is not Orthodox Christianity, are subjected to in Orthodox countries like Bulgaria and Georgia, where religion and ethnic and national identity is superposed. That is, it draws attention to the ethno-religious nationalism causing intolerance especially towards minorities who were formerly considered as Orthodox Christians. The findings of the study demonstrate that minorities having more commonalities with the majority yet differences in terms of religious affiliation suffer more.
Afganistan'da eğitimin inşa ettiği millet: Bir millet inşası örneği
The departing point of this thesis is to understand the implications of nation-building as a Western initiative in contemporary Afghanistan in the post-2001 period. Based on this larger question, the thesis investigates the meaning of 'nation' as a concept that is externally introduced to this country. In this framework, the goal of this thesis is to reveal the idea of nation as presented particularly in the discourse of education constructed by the state of Afghanistan. To this end, the thesis employs three major primary resources: (1) official state documents; (2) school textbooks; and (3) expert interviews conducted at the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan. The thesis poses three major research questions on what the content of the idea of nation is; what it tells about the society of Afghanistan; and whether it suggests the modern idea of nation as defined in the West. Pursuing a qualitative research methodology, the thesis interprets the data through several themes that emerge as the constituents of the millat-e Afghanistan ('nation of Afghanistan'). More specifically, the thesis uncovers and examines: (1) three national symbols including the national flag, national anthem and national heroes, as well as national history; (2) four national concepts including national unity, citizenship, national will and national interests; and (3) four major elements of the nation including Islam, qawm, Afghaniyat (Afghanness) and watan (homeland). Findings of this study clearly reveal that the Western-imposed form of nation has a local content in Afghanistan which is a product of its own context.
Çatışmalı bir süreçte devlet olma mücadelesi; Kıbrıs Türk toplumunun siyasal iktisadi analizi
The Cyprus Problem was predominantly studied as a protracted conflict of clashing nationalisms and the TRNC-Turkey relation was depicted as a "dependency relation" that developed between a core and a periphery. This thesis suggests an alternative reading for both issues and analyses their relationship from a critical political economy perspective based on a realist epistemology by using the "dialectical method of inquiry". It considers the Cyprus problem not only as an intercommunal conflict but more pertinently as a statehood struggle that was shaped by, and also shaping in return, the uneven and combined development of capitalism (UCDC) on the island and by the contradictions of capitalism on a regional scale. TC statehood struggle is considered as a constellation of class struggle that was conditioned by cross-cutting and overlapping issues of ethnic cleavages and rising nationalisms and its closely linked to the GC statehood struggle hence they shall be analysed as complementary processes rather than competitive ones vis a vis UCDC on the island. The TC State is depicted as a capitalist social formation that is shaped by the changing relations of production, and the TC State-Turkey relationship is regarded as an "internal relation", whose form and essence are constantly reproduced by hegemonic relations within the power bloc in the north, providing relative autonomy to the TC State vis a vis this bloc. The state and society in Cyprus are undergoing a neoliberal transformation in parallel to the rise of a new form of imperialism in the South Eastern Mediterranean after the 2000s that deepened the divide on the island across hydrocarbon politics.
Sosyal bir kimlik olarak ülke içinde yerinden edilen kişilerin (ÜİYOK'lerin) sosyolojik analizi: Gürcistan ÜİYOK'leri üzerine bir vaka çalışması
This thesis analyzes the social identification process of internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Georgia within the scope of Social Identity Theory of Tajfel and Turner (1978). The study focuses on the influential components of the identity formation process of the Georgian IDPs, who have been displaced through several migration waves in two different periods (early 1990s and 2008) from both Abkhazia and South Ossetia due to ethnic conflicts. In order to analyze IDP's self-identification, the research focuses on two main dimensions. While the first dimension is the external definition of IDP identity by the host community, which stigmatizes it over the course of the post-Soviet period; the second dimension is the self-attributed characteristics (i.e., sedulity, unity, coming from the same region) and perceptions of IDPs on certain concepts (i.e., shared trauma, in-group favoritism, home, homeland and the wish to return) which strengthen and transform IDP identity from a stigmatized pattern towards a positive one. Based on the data collected in Georgia between 2014 and 2017 through in-depth interviews with civil society experts, state officials, politicians, academicians and the IDPs from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, who migrated to Georgia proper in different periods, the self-identification process and behavioral patterns of IDPs, the Georgian social context and IDPs' social interaction with the out-group agencies (host community, state and civil society) are elaborated thoroughly.