CONTEMPORARY EURASIA IX ( 2 )
AVETIK HARUTYUNYAN
FOREIGN POLICY DECISION-MAKING ACTORS IN THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY : A LEGAL ANALYSIS
Abstract : Based on an investigation of the relevant legal documents , this article analyzes the scope of authority of the following state institutions in foreign policy decision-making in the Republic of Turkey : the president , the Grand National Assembly , the Council of Ministers ( together with the Prime Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs ), the National Security Council ( along with the Armed Forces ), and the Security and Foreign Policy Council ( from 2018 ). It traces the development of the legal framework concerning the powers and duties of these institutions from the establishment of the Republic to the present and elaborates on its impact on the level of their involvement in foreign policy decision-making in various political circumstances and time periods . The article argues that after the establishment of the Republic , sufficient legal framework was gradually developed to make foreign policy decision-making in Turkey more pluralistic with several state institutions included in the process , while the constitutional changes of 2017 , on the contrary , were meant to centralize foreign policy decision-making powers around the President and his office . Keywords : Turkish foreign policy ; decision-making in Turkey ; foreign policy decision-making ; decision-making actors
Introduction
The study of Foreign Policy Analysis as a subfield of the discipline of International Relations began to develop in the 1950s . As defined by Chris Alden and Amnon Aran , “ Foreign policy analysis ( FPA ) is the study of the conduct and practice of relations between different actors , primarily states , in the international system ”, and “ at the heart of the field is an investigation into decision making , the individual decision-makers , processes and conditions that affect foreign policy and the outcomes of these decisions .” 1 Thus , with its actor-specific approach , Foreign Policy Analysis has contributed to the development of the study of Foreign Policy Decision-Making , which “ refers to the choices individuals , groups , and coalitions make that affect a nation ’ s actions on the international stage .” 2
1 Chris Alden and Amnon Aran , Foreign Policy Analysis : New Approaches . 2nd ed .
( Abingdon : Routledge , 2017 ), 3 .
2
Alex Mintz and Karl DeRouen Jr ., Understanding Foreign Policy Decision Making ( Cambridge : Cambridge University Press , 2010 ), 3 . 30