CONTEMPORARY EURASIA IX ( 2 )
other possible stakeholders that use different tools or mechanisms to influence the decision-makers ( and in this manner also have an impact on foreign policy decision-making ).
Thus , based on the assumption that clear identification of the scope of authority and competencies of state institutions legally included in foreign policymaking is crucial when analyzing foreign policy decisions and steps taken by a country , this article identifies the institutions that are legally authorized to take part in the foreign policy decision-making process in the Republic of Turkey and specifies the scope of their competencies and its changes since the establishment of the Republic to the present . To this end , the article discusses the authority in foreign policymaking granted to the President , Council of Ministers , Grand National Assembly and other state institutions of the Republic of Turkey based on the study of the Constitutions and other legal acts of Turkey starting from the first years of the establishment of the Republic to the Constitutional amendments made in 2017 and the following period . This includes the Constitutions of 1924 , 1961 and 1982 , with the relevant amendments made to them , as well as laws , decrees and other legal acts encompassing the authority and competencies of relevant state institutions such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , the National Security Council and the Security and Foreign Policy Council , which was established in 2018 .
However , three possible limitations of this article should be taken into account . First , this study is based on an analysis of the existing legal norms defining the authority of different institutions . Hence , it does not include the role of foreign policy advisors or other individuals and entities , whose direct participation in foreign policy decision-making is not envisaged by the existing legal framework . Second , the authority granted to any institution by legal acts can , in practice , vary depending on the political situation in the country or other possible factors ( for instance , securitization of particular foreign policy issues 5 ), so any further case study aiming to analyze a foreign policy decision made by Turkish authorities regarding any specific foreign policy issue should take into account the general political situation in Turkey and other relevant factors that can in practice limit or enhance the authority of one or several actors for that specific case or time period . Finally , the range of participants in the process of foreign policy decision-making can be not limited to the
5
For the concept of securitization , see Barry Buzan , Ole Wæver and Jaap de Wilde , Security : A New Framework for Analysis ( Boulder : Lynne Rienner Publishers , 1998 ). 32