TY - JOUR
T1 - Sea Blindness in Turkish International Relations Literature
AU - Kirval, Levent
AU - Ôzkan, Arda
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, All Azimuth.All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The oceans and seas cover 72% of the Earth's surface, and 85% ofglobal trade is done by maritime transportation. Moreover, 40%> of the -world’s population lives on or near coastlines. Also, the oceans play a crucial role in Earth's biosphere. Recently, by desalination techniques, the seas have become a potable water resource. Therefore, one can say that the oceans and seas are indispensable for mankind. However, international disputes and collaboration efforts between states regarding the seas are not widely studied by scholars of International Relations (IR). This can be referred to as sea blindness, and it may be defined as an inability to appreciate the importance of seas and naval power, particularly with regards to strategic security and economic prosperity. A country with sea blindness is not aware ofmaritime supremacy as an importantforeign policy tool. Similarly, IR scholars mostly focus on land conflicts and not on sea issues when they study international politics. This is particularly true in Turkish IR literature as issues on land are again the focus areas for Turkish scholars. In this context, this article makes an analysis of the articles in peer-reviewedjournals and books published by well-known publishers in Turkey, providing statistics about the issues covered. Also, for comparison, major political science and IR journals published abroad are analysed with regards to publications related to the seas. This statistical analysis elucidates whether there is sea blindness in Turkish IR literature.
AB - The oceans and seas cover 72% of the Earth's surface, and 85% ofglobal trade is done by maritime transportation. Moreover, 40%> of the -world’s population lives on or near coastlines. Also, the oceans play a crucial role in Earth's biosphere. Recently, by desalination techniques, the seas have become a potable water resource. Therefore, one can say that the oceans and seas are indispensable for mankind. However, international disputes and collaboration efforts between states regarding the seas are not widely studied by scholars of International Relations (IR). This can be referred to as sea blindness, and it may be defined as an inability to appreciate the importance of seas and naval power, particularly with regards to strategic security and economic prosperity. A country with sea blindness is not aware ofmaritime supremacy as an importantforeign policy tool. Similarly, IR scholars mostly focus on land conflicts and not on sea issues when they study international politics. This is particularly true in Turkish IR literature as issues on land are again the focus areas for Turkish scholars. In this context, this article makes an analysis of the articles in peer-reviewedjournals and books published by well-known publishers in Turkey, providing statistics about the issues covered. Also, for comparison, major political science and IR journals published abroad are analysed with regards to publications related to the seas. This statistical analysis elucidates whether there is sea blindness in Turkish IR literature.
KW - Sea blindness
KW - Turkish IR literature
KW - global IR literature
KW - international disputes
KW - maritime supremacy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147806123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.20991/allazimuth.1240039
DO - 10.20991/allazimuth.1240039
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85147806123
SN - 2146-7757
VL - 12
SP - 85
EP - 106
JO - All Azimuth
JF - All Azimuth
IS - 1
ER -