Legal and Military Reforms

To Nazlı, in celebration of 55 years of togetherness and love.

Contents

1. Acknowledgments

2. Chapter 1

   Introduction: Preliminary Thoughts and Historical Background

3. Chapter 2

   Pre-Modern Era

4. Chapter 3

   Modern Era

5. Chapter 4

   The Cold War and Post-Cold War Era

6. Chapter 5

   Historical and Philosophical Considerations

7. Chapter 6

   Conclusion

8. Bibliography

9. Index

Acknowledgments

My academic journey began in Lausanne, Switzerland, where I obtained my Ph.D. in International Law. Therefore, I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Professor Georges Perrin, for his invaluable support and guidance throughout my thesis, which ultimately led to the publication of Les Actions Militaires Coercitives et Non Coercitives des Nations Unies. I am particularly grateful for his appreciation of my reference to Hans Kelsen, a distinguished scholar in law. Professor Georges Perrin kindly told me that he found my gesture “fully sensible,” and his words of encouragement in this regard deeply touched me.

I never forgot to thank and praise Prof. Dr. İhsan Doğramacı and his son Prof. Ali Doğramacı. I always appreciated İhsan Hoca’s establishment of quite a number of universities and research academies not only in Turkey, but also all over the World. They were the founders of Bilkent University in Ankara. Both Doğramacıs had been considerably successful in the establishment and direction of universities and research academies.

Together with a dear colleague of mine, Prof. Ersin Onulduran, we engaged in a dialogue with Seyfi Taşhan, who was a successful, reliable, and internationally respected businessman. Unlike international relations and foreign policy analysis, international law stands out as the only academic field where a significant dialogue has developed between scholars and foreign policy practitioners. The earliest efforts to bridge this gap emerged with the founding of the British Institute of International Affairs in 1926, later renamed The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). Among its members were prominent young scholars, including Arnold Toynbee. Despite receiving government funding, the institute operated as an independent center for research and publications. In Turkey, the first foreign policy think tank was established in 1974 by Seyfi Taşhan, who launched the initiative from his business office in Ankara. Taşhan started this initiative in 1971 with the publication of a quarterly policy-oriented journal, “Foreign Policy—Dış Politika.” It is noteworthy that, in 2004, Seyfi Taşhan appointed a promising young professor at Bilkent University, Prof. Ersel Aydınlı. The best American universities and, think-thanks began to invite the leading Turkish university liberals and enlightened academics. Moreover, Prof. Aydınlı and I work together, helping one another.

In preparing this book, I would like to thank my assistants who emancipated my writings and provided support in research—Seyfi Bey’s assistants and Eren Akpınar, a Ph.D. student in Istanbul University.

When Turkey aligned with NATO’s identity and power politics after the Second World War, Ekavi Athanassopoulou became a considerable supporter of the Republican Turkey. Greece supported Turkey through naval power and land forces. Many other similar argumentations in British Universities began to attract more students. For instance, Philip Robins of Oxford University began to engage with the issues not only concerning Turkey but also Caucasus.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Tarık Oğuzlu for the enriching conversations and insightful discussions we shared during our lunch gatherings. I am also a close friend of Global Academia, founded by Mustafa Aydın and Mitat Çelikpala. Prof. Mustafa Aydın serves as its General Coordinator. I have always appreciated and supported their theoretical and political studies.

I would also like to mention two military strategic writers: Mesut Uyar has recently published a work on strategic maneuvers and training (Baskı, Ekim, 2021, İstanbul, Kronik Yayınları). Edward J. Erickson authored a military history and policy study, Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I, which is an excellent comparative study. I am grateful to both friends for their outstanding contributions to military studies.

I extend my genuine thanks to my daughter, Defne, for her invaluable assistance with organizing and editing the text. I am also deeply grateful to my son, Kerem, for his crucial contributions to the organization of the text and title, providing technical support, and offering his friendly help with repairs.