Project Description

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cerem I. Cenker-Özek and Asst. Prof. Burak Toygar Halistoprak jointly prepared the project, titled "Cultural Foundations of Foreign Policy: A Quantitative Research Between Countries with an Original Data Set". It is supported under the TÜBİTAK 1001 Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program.

The project aims to analyze how cultural values influence the roles that countries attribute to themselves in foreign policy. Using a unique dataset collected from the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, and Turkey between 2000 and 2024, the project seeks to explore the relationship between cultural values and foreign policy behavior.

Project Objectives

The primary goal of this project is to examine how cultural values, which influence domestic politics and political leadership, shape countries’ foreign policy role concepitons. The dependent variable in this study is the foreign policy role conceptions, while the independent variable is cultural values. To conceptualize and operationalize these variables, the research utilizes Role Theory of Foreign Policy Analysis and Political Culture Approach of Comparative Political Behavior.

Methodology

The project employs content analysis and regression analysis as its primary data collection methods. The research analyzes foreign policy speeches delivered by key political figures, including prime ministers, presidents, and foreign ministers, in both national and international settings from 1990 to 2020. The Project codes leader’s expressions of specific role conceptions for their countries as well as their cultural expressions taht vary along traditional/rational-secular and survival/self-expression dimenions. Quantitative regression methods are used to examine the relationship between cultural values and the preference for foreign policy role conceptions.

Project Team

Project Coordinators:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Işıl Cerem Cenker-Özek (Antalya Bilim University)

• Research Areas: Democracy, Political Culture, Social Capital, Civil Society, Generalized Trust, and Social Networks.

Asst. Prof. Burak Toygar Halistoprak (Antalya Bilim University)

• Research Areas: Foreign Policy Analysis, Peace, and Security Studies.

Project Assistants:

Yağmur Yetimoğlu (Bahçeşehir University, Doctoral Student)

• Research Areas: Political Philosophy, Foreign Policy Analysis.

Emre Erdemir (Marmara University, Doctoral Candidate)

• Research Areas: Turkey-EU Relations, Energy Security Policies.

Ayşe Serra Ünaldı (Middle East Technical University, Master’s Student)

• Research Areas: Irregular Migration, International Migration Law.

Çağrı Çimen (Antalya Bilim University, Master’s Graduate)

• Research Areas: Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law.

Selin Alıca (Akdeniz University, Doctoral Student)

• Research Areas: Econometrics, Statistical analysis