EDITOR'S NOTE
The fırst volume of the Turkish Yearbook of International
Relations was offered for the perusal of scholarly and interested circles back
in 1960. The initiative was well received by reviewers who described the early volumes as "significant enrichment of international law and relations"
(American Yearbook of International Law), as "useful publication... by
well-known Turkish and non-Turkish writers" (The Middle East Journal), and as "containing valuable information" (Annuaire français de droit
international).
One of the revievvers, however, stated that to keep up with a periodical, whether an annual or not, w as more of an uphill work than a mere beginning. The Yearbook continued until the year 1982, when it had to stop publication. It presented, for about two consecutive decades, essays by Turkish and foreign scholars on themes within the general field of international relations, reviews of publications of special interest to students of Turkish affairs, and a chronology as well as a bibliography of the year under review. The pages of the Yearbook were also open to non-Turkish authors, and topics of interest for learned men and women in international relations.
The coup of 1980, which impeded, at least temporarily, the bloodshed between the so-called extremes of Turkish society, had a hold upon the scholarly circles as well. The altered circumstances led to a new university law, arguably a loss of initiative, and some restrictions of financial resources. Although scientific essays were never abundantly submitted even beforc 1980, there was an appreciable decline in their number and quality, and printing expenses reached new heights.
After publication of more than two decades, succeeded by a more or less imposed interval of about a decade, we are offering the twenty-first volume of the Turkish Yearbook of International Relations, which is only for this volume a compilation of some articles and book reviews. Covering the years 1982-1991, it is a bridge to the next volume devoted solely to the year 1992, already at the printers. It will be followed by the 1993 volume,
which is under preparation. Ali issues after 1991 are planned to carry a chronology and a bibliography, in addition to articles and book reviews, as was the case before the interval.
The fırst of the nine articles in this comprehensive volume is by Dr. Halil inalcık, distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, who discusses how Tsarist Russia created an empire, in consequence of the competition between the Ottomans, the Crimean Tatars and the emerging Russians. Utilizing fırst-hand sources, the author traces the expansion of Russia, which capitalized on regional rivalries, in this case among two Turkic peoples. The author taught in the universities of Ankara, Bilkent, Chicago, Columbia, and Princeton, was awarded honourary doctorates from the universities of Athens, Bosphorus, Bucharest, Jerusalem and Selçuk, and served as the Director of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes (Paris), and as the President of the International Association of South-Eastern Europe. He is the author or editör of several indispensable source books and vital monographs, the last one being A Social and Economic History of the Ottoman Empire (Cambridge, University Press, 1994).
Devoting his piece of research to the Ottoman experiment in local government, llber Ortaylı presents a balanced evaluation of a tradition with accumulations and pitfalls. He bases local government on economic and financial autonomy and not on craft guilds or religious orders. Upholding that the communication revolution has ushered in a second industrial revolution through the rapid spread of technologies, Oktay Yenal maintains that, as the factor-price equalization theorem had predicted many years ago, if there is free trade, real wages among the countries will converge presenting wide opportunities for the poor countries and adjustment problems for the rich. Mehmet Suphi, Abdülkadir Çevik and Birsen Ceyhun explore the origins of racism in Europe, with signifıcant insight into psychopolitical factors. Edmund J. Cain offers an assessment of the Turkish experience in sustainable human development as a way of eliminating disparities. Eddie J. Girdner, Russell Eisenman and Sevgin Akış explore the attitudes of students in the United States, Turkey and North Cyprus in ten areas of political postures. The collective article is a cross-national inquiry into several contemporary issues. They conclude that Turkey presents an interesting case as it does not fit neatly into the stereotypes of areas of the world that Americans tend to demonstrate. ilhan Uzgel treats the Müslim minorities in the Balkans, an area complicated, not only in terms of ethnic, national and religious diversity, but also politically. The fırst one of my two articles, the last ones in this volume, compares several aspects of U.S. foreign policy that enable us to refer to double standards, and also underlines the need for more
democracy in the woıking of international relations. My second article warns against new challenges in respect to the status of Jerusalem, especially after the 1993 agreement. In the last section, I review twelve books and twenty-two issues of various journals.A section of documents and/or chronicles may be added in the future issues.
This note is also an invitation to ali Turkish and foreign scholars to submit papers and/or book reviews for publication in future issues of the Yearbook. The views expressed in it are not to be taken to represent the opinions of other authors or the publishers. Ali correspondence should be addressed to the editör. The authors are responsible for the contents of their articles, which I have edited and proofread.
T.A.
