WFP Notes
Barbie the Movie: Hot Pink Feminism - Bezen Balamir CoÅŸkun and Zeynepnaz CoÅŸkun
For the last couple of weeks, Greta Gerwig’s pink-themed movie on the Mattel toy Barbie has given a kiss of life to the comatose movie sector in Hollywood.
Barbie’s writer & director Greta Gerwig has already made a name for herself as the darling of indie (independent) cinema. Throughout her career the focus of her films has been the topics of girlhood, womanhood and coming of age. She made a debut with films such as Ladybird, Frances Ha and Little Women. All these movies helped her to pave the way for her to give life to the iconic Mattel toy, Barbie.
Chartering the Politics and Challenges of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: An Interview with Soumita Basu and Laura J. Shepherd by Bilge Sahin
This is a conversation between Soumita Basu (SB), Laura J. Shepherd (LJS), and Bilge Åžahin (BS). All three have worked on issues related to gender, peace, and conflict for many years, and have engaged with both the sequence of United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions that form the core architecture of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and aspects of state and civil society engagement with the Agenda. The following answers provide a thoughtful account of the history and politics of the WPS Agenda. In this conversation, Basu and Shepherd touch on fundamental discussions around the WPS Agenda and recommend further readings.
Ayla Jean Yackley – The Political Aftershocks of Turkey’s Earthquake
The massive earthquake that struck southern Turkey on February 6, 2023, killed more than 52,000 people, destroyed a quarter of a million buildings and tore a deep wound in the nation’s psyche. It has also upended its politics, striking just months before parliamentary and presidential elections that coincide with the centenary of the Turkish republic’s founding.
Bezen Balamir CoÅŸkun – What Are Ukrainian Women Saying About the Women's Peace and Security Agenda in Security Studies?
In her book “Bananas, Beaches, and Bases,” Cynthia Enloe asked the question of “where are the women?” in international peace and security. Recently, the war between Russia and Ukraine shows us that women’s presence is crucial in all sectors of conflict and conflict resolution. Notably, the participation of Ukrainian women in nationwide resistance against the Russian invasion has underlined the value of the UN’s Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Since the Maidan protests in late 2013, women have been playing crucial roles in Ukraine. As pointed out by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, “Ukrainian resistance against Russia has a female face”. Once more the war between Russia and Ukraine show that the conflicts brought challenges and opportunities for the emancipation of women, but also caused growing threats to their human security. However, the vitality of following the WPS agenda for global peace and security architecture was not reflected in academic debates within Security Studies. In this short analysis, the state of the WPS agenda in Security Studies will be examined.
In her book “Bananas, Beaches, and Bases,” Cynthia Enloe asked the question of “where are the women?” in international peace and security. Recently, the war between Russia and Ukraine shows us that women’s presence is crucial in all sectors of conflict and conflict resolution. Notably, the participation of Ukrainian women in nationwide resistance against the Russian invasion has underlined the value of the UN’s Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Since the Maidan protests in late 2013, women have been playing crucial roles in Ukraine. As pointed out by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, “Ukrainian resistance against Russia has a female face”. Once more the war between Russia and Ukraine show that the conflicts brought challenges and opportunities for the emancipation of women, but also caused growing threats to their human security. However, the vitality of following the WPS agenda for global peace and security architecture was not reflected in academic debates within Security Studies. In this short analysis, the state of the WPS agenda in Security Studies will be examined.
Zeynep Alemdar, Ekin Ürgen - The Istanbul Convention and the European Union in the Post-Truth Era
The abolition of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, which is named after Istanbul and of which Turkey is one of the first signatories, is debatable legally. We wanted to look at what's going on from a slightly broader perspective.
ÇiÄŸdem Üstün – Disappointed with COVID-19: The Example of the European Union
What was the European Union (EU)? The European Union was a union founded on the principle of diversity, to which European states that respected common values could become members. At the top of the expectations from this union was the solidarity of the member states for their citizens in good times and bad times. While this basic expectation was shaken by the economic crisis that started in 2008 and affected the world for many years, the immigration waves that started with the Arab uprisings and reached its peak in 2015, the anti-democratic administration practices that emerged in the member states as a result of the elections in Poland and Hungary, Orban's It has been badly damaged by obtaining the authority to rule the country for an unlimited period of time with decrees within the framework of COVID-19 measures. These days, when social, economic and health problems are experienced due to COVID-19, can be defined as the worst days in EU history.
Özlem Özdemir – What will be the Impact of COVID-19 on Global Strategic Competition in the Horn of Africa?
The COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, which first appeared in Wuhan, People's Republic of China, continues to spread around the world, causing deaths in the African Continent. Considering that the least developed countries of the world are in this geography, and the insufficient infrastructure, health services and resources of these countries, the rate of spread of the virus is expected to increase gradually. On the other hand, the United States (USA), People's Republic of China, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, which are deployed in the Horn of Africa for both military and economic reasons, are among the countries where the virus spreads the most. In this case, “How will the Horn of Africa countries be affected by this situation?” Before moving on to the question, it would be useful to briefly mention the strategic importance of the region.
ÇiÄŸdem Nas – Time to Revisit the European Ideal: Is Europe Just the Name of a Continent?
According to Nietzsche's well-known saying, everything that does not kill us makes us stronger. Can we say the same for a political structure like the European Union (EU)? According to Jean Monnet, the father of European integration, “yes, we can say it”. Monnet said in his memoirs: “I have always believed that Europe will be built through crises and the sum of their solutions”. The European Union is being built step by step, building on solutions to challenges. But have the successive crises, especially after the rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty in 2005, really strengthened the EU? What solutions have been found to these crises? Were these real solutions, or did they just save the day?
Selin Nasi – Liberal Model in Combating Covid 19: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, like many western countries, failed to perform successfully in the fight against the new coronavirus (Covid 19) epidemic that affected the world. According to the data of the Ministry of Health, as of April 28, the number of Covid 19 cases in the United Kingdom exceeded 161,000, and more than 21 thousand people died.
Zuhal YeÅŸilyurt Gündüz & Birgül DemirtaÅŸ – In the Time of Corona, in the Light of Science: Angela Merkel
The date is January 17, 1991. On the day of the Second Gulf War, a 36-year-old woman is appointed as Minister of Family and Youth from the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) in the Federal Republic of Germany, which was reunified only 4 months ago. This appointment, based on the decision of then Prime Minister Helmut Kohl, does not attract much attention in such a complicated time. At that time, almost everyone underestimated this young, inexperienced, even faintly impressionable young woman from East Germany. But time deceives them. Angela Merkel, whom Helmut Kohl brought to the political scene with a "fatherly" and at the same time patriarchal attitude by calling her "my daughter" ("mein Mädchen"), has become one of the most powerful leaders in the world over the years. Those who love her and those who don't agree on one thing: Merkel is definitely a person who is respected and trusted.
Gülriz Åžen – Iran's Test with Covid-19
The first stop and center in the Middle East of the Covid-19 pandemic, which spread from the city of Wuhan, China to the whole world, was Iran. According to official figures, deaths across the country exceeded 6,700 and the number of infected patients exceeded 110,000. World Health Organization Emergency Director Rick Brennan stated on March 17, after traveling to Iran in the first month of the epidemic, that deaths from Covid-19 in the country could reach five times the official statistics due to the insufficient number of tests. The data shared by Iran's Ministry of Health was also frequently discussed within the country, and all these discussions were accompanied by various claims of opposition groups abroad. What is indisputable is the fact that Iran was caught in this crisis at a time when it was struggling with many political, economic and social problems. These difficult conditions have also profoundly affected Tehran's capacity and strategies to manage the Covid-19 crisis. In this article, we will focus on Tehran's experience while the current seemingly relentless pandemic continues, and the intertwined political, economic and international dynamics that shape this experience will be discussed.
Kıvılcım Romya Bilgin – A New Equation: International System, Artificial Intelligence and Corona Epidemic
Alan Turing's "Can machines think?" His intellectual journey, which he started by starting from Although it is a controversial subject, especially its mathematical, theological, psychological and ethical aspects, artificial intelligence comes to the fore as a solution tool in every field of life day by day. Considering artificial intelligence as a solution tool in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic and the studies carried out for this clearly show the place that artificial intelligence has acquired in today's world. Moreover, it is seen that the effects of artificial intelligence studies carried out for the management and elimination of the epidemic will continue in the future.
Burcu Özdemir Sarıgil – Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand's Game Changer Leader
Jacinda Ardern is the prime minister of New Zealand, an island state in the Pacific Ocean where women won the right to vote for the first time in history. Ardern became the youngest member of Parliament when he was elected Labor MP at the age of 28, and became the party's head in July 2017. When the vote rate of his party unexpectedly rises as a result of his campaign with the people before the elections and comes first in the polls, voters and analysts describe this success as "Jacinda-mania". Ardern is seen by his people as a convincing, determined leader who will carry his country into the future. Ardern, who went down in history as the youngest prime minister in the world when she formed the government in October 2017, became pregnant in her first year as Prime Minister and gave birth to her first child, became the second female leader to become a mother after Benazir Bhutto. She became the voice of many working women in the world with her struggle for rights with her partner during her pregnancy and postpartum period. At the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, Ardern was the first leader to come to the General Assembly with her baby, in addition to drawing attention with her vision of international relations focused on the environment and human rights.
Ceren Uysal-OÄŸuz – COVID-19 and Deepening Problems in Latin America
The whole world is facing the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been devastating for months, and countries are following various policies to get through this process with the least possible damage. The handling of the pandemic and the consequences of the implemented/inapplicable measures continue to have serious effects on the political, economic and social structure in many countries. Latin America is one of the geographies where the number of cases and the death rate are increasing rapidly. Regarding the policies followed during the pandemic process, it is necessary to conduct detailed analyzes on both regional and country scales in Latin America and comprehensively investigate the socioeconomic, political and ecological effects that have emerged. In this short study, while the latest developments in Latin America are analyzed with the main lines, it focuses on Brazil, which is in the worst situation.
Senem Atvur – The Visible Part of the Iceberg in the Process of Ecological Destruction and Climate Change: Covid-19
At the end of 2019, the epidemic, which started in a market place in Wuhan, China, where illegally brought wild animals are sold, spread to the world in a short time, triggering the first major pandemic of the 21st century. The Covid-19 1 pandemic, caused by the new coronavirus, which came from the same family as the viruses that caused the SARS and MERS epidemics, which previously spread regionally, made it necessary to take measures that brought economic and social life to a standstill. The global quarantine environment has also opened a new door in terms of questioning man's relationship with nature.
BaÅŸak Alpan – 'But, Pandemic, It's a Deep Passion': Covid-19 and Football Fandom
It is a well-known story: When the famous director Zeki Demirkubuz visits his family home years later, he stays in the same room with his 12-year-old BeÅŸiktaÅŸ supporter brother. In the middle of the night, Demirkubuz sees his brother lying on his side. His brother's eyes are open, staring with no movement, no sign of life. Asking his brother what happened, he said with the same squinted eyes and whispering, 'What is brother Feyyaz doing now?' says. This story also shows why the social sciences are and should be interested in football and the importance of grasping such identification in order to understand the human being.
Nilgün Arısan-Eralp & Sanem Baykal & Sinem Akgül-AçıkmeÅŸe – We've Seen This Movie: The Future of the EU Is Being Discussed Again!
With its spread speed, inclusiveness and destructiveness, Covid-19 caught the European Union (EU) very unprepared, as it did the whole world. The epidemic, which caused severe limitation of free movement in the world, heavy pressure on health systems in many countries and serious economic problems, affected the EU with similar severity. Moreover, the EU was caught in this mess, which is still not clear how to deal with, weakened by the crises (Brexit, Euro and refugee crises) that it experienced after the Constitutional crisis in 2005 and which have not been fully resolved yet.
Habibe Özdal- Russia's Test with Covid-19
Covid-19, which started from China and spread all over the world and declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WTO), is a major public health issue in Russia as well as a development with economic and political repercussions. Russia ranks third after the USA and Brazil in terms of the number of cases. As of July 1, when this article was completed, according to the data shared by the WTO, the number of cases was 648,000, and the number of people who lost their lives was 9320.
Bezen Balamir CoÅŸkun- What Does Netanyahu's Annexation Plan Mean for the Region?
The West Bank is the region on the west bank of the Jordan River, which forms the border between Israel and Jordan, and where nearly three million Palestinians live. In addition, there are 132 settlements in the West Bank, where as many as 430,000 Israeli Jews live. With some exceptions, the number of these settlements, which the international community defines as occupation, has increased every year and reached its current number. Looking at the location of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank on the map, it can be seen that there is no concentration in certain areas, but spread all over the West Bank.