Publications of Emel Akcali

Geographical Metanarratives in East-Central Europe : Neo-Turanism in Hungary

Two EU-­based social scientists investigate the geographical metanarrative of Neo-­Turanism as articulated by the recently ascendant far-­right party Jobbik (Movement for a Better Hungary), which differs from most European far-­right movements but shares some elements of the anti-­Western orientation with Eurasianism and Pan-­Slavism. The authors trace Neo-­Turanism’s origin to a historical ideology (Turanism) that aspires to terminate Hungary’s alliance with the Euro-­Atlantic community and instead form a cultural, political, and economic alliance with the Uralo-­Altaic peoples (i.e., Turks of Turkey, the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, Tatars, the aboriginal tribes of Siberia, and even Mongols, Manchus, Koreans, and Japanese). After examining the development of Turanism during the 18th to 20th centu-­Turanism) in post-­communist Hungary. Due attention is paid to the revival within the political platform articulated by Jobbik as well as in the everyday political activities of many of the country’s inhabitants and social groupings in the context of Europeanization and globalization.

'Turkey’s Bid for European Union Membership: Between “thick” and “thin” conceptions of Europe

A team of Central Europe-based political geographers examines Turkey's bid for European Union (EU) membership, one of the most controversial issues confronting that country's and EU politics. The authors analyze Eurobarometer public opinion survey data on EU enlargement (and particularly Turkey's EU membership) across the 27 polities of the enlarged EU as well as in Turkey itself. The analysis of the data points to clear regional differences in support for Turkey's EU membership. Moreover, the authors' statistical analysis indicates two major components around which public perceptions of Turkey's EU membership coalesce. The first, identified as a "thick" component, based on the idea that EUrope embodies a specific cultural identity, opposes Turkish membership, whereas a second "thin" component, comprised of institutional-procedural norms, leaves the door open to Turkey. They argue that it is at the complex intersection of these two opposing views that Turkey's bid for EU membership should be located and eventually decided.

“Nature knows no boundaries”- A critical reading of UNDP environmental peacemaking in Cyprus

In 2005, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) set up in Cyprus a peace-building project called Action for Cooperation and Trust (ACT). This project has aimed to create opportunities for bicommunal partnerships on environmental protection as a way to promote intercommunal tolerance. This article discusses critically the efficacy of this project to contribute to the debate on the significance of environmental cooperation in transforming ethno-territorial conflicts. We rely on both survey data and the qualified opinions of Cypriot environmental stakeholders to show that, in the case of Cyprus, successful environmental peacemaking strategies are dependent on widespread environmental awareness, trust in the “third party” (UNDP), and civil society's empowerment, which, however, should complement and not substitute for intervention at a state level. There is also evidence to suggest that the UNDP discourse about “nature knows no boundaries” is most effective when it generates solutions that are perceived to be beneficial to all parties involved, rather than when it uses the environment to discursively construct a common “patriotism” beyond ethnic identities.