Data Gathering

I gathered the majority of my original primary source material by conducting a number of semi-structured in-depth interviews with open-ended questions with Turkish officials engaged in Turkish mediation policies at various levels. The interview subjects were selected according to their relevance to Turkey’s mediation as well as their availability. Despite the fact that the analysis of this study focused more on Turkish actors, and thus the number of Turkish subjects interviewed is visibly higher, I also interviewed people from other countries to be able to derive more insight on how Turkey mediates differently and how other mediators have operated in the same conflicts. Although most of the interviews were conducted in Turkey and in person, in certain cases I had to conduct interviews through phone due to logistical problems. The inability to reach some of the potential participants as a result of their reluctance to participate in the research, availability or logistical problems have appeared as limitations to the research.

Among the participants, Ufuk Gezer, former Head of Department of Directorate of Policy Planning at Turkish Foreign Ministry (the department that inter alia coordinates Turkey’s official mediation attempts), provided invaluable insight about Turkey’s official policy on mediation. Three Turkish diplomats who preferred to remain anonymous provided insight about Turkey’s policy in Somalia. They were particularly helpful in understanding how Turkey utilizes mediation as a tool of foreign policy. Interview with former Academic Adviser in Chief to Turkish Foreign Minister Bülent Aras was particularly insightful about the theoretical and empirical background of Turkish foreign policy and mediation with specific references on Ahmet Davutoğlu’s approach. Similarly, interview with Ertuğrul

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Apakan, former Undersecretary of Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations, was invaluable for understanding Turkish mediation. I also interviewed Head of Department of Public Diplomacy under Turkish Prime Ministry Cemalettin Haşimi, Head of Directorate for Strategy Planning at the Directorate for Religious Affairs Necdet Subaşı and Head of Strategy Development at the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities under Turkish Prime Ministry Zahide Erdoğan. Among these, Necdet Subaşı was particularly helpful in deepening my understanding of what role religion has in Turkish mediation.

In addition to Turkish bureaucrats I also interviewed Head of Department of Foreign Affairs at Turkish Red Crescent Bayram Selvi, Deputy Chairman and Board Member of Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) Hüseyin Oruç, Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy Coordinator of IHH İzzet Şahin and General Coordinator at The Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW) Cihangir İşbilir. In addition, I also interviewed Şeyda Sever, former coordinator of Shifa Hospital in Somalia which was built by Doctors Worldwide in cooperation with Medical Park, a private hospital chain in Turkey. Her comments were insightful in understanding the impact of Turkish aid on the ground.

I have also embedded primary data gathered at a workshop on “The Role of NGOs in Turkey’s Peacebuilding” held at Istanbul Policy Center on December 3, 2013 where 15 senior representatives of Turkish HNGOs participated. The data gathered from the workshop has also been compiled into a journal article I co-wrote with Bülent Aras.164 From Britain I interviewed former British Ambassador to Somalia (1987-1989) Jeremy Varcoe who gave me valuable insight on Britain’s foreign policy in Somalia and what role

164 _{Bülent Aras and Pınar Akpınar, “The Role of HNGOs in Turkey’s Peacebuilding,” International} Peacekeeping 22, no.3, 2015: 230-247.

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mediation has in British foreign policy. I also interviewed Thomas Wheeler and Mohamed Enow from Saferworld who are Conflict and Security Adviser and Somalia/Somaliland Field Coordinator, respectively. They have provided some valuable insight on Britain’s policy and mediation in Somalia.

From Norway, I had the opportunity to interview Hilde Frafjord Johnson, former Minister of International Development of Norway, member of the Norwegian Government, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan. Hilde Frafjord Johnson mediated between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement in 2005 which resulted in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Interviewing Ms. Johnson was particularly helpful in understanding Norwegian mediation approach.

From Somalia I interviewed Ambassador of Somalia to Turkey Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdurahman who provided with valuable information regarding Turkey’s mediation between Somalia and Somaliland. In addition, I also interviewed three NGO representatives from Somalia including an anonymous representative, Somali Ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Abdirazak Siyad Abdi and Executive Director of Watchful Association for Relief and Development Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein. Their contribution was particularly significant in uncovering the local perceptions on Turkish involvement in Somalia.

I also had the opportunity to interview the Spokesperson for the Palestinian Government in Gaza Tahir al-Nunu which provided me with insight on the perception on Turkey in Gaza, to what extent Turkey is able to play a leadership role in the region and how influential it is as a mediator. The interview was also insightful in terms of understanding the civilian

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dimension of Turkey’s peace initiatives particularly with respect to the Mavi Marmara flotilla crisis.

Finally, I interviewed William Quandt who is a scholar and former staff member on the National Security Council in the Nixon and Carter administrations who took active part in the Egyptian-Israeli peace negotiations in 1978-1979. Interviewing Quandt gave me invaluable insight about US mediation in the Arab-Israeli negotiations which enabled me to deepen my chapter on the Syrian-Israeli negotiations. It also helped me draw on Turkey’s difference as a mediator from the US.

In addition to the interviews conducted, I also weaved in data from the proceedings of former Turkish Foreign Minister and current Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende on Turkish and Norwegian mediation approaches in three conferences and a workshop which I had the opportunity to attend. The conferences were the first and the second Istanbul Conference on Mediation held in Istanbul in 2012 and 2013 respectively by Turkish Foreign Ministry as part of the Friend of Mediation Initiative cofounded by Turkey and Finland within the UN. During the second conference, I also had the opportunity to interview former Deputy Foreign Minister of Somalia Jamal Mohamed Barrow which was later published on the weblog of the Center for Strategic Research at Turkish Foreign Ministry (SAM).165 I used this published data on my thesis as well. The workshop I attended was entitled “Turkish and Norwegian Approaches to and Experiences in Mediation Seminar” which was organized in Ankara on November 6, 2013 by the Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research at Bilkent University, SAM and the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center (NOREF).

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Jamal Mohamed Barrow, Former Deputy Foreign Minister of Somalia, interview by Pınar Akpınar, Istanbul, April 11, 2013, published on Center for Strategic Research at Turkish Foreign Ministry Blog, October 8, 2013.

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Alongside the data from the interviews, conference and workshop proceedings, I also consulted press releases of Davutoğlu, former Turkish Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende and a number of US Presidents and Secretaries of State which have provided valuable insight on the foreign policy and mediation approaches of respective countries. These press releases were accessible online mainly from the official websites of the respective institutions or in newspapers that published these speeches. In addition, I also analysed text from books, journal articles, policy briefs, reports, newspapers and op-ed articles. Among these, particularly material written first hand by Davutoğlu such as his renowned book Strategic Depth or Vision Papers written by him and published by Center for Strategic research, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs have provided me with insightful information on understanding Turkey’s approach to foreign policy and mediation. While publications from the Turkish ministries, and speeches by Turkish politicians are likely to be biased, these are crucial sources in helping me to reconstruct the attitudes and policies of key Turkish decision makers. Indeed, in the absence of archival data, these are the only sources we have to glean information about Turkish intentions and policies, and therefore, it was essential to use these documents. In February-March 2013, I also went to George Mason University, School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution in Virginia, USA as a visiting scholar in order to conduct library research and meet prominent scholars in the field of conflict resolution. My time in SCAR was particularly fruitful in terms of expanding my theoretical knowledge and my academic network. In addition, in July and August 2014, I attended a series of trainings on mediation, negotiation and alternative dispute resolution at Virginia Mediation Service, USA which enabled me to diversify my theoretical and practical knowledge in the field.

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An ethical approval was sought from Keele University before beginning the interviews which was a challenging and educative process.166 Longitude was a setback of timeframe and also might be thought to have diminished my room for manoeuvre, in some cases, as I had to wait for the approval before beginning interviews, and as the meaning of the official forms could be interpreted differently in a different cultural and political context. The obligation to sign a formal document acted as a repellent element with one of the potential participants, a mid-level Turkish bureaucrat, who could have contributed significantly to the thesis but rejected to participate since he was wary of signing the document.