The article investigates if there are some converging lines between Turkish foreign policy under the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) and the European Union (EU) common foreign, security and defense policies. Starting from an overall presentation of how Turkish main insecurity perceptions have so far shaped its foreign policy, we proceed to scrutinize the ambivalent attitude towards the EU which emerged during the AKP period. Despite the concerns raised by Neo-Ottomanism, Islamism and by the “Eurasian shift’, Turkey has provided a remarkable contribution to several Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) missions. Moreover, Turkey shares some of the same aims envisioned by the EU, such as the stabilization of Western Balkans. Therefore, we argue that there is already a common ground for a strategical involvement of Ankara in the future EU missions, for instance within the recent framework of Permanent and Structured Cooperation (PeSCo). Some Western Balkans countries (like Bosnia and Kosovo) would reap benefits from Turkish contribution, thanks to its historical and religious legitimacy.

Keywords: Turkey, EU, security, defense, NATO, Balkans
[HTML]

The demand for energy in the world is increasing day by day, and for the countries that have an energy deficit, the uninterrupted and safe energy trade has vital importance. An important part of energy trade is provided by the sea and this makes the strategic straits more valuable than ever before in history. The most important of these straits is the Strait of Hormuz (SH), which is a key to the transportation of the Middle Eastern oil and that natural gas flow to Europe, the South Asia and the Pacific. The SH has attracted the attention of the whole world due to the recent diplomatic crisis between the US and Iran. In the event that Iran does not terminate its nuclear activities, the US’s declaration on blocking the Iran’s petroleum trade and Iran’s announcement in shutting down the SH directly to sea trade have increased the tension in the region. It is inevitable that these potential initiatives seriously disrupt the world energy trade. In this regard, the policies of China, India and Turkey, whose economic growths base on energy import, have been a subject of discussion. The aim of this paper is to examine the strategic, economic, and politic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and Effects on Iran’s international relations and foreign policy. The paper has the purpose of revealing the attitudes and policies of international actors on the SH and regional politics.

Keywords: The Strait of Hormuz, Iran, Turkey, USA, South Asia
[HTML]

Keywords: Institutions, Post-Soviet countries, natural resources, diversification, linkages, Kazakhstan
[HTML]

Educators around the world are concerned about the role research could or should play in determining teacher education (TE) policy and practice. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Kazakhstan embarked on an educational transformation. During a time when TE policy and science are in the process of active development in Kazakhstan, a vital question is how research in TE can be advanced. Still, little is known about the recent trends in the literature on Kazakhstani pedagogy or TE has arisen in the last decade. This analysis examines TE research in Kazakhstan published in academic journals from January 2006 to December 2016 and reviews the latest trends and patterns that have characterized TE research during this period.

Keywords: teacher education, research, in-service, pre-service, policy, Kazakhstan
[HTML]

For many Central Asian citizens labor migration has become a part of their lives mainly due to difficult economic condition in their hometown like high unemployment rate and low wages. In order to cover the economic needs of their families majority of the labor migrants send 30-50% of their earnings back home which in total becomes large sums comparing with their home country GDP. In 2017, Central Asian countries in total has received $5 billion remittance inflow in 2017 where the remittance share to GDP for Kyrgyzstan is 35% and for Tajikistan is 31% one of highest ratios in the world. The potential of remittance incomes on contributing the economic development in these countries has been widely discussed in literature. However, there is lack of information on turning this opportunity into reality part. This paper aims to analyze the recent remittance dynamics and their effect on the economic development in home country.

Keywords: remittance, labor migration, entrepreneurship, Central Asia, income
[HTML]