Rethinking Soft Power in the Post‐Blockade Times: The Case of Qatar

This study seeks to advance the understanding of the utility of “soft power” by exploring the case of Qatar. The country's approach is conceptualized as “nested power” through the examination of its political strategies before and after the regional blockade in 2017. The role of soft and nested power in Qatar has already been examined through various vantage points, such as small state diplomacy, mediation, and sports. Since the blockade has been for Qatar a great strategic dilemma, examination of how it affected power dynamics reveals the salience as well as the resilience of Qatar's soft and nested power. The article will discuss the concepts of “soft” and “nested” powers and their relevance to the state of Qatar in general and it will focus in the final section on the post‐blockade period. In doing so, we also seek useful approaches, which can be compatible with, and even advance “global international relations” (IR). The movement to make IR more global and inclusive is a welcome feature of the current century, reflective of the burgeoning role of the “Global South.”     

Spatial Analysis of Residential Prices in Istanbul

The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial distribution of housing prices at the metropolitan and at the district level of Istanbul. At the metropolitan level, the most important factors which affect housing prices are sub-market, floor area and sea view. At the district level, housing prices vary from district to district according to locational, socio-economic and property characteristics. High-income sub-markets have higher coefficient of determinations and more significant variables than low-income sub-markets. Furthermore, the results suggest that planned districts have higher housing prices; thus, restructuring squatter areas and revitalizing inner city areas provide not only benefits to individuals but also higher tax revenues to the city.     

Urban Restructuring of Istanbul

After 1980s, the major cities of Turkey have experienced urban transformation process following the changes in the international trade policy and the impact of globalization. Istanbul took the highest amount of share from these transformation processes as being the most important economic, cultural and tourism centre and the most integrated centre to the world economy of the country. This paper describes Istanbul's historical development, investigates demographic profile and spatial distribution of employment and illustrates multi-centre development of the city. Decentralization of population and jobs illustrate the multi-centre development. Multi-centre development contributes to sustainable urban development which provides efficient energy use and prevents pollution. Istanbul having a long history, large population and being in a very strategic location between Asia and Europe greatly effected from globalization which is reflected in its transformation of urban structure and increased land values and thus offered great opportunities for the real estate investors. The role of Istanbul within the world hierarchy of cities is suggested for further research.     

The Perpetuation of Regime Security in Gulf Cooperation Council States: A Multi‐Lens Approach

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have been engaging in diversification efforts, yet the types of efforts suggest that the primary interest is regime security. Regional foreign policy is complex; hence we propose a multi‐lens approach to analyze overlapping and complementary political, economic, and social forces. The international political economy of hydrocarbons demonstrates the similarities among GCC states, regional dynamics illustrate interstate relations and similar patterns, while economic diversification suggests individual state trajectories and comparative and competitive patterns. By outlining the contemporary context for GCC states, we argue that low oil prices, regional dependence on hydrocarbons, and trends in economic diversification efforts signal GCC states' preference to reinforce their rentier systems with alternative state revenue streams. GCC states' diversification into new markets and sectors and use of state‐owned enterprises in microcompetitions indicate a new search for alternative revenue streams and prestige, which in turn are used to assure the perpetuation of regime security. This finding sets trajectories and implications for the region, specifically economic stagnation and supplementary diversification processes.     

Spatial Distribution of Shopping Malls and Analysis of their Trade Areas in Istanbul

This paper investigates the spatial distribution of shopping malls with respect to population and analyses the factors which effect the shopping mall location. According to the results, while the shopping mall space ratio is higher than population ratio in the intermediate zone, the reverse is true in the periphery. The relationships between the shopping mall space and income, population and distance to the central business district (CBD) of the locations are investigated by the use of regression analysis. The results reveal that income is the only factor affecting the location of shopping malls among those considered. In addition, three shopping malls from the inner and peripheral zones of Istanbul were analysed with respect to frequency to shopping centres and characteristics of trade areas. According to the results, the size of the catchment area of the shopping mall from the inner zone is larger then the peripheral ones due to higher accessibility with alternative transportation systems and supporting functions in its surrounding areas. The results fall within the concept of central place theory. Further research is suggested by expending the study to the other areas of the city with different characteristics to calculate their retail potential and their spatial implications.     

Research briefing

Although pharmacies play an important role in providing information and advice on health issues to lower income people in developing countries, the distribution of urban pharmacies is not balanced with respect to population distribution in some of the districts of Istanbul. This situation can severely limit the accessibility of pharmacy services to the people with lower socio‐economic background. A multiple regression analysis is used in order to find out the factors which affect the spatial distribution of pharmacies in Istanbul. The number of pharmacies in the districts considered is taken as the dependent variable and the number of hospital beds, physicians, population, employment, income, number of educated people and distance to the CBD are taken as independent variables. According to the results, the population of the districts and the number of educated people, physicians and hospital beds are the most important factors affecting the location of pharmacies in Istanbul. The other variables are not found significant in affecting the location of pharmacies at the metropolitan level. Suggestions are made for better distribution of pharmacies and for further research.     

Born in the U.S.A.: citizenship acquisition and transnational mothering in Turkey

This article explores the practice of giving birth in the U.S. for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for the newborn children, among upper and upper-middle class mothers who otherwise are permanently located in Turkey. Focusing on their motivations, anxieties and practices, we situate our analysis with respect to discussions of intensive mothering, transnational motherhood and multi-layered meanings of citizenship. We suggest that the motivations women have for traveling to and staying in the U.S. in the later stages of their pregnancy reveal a new terrain of intensive mothering, tied to locally specific perceptions of future unpredictability and restrictions on individual choice. This particular discourse of intensive mothering involves the promotion of individualistic-decision-making and individualized efforts to control macro-processes, and reveals how citizenship acquisition for the children reproduces and disguises inequalities at the transnational level. Yet, this is also an intensely emotional process, not only indicative of the pressures on mothers, but also women’s multilayered conflicts of belonging and identity across spaces and scales of citizenship.     

The Gulf Cooperation Council states: Crystallization of the regional cooperation and alliances amid dwindling resources

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states can be divided into two main camps in terms of hydrocarbon endowment per capita which can partially account for differences in policy directions. Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE (the rich triplet) have small populations while having large hydrocarbon (oil and natural gas) endowments compared to Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE have been effectively using their excess wealth in the form of investment for domestic economic diversification and overseas investments through their sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). Therefore, the rich triplet perceives the upcoming threat of decarbonization of the world's energy system lighter than the remaining members of the GCC in view of their prosperity. The expected decrease in oil demand and revenue within the next decade will put further strain on the relationship between these states.     

Heritage and resistance: irregularities,temporalities and cumulative impact

Urban social change and large-scale demolitions in the name of urban renewal often give rise to social conflicts. In this study, we investigate how resistances to this change emerge, coalesce and revolve, and how they use heritage to generate cumulative impact. The analyses of urban change and resistance in Gårda, a working-class neighbourhood of Gothenburg, Sweden, showed social conflicts to be instigated by their stigmatisation. Since the 1970s, Gårda has been called ‘out of place’ and marked for demolition. These demolitions were given legitimacy by the ‘housing quality standards’ that emerged in the 1930s as a means to reduce social inequalities. Over time these standards became an ‘intangible heritage’ employed in neoliberal urban policies. In response, five ‘Re-Gårda’ resistance strategies emerged to contest Gårda’s future. Resistance groups uncovered new values for Gårda, curating the vision with the slogan ‘have a coffee in Gårda’, and structuring the narrative ‘upgrade Gårda’. This challenged the dominant discourse ‘demolish’ or ‘conserve’ Gårda, and resulted in a government decision to protect Gårda as a ‘heritage site’. Investigating heritage and resistance in Gårda helped us reveal the potential of resistance in challenging the limits of authorised urban and heritage discourses, and in realising socially equal and just cities.