ABSTRACT Following the London Peace Conference negotiations, Albania gained independence in principle on 17 December 1912, with formal recognition by the Great Powers on 29 July 1913, ending Ottoman rule. This raised the question of who would ascend the Albanian throne. Marshal Ahmet İzzet Pasha emerged as a potential candidate due to his prominent Albanian family background and distinguished military career. Despite Ottoman efforts to install a Muslim ruler, İzzet Pasha rejected the offer for personal reasons.This study examines İzzet Pasha's candidacy within Albania's independence process (1912–1913), investigating Albanian nationalism's development after the Second Constitutional Era, the London Peace Conference decisions, and throne debates. It assesses the Committee of Union and Progress government's failed Albanian policies and the international dynamics shaping Albania's independence. The research reveals İzzet Pasha's political sensitivity and cautious stance, driven by concern for Albania's newly established state structure. The study draws on Ottoman archival documents, published memoirs, contemporary newspapers (Tasvir-i Efkâr, İkdam), and works by prominent researchers including Kristo Frashëri, Barbara Jelavich, Peter Bartl, R. C. Hall, Noel Malcolm, Stavro Skendi, and George W. Gawrych..

ABSTRACT This article examines Chinese newspaper reports about Türkiye from China’s foreign policy perspectives and shows in which context Türkiye has been strategically significant for China. Newspaper reports were categorized into themes, and it revealed that there has been a significant interest in Türkiye’s role in regional stability, security, and its relationship with Western nations. As portrayed in the news, Türkiye’s foreign policy, which maintains flexible ‘two-way diplomacy’, aligns with China’s interests in fostering alternative global alliances, suggesting a strategic interest in maintaining and strengthening diplomatic ties. By analysing the themes in the news coverage, the article aims to offer policymakers and analysts insights into the priorities and concerns of Chinese foreign policy regarding Türkiye.

ABSTRACT This study examines Eleftherios Venizelos’ approach to the League of Nations as a reflection of the complex interplay between idealism and realism in the diplomacy of a small-state leader. Venizelos, Greece’s Prime Minister and a pivotal figure at the Paris Peace Conference, embraced the League’s principles, viewing it as a mechanism to promote both international stability and Greek national interests. The article explores Venizelos’ dual strategy of championing collective security while navigating the constraints of power politics, and reveals his pragmatic use of the League to secure international support for Greek territorial ambitions and stability. However, his vision was tempered by the League’s structural weaknesses, especially its inability to enforce decisions against major powers. The analysis extends to Venizelos’ efforts to balance regional alliances, particularly with Turkey, within the League’s framework, and his advocacy for initiatives like the Briand Plan for European integration. While the League ultimately failed to prevent World War II, this article underscores its role as a platform for small states to assert their agency and advance their objectives. Venizelos’ nuanced approach demonstrates the persistent tension between the ideals of collective security and the realities of geopolitical interests in the interwar period.

ABSTRACT Sighișoara, dominated by iconic sights such as the Clock Tower and the legend of Dracula, is complemented by the lesser-known Hill Church Cemetery. The lack of academic information dedicated to cemetery tourism in Romania motivated a detailed analysis of this cemetery. Our study is based on the analysis of comments on online platforms (TripAdvisor, Google Maps) using the Leximancer program. The results reveal a counterintuitive picture of the cemetery. Unlike other dark attractions, the Hill Church Cemetery stands out for its unique, relaxing and peaceful atmosphere, devoid of negative feelings. Its transformation into a garden cemetery has diluted the dark tourism label, making it an attractive destination for a wide range of visitors. Our research contributes to a better understanding of cemetery tourism in Romania and of the tourism potential of the Hill Church Cemetery.

ABSTRACT The events at the end of 1963, which highlighted the ongoing disputes between the two Cypriot communities, induced Türkiye to intensify its diplomatic efforts to address the crisis. As part of this strategy, Türkiye endeavoured to persuade the British to support its position and take a more proactive role in the diplomatic process, reminiscent of the pre-1960 period. However, having relinquished its responsibilities on the island, Britain was reluctant to intervene in a situation that could jeopardize its interests in Greece and Türkiye. This article aims to demonstrate Türkiye’s endeavour to encourage Britain to assume a decisive role, however, Britain resisted and remained unconvinced of the federation thesis; instead, the positions of these countries only aligned with the compensated-Enosis and double-Enosis proposals.

ABSTRACT This study examines Kavurzade Huseyin Celal Bey of Crete, a notable example of meritocratically appointed officials in the late Ottoman bureaucracy. The son of a farmer, Huseyin Celal Bey began his education in Chania and continued it in Istanbul, graduating from the The School of Political Science (Mekteb-i Mülkiye) before ascending the ranks of the civil service. Initially appointed as a teacher in Bursa in 1889, he subsequently held positions such as school principal, director of education (maarif müdürü), district governor (kaymakam), and ultimately achieved the rank of provincial governor. Despite his modest origins, his advanced education enabled his upward mobility in the bureaucracy. For years, he served in remote and challenging regions and was rewarded by the Ottoman central administration for his diligence and discipline. This study aims to sketch a portrait of this late Ottoman bureaucrat. While framed as a biographical essay, it primarily focuses on the professional career of an official who rose through education and competence alone, without patronage or aristocratic lineage, a success story that was rare in the late Ottoman Empire.

ABSTRACT Kemal Kaya is an Ottoman-born Turkish nationalist who played a contested role in the tumultuous Xinjiang region during the 1930s. Despite his involvement, the literature on Uyghur nationalism and Xinjiang during this period has yet to address his role in any meaningful depth. Conducting an atheoretical idiographic case study and content analysis, this study seeks to bridge this significant gap through the following questions: How did Türkiye and China interpret Kaya’s actions and motivations at the time? What do these perceptions reveal about the geopolitical complexities of Xinjiang during this period and the international dimensions of the region’s unrest? By contextualizing archival findings within the (geo)political and military developments in Xinjiang during the 1930s, this research offers a fresh perspective on Xinjiang’s (geo)political complexities, the region’s international dimensions unrest, and Kaya’s contested role in shaping its trajectory. Based on Chinese and Turkish archives alongside secondary sources, this study thereby focuses on Kaya’s political and military activities, particularly his involvement with the warlord Ma Zhongying and his contested identity as a potential Soviet or Japanese agent. Overall, the findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of Turkic nationalist movements abroad and the interplay of regional and global powers in shaping Xinjiang’s history.

ABSTRACT Global challenges to neoliberal policies upon consecutive economic crises in the 21st century led to a transformation of state–market relations along new developmentalist lines. This paper examines a possible transition in Turkish economic policy towards new developmentalism by offering a multifaceted methodology: (i) the rise of new developmentalism resulting from the emergence of non-Western centres of power at the global scale; (ii) evolving dynamics of Turkish political economy towards new developmentalist principles; and (iii) Turkey’s increasing foreign economic relations with the major non-Western economies, namely Russia and China. It posits that the challenges to neoliberalism, shifting global power dynamics and the rise of new developmentalism have transformed Turkey’s fundamental economic policies, investment strategies and foreign economic relations. It argues that the strengthening economic relations with Russia and China are not merely the result of the shift in market priorities but also a catalyst for Turkey’s changing economic tendencies. The policymaking processes in Turkey have turned into a self-reinforcing cycle, where the two prominent trends of the past decade—the emergence of the new developmentalist paradigm and the strengthening of economic relations with Russia and China—mutually reinforce each other.

ABSTRACT While the perceptions of General Ioannis Metaxas’ dictatorship, established at the end of the interwar period in Greece (1936–1941), regarding various professional groups (farmers, workers) have been sufficiently studied, its relationship with the country’s merchants remains largely unexplored. This relationship was initially shaped by the regime’s ideological orientation. Although the identification of politics with agrarian movements was not as pronounced in Greece as in the broader Balkan region, there was still a significant rural presence in the country, and the dictatorship maintained strong ideological ties with the agrarian population. The populist connections that interwar authoritarian regimes sought to establish with the working classes also shaped the dictatorship’s relationship with workers. However, merchants did not fit as neatly into the dictatorship’s ideological framework. This article aims to fill a gap in understanding the relationship between the dictatorship and the commercial community by examining not only the ideological background but also the economic policies pursued by the regime. These include import substitution policies and the ‘clearing’ agreements that were prevalent in the Balkans, both of which led to conflicts with the merchant class. The regime’s preferential treatment of industry over commerce, coupled with certain authoritarian practices implemented by Metaxas’ government, further exacerbated this tension.

ABSTRACT The disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean have become one of the central issues in EU—Turkey relations, particularly since 2018. This study analyzes Germany’s stance regarding the issue through a role-theoretical lens. More specifically, it seeks to understand why Germany identified de-escalation as a foreign policy objective and, in connection with this, acted as a mediator, by examining the interplay among the role conceptions of this country. In this context, it argues that German foreign policy, in the face of this crisis between the EU and Turkey, was marked by interrole conflict. The diverging requirements of different roles led German decision-makers to avoid a hard-line stance and instead seize the middle ground, while simultaneously constructing a new role in the crisis, namely that of mediator. In this sense, the study demonstrates the implications of Germany’s interrole conflict for its position vis-à-vis the disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the manner in which German leaders attempted to overcome this foreign policy dilemma.