presidential doctrines and foreign affairs magazine

150 Pages·2017·4.02 MB·English

Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences
Department of International Relations

PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINES AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MAGAZINE: THE ARTICULATION OF ANTI COMMUNIST
DISCOURSE IN FOREIGN POLICY OPINION OF THE AMERICAN
ELITE FROM KENNAN TO KISSINGER

Zeynep Elif KOÇ

Master’s Thesis

Ankara, 2018

PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINES AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: THE
ARTICULATION OF ANTI COMMUNIST DISCOURSE IN FOREIGN POLICY
OPINION OF THE AMERICAN ELITE FROM KENNAN TO KISSINGER

Zeynep Elif KOÇ

Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences
Department of International Relations

Master’s Thesis

Ankara, 2018
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To the beautiful memory of my beloved father Hasan Koç
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is not easy to choose proper words for expressing my feelings to all the
people, who have supported me in the preparation process of this study. One
thing I am sure is that I could not finalize this dissertation without the help and
support of whom, I would like to mention particularly.
I am thankful to my dearest family, to my father Hasan Koç, my mother Ayşegül
Koç and my sister Merve Banu Polat for their endless support throughout my
life. Above all, my deepest gratefulness belongs to my dearest father, Hasan
Koç, who has passed away during this process and cannot see the study I
accomplished. Although I cannot share this moment with him physically, I feel
his presence; his support, his trust and his companionship in the very center of
my heart as I always did. If it weren’t for you, I would not achieve so far.
I owe my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Önsoy my thanks for his support
and patience during the process: not only in this study, but also in my academic
progress. I also would like to thank the distinguished jury I attended, Asst. Prof.
Dr. Ayşe Ömür Atmaca and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Serdar Palabıyık, for their
precious contributions to this study.
I also feel compelled to thank to my dear friends for their support in every stage
of my life and always being there for me. Thanks all of you for not going crazy
during this process!
Last but most certainly not least, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to
Dr. Burcu Sarı Karademir, who endlessly encourage and support me in my
humble academic journey as well as my life. I always feel privileged and lucky
to know her and work with her. Thank you, my dearest guide from astris!
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ABSTRACT
KOÇ, Zeynep Elif. Presidential Doctrines And Foreign Affairs Magazine: The
Articulation Of Anti Communist Discourse in Foreign Policy Opinion Of The
American Elite From Kennan To Kissinger. Master’s Thesis. Ankara, 2018.
Poststructuralist IR theory argues that knowledge constitutes an important
aspect in legitimization of foreign policy-making. Consequently, legitimization is
based upon production of knowledge through intellectual practices. Moreover,
legitimization becomes an important aspect in the process of production due to
the need for justification of state actions concerning security issues by any
means necessary. Therefore, in accordance with poststructuralist approach
towards international relations, main argument of this study is that there is a
relationship between foreign policy-making in the United States and production
of knowledge by American elite under the framework of anti communist
discursive practices. Anti communist discursive practices constitute the ground
of this production since communist ideology is the anti-thesis of American
ideology and consequently, it is the primary security concern for the United
States in post-war years. As for communist ideology’s entity as primary security
concern, it derives from both domestic structure of the United States, which
based upon its ideology and its attributed entitlement as the defender and
promoter of American ideology on behalf of Western values in international
scale. Thus, this study aims to examine articulation of anti communism in
American foreign policy in accordance with American ideology and its relation
with foreign policy opinion of American elites. On this basis, in this study,
intertextual analysis will be conducted upon presidential doctrines from 1947 to
1979 and articles in Foreign Affairs magazine within the period from beginning
of the Cold War until the end of Détente Period of the Cold War.
Keywords
Presidential doctrines, post structuralism, Foreign Affairs magazine, anti
communism, American elite