Fatih Tuna

INDIA’S NEW MIDDLE EAST POLICY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF HAMAS’ AL AQSA FLOOD OPERATION AND THE ISRAEL FACTOR

Fatih Tuna, Research paper

It has been observed that India took a supportive stance for Israel during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas on October 7, 2023, and in the conflict between Palestine and Israel after the operation. This situation indicates that the New Delhi government has moved away from the balance policy on the Israel-Palestine issue that it has followed since its independence in 1947. In this context, the objective of this study is to examine the reasons behind this remarkable change in the foreign policy of India, which has been one of the leading actors of the non-aligned movement for many years. In addition to the relevant policy makers’ and institutions’ statements reflected in open sources, the works of experts and academics knowledgeable on the subject were also used as primary and secondary sources in order to make sense of why the New Delhi government, which has pursued an anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist foreign policy for many years after its independence from Britain in 1947 and has a balanced stance on the Palestine-Israel issue, supports the Tel Aviv administration in this latest conflict between Israel and Palestine. As a result of the research conducted with this method, it has been concluded that the change in India's domestic politics, the rapprochement of the USA and India due to the rise of China in the international arena, cooperation between Israel and India in critical sectors such as the defense industries, and the close personal relationship between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have led India to depart from its traditionally balanced foreign policy and become closer to Israel and its strategic ally, the USA.

Page: 67-81

SOUTH KOREA’S MIDDLE POWER DIPLOMACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: DEVELOPMENT, POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC TRAJECTORIES

Fatih Tuna, View publication/introduction

It is a review of the book titled “South Korea’s Middle Power Diplomacy in the Middle East: Development, Political and Diplomatic Trajectories” written by Hae Won Jeong in English.

Page: 47-50

EVALUATION OF UCAV OPERATIONS IN TERMS OF RULE OF LAW AND INTERNATIONAL LAW: THE CASE OF THE ASSASSINATION OF IRANIAN GENERAL QASEM SOLEIMANI

Fatih Tuna, Research paper

In recent years, with the gradual development of technology and progress in the defense industry, the security forces of many states have acquired unmanned aerial vehicles called UCAV’s. The use of UCAV technology has become even more preferred by states due to its various advantages such as minimizing personnel losses, reducing risk factors in counter-terrorism activities and cross-border operations, and quickly neutralizing targeted threats. UCAV technology, which is thought to reduce the risks in internal and external security operations and reach the determined targets effectively and efficiently, also brings various difficulties and risks. To calm the increasing unrest in their own public opinion after the human losses on the ground, some countries, notably the USA, preferred to carry out UCAV strikes instead of putting their own soldiers at risk in the operations they carried out in foreign countries, especially within the context of the “War on Terror” doctrine developed after the September 11 attacks. However, very few officials have information about the UCAV attacks so far due to reasons such as confidentiality, intelligence information, and national security. The fact that democratic institutions, parliaments, and the judiciary in the relevant countries cannot control and monitor UCAV operations raises questions about the legality of these operations. In this study, UCAV operations are evaluated in terms of the rule of law and international law, and the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the Commander of the Quds Forces responsible for foreign operations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, through a UCAV strike by the USA on January 3, 2020, is examined as a case study. In this research, it was concluded that Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in violation of international law.
Keywords: UCAV Operations, International Law, USA, Iran, Qasem Soleimani.

Page: 42-72