International symposium on the middle east and turkey on the centenary of sykes-picot secret agreement

An international symposium entitled “International Symposium on the Middle East and Turkey on the Centenary of Sykes-Picot Secret Agreement” is going to be held with the collaboration of Ataturk Research Center and Yıldırım Beyazıt University in Ankara on 1-3 December 2016.

The Middle East has maintained its strategic importance in every historical period because of its geographical location where the human history has begun, its position near other historical settlements and the natural resources it boasts. However, the Middle East, which has Bosphorus and Dardanelles, The Suez Canal, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, became the target of the colonial powers, particularly Britain, with the extracting oil that has become an important power supply since the beginning of the twentieth century.

As a consequence of these developments, with the Russian consent, between 9 and 16 May in 1916 Sykes-Picot secret agreement, which covered sharing the Anatolian and Middle Eastern territories of Ottoman State, signed by reconciliation of the Britain and France. The agreement called by the name of the signatories Sykes-Picot because it was signed by François Georges Picot on the French side and Sir Mark Sykes on the British side, and the agreement left lasting impacts on the fate of the region till today that based the political and geographical divisions of the Middle East.

The Middle East, as it has been in the past, has been going through the process of intensive rivalry and conflict mentioned above since the beginning of the twentieth century. Turkey, due to its geographical and geo-strategical position between Asia, Europe and Africa, has had close cultural, political, social and economic relations with the Middle East and with the policies it pursues has not only affected the region throughout the history but it has been affected by the Middle East as well. In this context, an international symposium has been planned with the collaboration of Ataturk Research Center and Yıldırım Beyazıt University in Ankara on 1-3 December 2016, in order to describe the relations of Turkey with the Middle East periodically, to reveal the historical aspects and the changes of these relations within time, to grasp the point that the Middle East has reached at the level of societies and states in the last century, and in order to make policies that will be valid in the short and long term for the problems in the region.

It has been decided that the Middle East will be discussed with the papers to be presented in the symposium in the following perspectives i) conceptual, sociological, cultural, religious and scientific perspectives ii) historical perspective that displays how a hundred-year-old course has proceeded for the Middle East and to figure out the position of the region within the framework of the progress that today’s world has made.

The international symposium which is entitled “The Middle East and Turkey on the Centenary of Sykes-Picot Secret Agreement” aims at providing researchers who study on this subject with a platform on which they can present their scientific studies and contribute to the literature in this field. It is expected to provide scientific data that will be the basis for the policy-making process for Turkey in its relation with the region.

It is expected that the papers will be based on new research and they will put forward new perspectives, Papers must be original and the abstracts must consist of at least 300 words. Papers must be considered as a piece of ongoing research and they are supposed to be arranged in a way to include the possible findings.

1. 
   CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES
   

1. 
   The Conceptual Map of the Region from the Past to the Present Day
   
2. 
   With One Hundred Years Perspective the Cultural, Historical, Religious, Civilized, Philosophical Structures and Mind Codes in the Middle East
   
3. 
   The Religious and Sectarian Policies Affecting the Hundred-Year Period in the Middle East
   
4. 
   Geo-Political and Geo-Strategical Importance of the Middle East
   
5. 
   Orientalism and Entry of Colonialism into the Middle East
   
6. 
   Ideas and Social Movements in the Middle East
   
7. 
   Political Systems, and Their Changes and Transformations in the Present Day’s Middle East
   

2. 
   HUNDRED YEARS OF THE MIDDLE EAST
   

1. 
   Before The World War I
   

• 
  Geo-Political Situation and Geo-Strategical Importance of the Middle East Before the World War I
  
• 
  Before The War Period the Political, Economic and Military Conditions of the Ottoman Empire
  
• 
  Struggle of Great the Powers in The Middle East Before the World War I
  

2. 
   World War I Period
   

• 
  Secret Agreements
  
• 
  1916 Arab Revolt, Background and The Results of the Revolt on Both Ottoman Empire and the Middle East
  
• 
  The Effects of Balfour Declaration
  

• 
  The Treaties Signed After the World War I and Their Effect on the Middle East
  
• 
  1919 Paris and 1920 San Remo Conferences, 15 September 1919 Syria Agreement
  
• 
  Establishment of Mandate System in the Middle East
  
• 
  Turkish-Arab Relations during Turkish National Struggle Period
  
• 
  Peace Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey and the Middle East
  
• 
  Turkey’s Middle East Policy during Ataturk Period
  
• 
  Repercussions of Ataturk’s Reforms in the Middle Eastern Countries
  

4. 
   The Cold War Period
   

• 
  Foundation of Israel State and Its Background
  
• 
  Arab-Israeli, Turkish-Israeli and Turkish-Arab Relations
  
• 
  Palestinian Issue and the Resistance Movements
  
• 
  Turkey’s Middle East Policies during The Cold War Period
  
• 
  Soviet and American Impact in the Middle East
  
• 
  Eisenhower Doctrine, Baghdad Pact/ Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)
  
• 
  Suez Crisis
  
• 
  Lebanon Issue (Civil War and Interventions)
  
• 
  The Middle East and United Nations (UN)
  
• 
  Camp David Accords
  
• 
  Efforts for Regional Union in the Middle East
  

4. 
   After Cold War Period
   

• 
  The Impact of the Unipolar World on the Middle East
  
• 
  The Gulf Wars, the Middle East and Turkey
  
• 
  The Middle East and Turkey After Dissolution of the Soviet Union
  
• 
  Political, Military and Economic Power Struggles in the Middle East After Cold War Period
  
• 
  Arab Spring: Discussions on the Concept
  
• 
  The Present Day’s Issues in the Middle East
  

b. Ethnical, Religious and Political Identity Discussions and the Issue of “Political Islam”

c. War of Borders

d. Repressive Regimes, Search for and Foundation of Democracy and Human Rights

e. Terrorism, Weapon and Crime

f. Issue of Migration

• 
  Oil, Water and Energy Struggles in the Middle East
  
• 
  Social Structures in the Middle East
  
• 
  Education, Health and Cultural Situation in the Middle East
  

3. 
   VISIONS AND FORESIGHTS TOWARDS FUTURE
   

Abstract Submission and Evaluation

Papers are supposed to be original and it is required that they have not been presented or printed before and that they are not titles, subtitles or parts of a published book or a thesis even though the thesis has not been published.

Additionally, post-graduate and doctorate subjects, if published names must be stated. After the evaluation of the Paper abstracts by the members of the Organizing and Scientific Committees, a second announcement will be made as to the Abstracts accepted.

Official languages of the symposium are Turkish and English.

The full texts of the accepted papers must be sent as a Word file in conformity with spelling rules and writing format of Ataturk Research Center to ortadoguveturkiye@atam.gov.tr until September 2, 2016. The papers the full texts of which have been sent will be involved in the symposium program after being examined by Organizing and Scientific Committees in terms of conformity with abstract and scientific terms.

1. 
   The heading of the study must be written in bold, using capital letters; the text-alignment should be central and the name of the author should be placed just below, to the right. The academic title, institution and e-mail should be given respectively in an unnumbered footnote at the bottom of the page.
   
2. 
   Following the heading and author name, the Turkish and English summaries/abstracts should be written in size 10pt, each consisting of 300 words. The English summary should also include the heading in English.
   
3. 
   The typeface should be Times New Roman, in size 12pt. Tables, footnotes and references should be relayed in size 10pt.
   
4. 
   The study should be written in M. Word program, blocked according to an A4 paper size. Margins should consist of 2,5cm while the header and footer should be 1,25cm.
   
5. 
   There must be spacing between paragraphs. The indent: 0 cm, 6pt space-before: 6pt space-after, using single line spacing.
   
6. 
   Concerning references, the surname of the author, date of publication and page number should be given in this order in brackets as in the following example: (Çaycı, 2002:520). If referenced in a footnote, however, it should be expressed in a sequence following the name and surname of the author, the book title (in bold, articles expressed in quotation marks and italic), the publishing house, place and date of publication and page number. The sources used should be presented as in the format of footnotes, in alphabetical order according to surname at the end of the article.
   
7. 
   Tables and graphics need to be individually numbered, giving their resources directly beneath the table or graphic in size 10pt.
   
8. 
   Original documents, pictures (photos, images, etc.), maps which are not directly relevant to the study should not be presented within the article body but should be numbered and attached at the end of it. High-resolution images should be saved on a CD and submitted separately.
   
9. 
   The paper is to be from 8 up to a maximum of 16 pages.
   

Department of Atatürk Research Center

Ziyabey Cad. No: 19

06520/ Balgat - ANKARA- TURKEY

Tel: +90 312 2856551

+90 312 2855512

Fax: +90 312 2855527

E-mail: ortadoguveturkiye@atam.gov.tr

Web: www.atam.gov.tr
BOARDS OF THE SYMPOSIUM

ORGANIZING COMITTEE

Prof. Mehmet Ali BEYHAN (President of Ataturk Research Center)

Nihat BÜYÜKBAŞ (Vice-President of Ataturk Research Center)

Prof. Mustafa Sıtkı BİLGİN

Prof. Ömer Osman UMAR

Prof. Mehmet TEMEL

Prof. Halil BAL

Prof. Hacı Mustafa ERAVCI

Prof. Musa Kazım ARICAN

Asst. Prof. İsmail GÜNDOĞDU

Asst. Prof. Bayram SİNKAYA

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Prof. Mehmet Ali BEYHAN

Nihat BÜYÜKBAŞ

Prof. Gawdat BAHGAT

Prof. Halil BAL

Prof. Mustafa Sıtkı BİLGİN

Prof. L. Carl BROWN

Prof. Mehmet CANATAR

Prof. İsmail COŞKUN

Prof. Kemal ÇELİK

Prof. Osama Abdurrahman Nu'man Mohammed Al-Duri

Prof. Anoushiravan EHTESHAMI

Prof. Çağrı ERHAN

Prof. Abdullah İLGAZİ

Prof. Mehran KAMRAVA

Prof. Rashid KHALIDI

Prof. Selami KILIÇ

Prof. Yagub MAHMUDOV

Prof. Neşe ÖZDEN

Prof. Hamit PEHLİVANLI

Prof. Adnan SOFUOĞLU

Prof. Necati Fahri TAŞ

Prof. Mehmet TEMEL

Prof. Stefano TRINCHESE

Prof. Mustafa TURAN

Prof. Ömer TURAN

Prof. Ömer Osman UMAR

Prof. Ahmet UYSAL

Prof. Selma YEL

Prof. Mustafa YILMAZ

Assoc. Prof. Masomeih DAEI

Assoc. Prof. İrade MEMMEDOVA

Assoc. Prof. Steven MOREWOOD

Assoc. Prof. Uğur ÜNAL

Dr. Ali KALIRAD