DIPLOMATIC LINKS is a two-year TÜBİTAK-funded project (123K254) that investigates the high-level foreign visits of Middle Eastern countries between 1989 and 2023. It aims to uncover the patterns of visits made by the leaders of Middle Eastern countries, including Turkey, and to distinguish the dynamics that determine these visits for both individual countries and groups of countries. In this context, a comprehensive dataset detailing visits conducted by the leaders of regional countries beginning in 1990 will be assembled, encompassing specifics such as the date of the visit, its duration, and type.

The dataset will be utilized to comprehend the reasons for these visits through logistic regression, and visualization techniques will be applied to reveal their patterns. The impact of conceptual (religion, ethnic affiliation, ideology, etc.), material (economic, military, etc.), and regional (being a regional power, prioritizing regional foreign policy, etc.) variables on leader visits will be quantified using a logistic regression model and a link function. Here, conceptual variables refer to identity-related factors, including religion, ideology, and ethnic origin, while material variables are tangible factors like the economic status of the visited country, resource wealth, and arms exports. The regional variable will disclose whether the target country is in the Middle East, thus indicating potential regionality in leader visits.

Category: 3005 – Innovative Solutions Research Projects Support Program in Social Sciences and Humanities

Project Fund: 360.495 TL

Project Coordinator: Ali Balcı

Researchers: Abdüssamet Pulat

Students: Talha İsmail Duman, Ayşe Hazar, Recep Tayyip Gürler, M. Yasir Bodur, Menderes Kurt ve Melih Yıldız, Rümeysa Ayverdi Varan

Project Outcomes

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Ali Balcı, “Drivers of Iran’s Africa Engagement: An Analysis of High-Level Leadership Visits” Journal of Asian and African Studies, 2024, DOI: 10.1177/00219096241291060

Ali Balcı, “Where Small Powers Travel? Understanding Jordan’s High-level Diplomatic Visit Patterns“, Political Studies Review, 2024, DOI: 10.1177/14789299241279037

data and replication file

Ali Balcı and Abdüssamet Pulat, “Love, Money or Fame? Determinants of Turkey’s Leader Visits”, International Studies Quarterly, Volume 68, Issue 1, March 2024 PDF (Ungated)

Ali Balcı, “Determinants of Leader Visits: A Review and Future Directions in Scholarship.” Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi, 2024, 11(1): 1-30.

Ali Balcı, “Determinants of Turkey’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits.” Turkish Journal of African Studies, 1(1)

BOOK CHAPTERS

Abdüssamet Pulat, “Küçük Devlet-Aktif Diplomasi: Katar Dış Politikasını Lider Ziyaretleri Üzerinden Okumak”, Ortadoğu Yıllığı 2023, Ankara: Ortadoğu Yayınları, 465-482.

CONGRESS PARTICIPATION

Ali Balcı, “Küçük Ülkeler Nereye Gider: Ürdün Üst Düzey Liderlerinin Ziyaret Motivasyonları”, Siyasi İlimler Türk Derneği, III. Ulusal Siyaset Bilimi Kongresi, Yeditepe Üniversitesi, İstanbul, 28-29 Eylül 2024

Ali Balcı, “Tahran’ın Afrika Açılımını Anlamak: İran’ın Lider Düzeyindeki Diplomatik İlişkilerinin İncelenmesi”, VII. Middle East Congress on Politics and Society, Sakarya University, Turkey, 24-25 October 2024.

Ali Balcı, “Deciphering Tehran’s Pursuit in Africa: A Study of Iran’s Leader-Level Diplomatic Engagements”, The 17th EISA Pan-European Conference on International Relations, The Université catholique de Lille, Lille, France, 27-31 August 2024.

Ali Balcı, “Where Do They Go and Why: Leader Diplomacy in Turkish Foreign Policy”, Haydar Aliyev Center for Eurasian Studies, Ibn Haldun University, İstanbul, 27 April 2024.

Ali Balcı, “Where Middle Eastern Leaders Travel: A Map of Foreign Relations”, Instituto Universitario de la Paz y los Conflictos, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain, 11 June 2024.

Abdüssamet Pulat, “Türkiye Kimi Neden Ziyaret Ediyor? 1990 Sonrası Türk Liderlerin Yurtdışı Ziyaretlerini Açıklamak”, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi III. Uluslararası İlişkiler Sempozyumu, 29-30 Mayıs 2023, Tekirdağ, Türkiye

Ali Balcı, “Explaining Turkey’s High-Level Foreign Visits: Identity, Interests, and Regional Status Concerns”, The 16th Eisa Pan-European Conference On International Relations (Pec), University Of Potsdam, Germany, 5-9 September 2023.

Ali Balcı, “Türkiye’nin Üst Düzey Lider Ziyaretleri: Hangi Ülkelere Neden Gidiyorlar?, Siyasi İlimler Türk Derneği II. Ulusal Siyaset Bilimi Kongresi, 7-8 Ekim 2023, Bilkent Üniversitesi, Ankara, Türkiye