THE EU-ROPEAN POLICY TOWARDS ISRAEL'S WAR ON GAZA: ACTOR-CENTRED INSTITUTIONALIST EXPLANATION

Burak Gümüş; Mehmet Bardakcı

Article Details

THE EU-ROPEAN POLICY TOWARDS ISRAEL'S WAR ON GAZA: ACTOR-CENTRED INSTITUTIONALIST EXPLANATION

Authors:

Burak Gümüş | Mehmet Bardakcı

Publisher:

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

Main Topics:

Avrupa ve Bölge Çalışmaları | Avrupa Birliği | Avrupa Çalışmaları

Journal:

Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi Vol.23 Issue 56, pp.785-813

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

3/2025

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342200

pISSN:

1304-5318

Keywords:

Abstract:

 There has not been a significant change on the EUs stance on the main issues regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the start of the formulation of its single foreign policy position on this issue in the 1970s. However, Israels war on Gaza that started on October 7th, 2023 compelled some EU states to recognise the Palestinian state. The primary goal of this study is to explore EUs policies towards Israels war on Gaza from the angle of actor-centred institutionalism. This approach, which was designed by Renate Mayntz and Fritz Scharpf, is an analytical tool employed to investigate political facts and processes. According to this approach, institutions are viewed as rules laws, norms, regularities behavioural routines, power relations, distributions of power and resources, social entities formal corporate actors and organisations and formal or informal loose networks. Non-written rules, legal regulations and regularities form real formal or informal social structures and create the framework for the relationships among the actors by the distribution of official competences, financial or power resources. Thus, these institutions determine their definitions of the actors situations, on which their choices of action are based. The primary argument of this article is that the current actor constellation in the EU prevents it from following a common stance towards the Gaza war. There are two opposing camps concerning EUs policy towards Israels war on Gaza. Spain, Ireland, Slovenia are pro-Palestine whereas Germany, Austria and some eastern European states such as Hungary and the Czech Republic are supportive of Israel. Another contention of this article is that the disunity within the EU also stems from the EUs institutional plurality and diversity. In other words, the divide is both within and between the EU institutions.

 There has not been a significant change on the EUs stance on the main issues regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the start of the formulation of its single foreign policy position on this issue in the 1970s. However, Israels war on Gaza that started on October 7th, 2023 compelled some EU states to recognise the Palestinian state. The primary goal of this study is to explore EUs policies towards Israels war on Gaza from the angle of actor-centred institutionalism. This approach, which was designed by Renate Mayntz and Fritz Scharpf, is an analytical tool employed to investigate political facts and processes. According to this approach, institutions are viewed as rules laws, norms, regularities behavioural routines, power relations, distributions of power and resources, social entities formal corporate actors and organisations and formal or informal loose networks. Non-written rules, legal regulations and regularities form real formal or informal social structures and create the framework for the relationships among the actors by the distribution of official competences, financial or power resources. Thus, these institutions determine their definitions of the actors situations, on which their choices of action are based. The primary argument of this article is that the current actor constellation in the EU prevents it from following a common stance towards the Gaza war. There are two opposing camps concerning EUs policy towards Israels war on Gaza. Spain, Ireland, Slovenia are pro-Palestine whereas Germany, Austria and some eastern European states such as Hungary and the Czech Republic are supportive of Israel. Another contention of this article is that the disunity within the EU also stems from the EUs institutional plurality and diversity. In other words, the divide is both within and between the EU institutions.

 There has not been a significant change on the EUs stance on the main issues regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the start of the formulation of its single foreign policy position on this issue in the 1970s. However, Israels war on Gaza that started on October 7th, 2023 compelled some EU states to recognise the Palestinian state. The primary goal of this study is to explore EUs policies towards Israels war on Gaza from the angle of actor-centred institutionalism. This approach, which was designed by Renate Mayntz and Fritz Scharpf, is an analytical tool employed to investigate political facts and processes. According to this approach, institutions are viewed as rules laws, norms, regularities behavioural routines, power relations, distributions of power and resources, social entities formal corporate actors and organisations and formal or informal loose networks. Non-written rules, legal regulations and regularities form real formal or informal social structures and create the framework for the relationships among the actors by the distribution of official competences, financial or power resources. Thus, these institutions determine their definitions of the actors situations, on which their choices of action are based. The primary argument of this article is that the current actor constellation in the EU prevents it from following a common stance towards the Gaza war. There are two opposing camps concerning EUs policy towards Israels war on Gaza. Spain, Ireland, Slovenia are pro-Palestine whereas Germany, Austria and some eastern European states such as Hungary and the Czech Republic are supportive of Israel. Another contention of this article is that the disunity within the EU also stems from the EUs institutional plurality and diversity. In other words, the divide is both within and between the EU institutions.

 ABnin İsrail-Filistin çatışması konusundaki temel meseleler üzerindeki tutumunda, 1970lerde bu konuda tek bir dış politika pozisyonu oluşturmaya başladığından bu yana önemli bir değişiklik olmamıştır. Ancak, 7 Ekim 2023te başlayan İsrailin Gazzeye karşı savaşı, bazı AB ülkelerini Filistin devletini tanımaya zorlamıştır. Bu çalışmanın birincil hedefi ABnin İsrailin Gazze Savaşına karşı olan politikalarını aktör odaklı kurumsalcılık açısından incelemektir. Renate Mayntz ve Fritz Scharpf tarafından geliştirilen aktör-merkezli kurumsalcılık, siyasi olguları ve süreçleri analiz etmek için kullanılan bir analitik araçtır. Kurumsalcılıkta, kurumlar, kurallar yasalar, normlar, düzenlilikler davranış rutinleri, güç ilişkileri, güç ve kaynakların dağılımı, sosyal varlıklar resmi kurumsal aktörler ve örgütler ve resmi veya gayriresmi gevşek ağlar olarak kabul edilir. Yazılı olmayan kurallar, yasal düzenlemeler ve düzenlilikler, gerçek resmi veya gayriresmi sosyal yapılar yaratır ve aktörler arasındaki ilişkilerin çerçevesini, yetkinliklerin, finansal veya güç kaynaklarının tahsisiyle belirler. Sonuç olarak, bu kurumlar, aktörlerin eylem tercihlerini temel aldıkları durumların tanımlarını belirler. Yasal hükümler, anayasalar, kararnameler, yönetmelikler, yasalar ve tüzükler, farklı kurumsal aktörlerin otoriteler, örgütler güç ve kaynak dağılımını tanımlar. Bu kurumsal aktörler, ilgili ülkelerdeki yasal gereksinimlere uygun olarak kurumsal düzenlemelerle oluşturulur ve onlara görevler ve yetkinlikler atanır. Makalenin birinci argümanı, ABdeki hali hazırdaki aktör kümeleşmesinin Gazze Savaşına karşı ortak bir tutum izlemeyi engellediğidir. ABnin İsrailin Gazze Savaşına karşı izlediği politikayla ilgili birbirine zıt iki kamp yer almaktadır. İspanya, İrlanda ve Slovenya Filistin taraftarıyken Almanya, Avusturya ve Macaristan ve Çek Cumhuriyeti gibi bazı doğu Avrupa ülkeleri İsraili desteklemektedir. Makalenin başka bir iddiası AB içindeki bölünmüşlüğün ABnin kurumsal çoğulculuğundan ve çeşitliliğinden de kaynaklanmış olduğudur. Bölünme hem kurumların içinde hem de kurumların arasındadır.

Article Details

THE EU-ROPEAN POLICY TOWARDS ISRAEL'S WAR ON GAZA: ACTOR-CENTRED INSTITUTIONALIST EXPLANATION

Authors:

Burak Gümüş | Mehmet Bardakcı

Publisher:

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

Main Topics:

Avrupa ve Bölge Çalışmaları | Avrupa Birliği | Avrupa Çalışmaları

Journal:

Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi Vol.23 Issue 56, pp.785-813

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

3/2025

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342200

pISSN:

1304-5318

institutionalism

Israel

EU

Gaza

Palestinekurumsalcılık

İsrail

AB

Gazze

Filistin

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Burak Gümüş | Mehmet Bardakcı

Publisher: Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

Main Topics: Avrupa ve Bölge Çalışmaları | Avrupa Birliği | Avrupa Çalışmaları

Journal: Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi Vol.23 Issue 56, pp.785-813

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 3/2025

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001342200

pISSN: 1304-5318

Issues

Authors:

Burak Gümüş | Mehmet Bardakcı

Publisher:

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

Main Topics:

Avrupa ve Bölge Çalışmaları | Avrupa Birliği | Avrupa Çalışmaları

Journal:

Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi Vol.23 Issue 56, pp.785-813

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

3/2025

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342200

pISSN:

1304-5318