Uluslararası Suçlar ve Tarih / International Crimes and History - Sayı / Issue: 26
Uluslararası Suçlar ve Tarih / International Crimes and History
| Number | : | 26 |
|---|---|---|
| Year | : | 2025 |
| Price | : | 30.00 TL |
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Editor's Note
As we publish the 26th issue of the International Crimes and History (UST/ICH) journal, we are experiencing a period
shaped by turbulence in the field of international law and politics. Today’s global environment is defined by the ongoing war
in Ukraine, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, new conflict dynamics in Africa, and intensifying competition and shifting balances among major powers. These developments make the need to prevent international crimes and strengthen accountability mechanisms more apparent than ever.
On the other hand, the ongoing fragility in the global economy, the questioning of neoliberal institutions, and the new political balances brought about by the global election cycle are also leading to intense debates about the future of the international order and bringing criticism of certain international organizations to the forefront.
This issue aims to contribute with articles presenting new ideas in the fields of international crimes, law, and history within this complex environment. It also includes a distinguished commentary examining the reflections of historical events of the past on the present.
The commentary section of our 26th issue features an article by Ambassador (ret.) Oğuz Demiralp entitled “A European Union Story in the Atatürk Era.” Demiralp evaluates Aristide Briand’s 1929 European Union project in the context of Türkiye during the Atatürk era and emphasizes that Türkiye was seen as part of European integration even before it became a member of the League of Nations. This article, which discusses the lessons learned from failed attempts at European integration and Türkiye’s early ties to European identity, sheds light on the historical origins of today’s Europe-Türkiye relations.
The section on Cases in International Courts includes an article by Lecturer, PhD Candidate Burak Tekin titled “Türkiye’s Application for Intervention in the Case of South Africa V. Israel Before the International Court of Justice: Core Legal Arguments Against Israel’s Potential Defenses” The study examines in detail the legal basis for Türkiye’s intervention declaration and analyzes which arguments can be put forward against Israel’s defense theses. Critical issues such as the interpretation of the Genocide Convention, the limits of the right to selfdefense, and the obligation of states to prevent genocide are addressed. The article is timely and important in terms of highlighting Türkiye’s role and contributions in the field of international law. Türkiye’s contribution to international justice mechanisms is a concrete demonstration of its support for the rule of law on a global scale.
The special section of this issue is titled “State Crime, Propaganda, and Cultural Destruction.” In this section, four articles comprehensively analyze the historical, ideological, and cultural dimensions of international crimes. These articles offer a common perspective by examining the methods states use to commit crimes in different contexts, their propaganda tools, and the destructive effects they have on cultural heritage.
Dr. Architect Baki Burak Acıl’s article, “From Sacred Image to Iconoclasm: The Case of DAESH in the Context of Iconoclastic
Strategies,” examines DAESH’s attacks on cultural heritage in the context of the iconoclasm tradition, revealing the international crime dimension of cultural destruction.
Faculty member Assist. Prof. Caner Çakı’s study titled “Reflection of the Katyn Massacre, a Crime Against Humanity, in Visual Propaganda of Nazi Germany” shows how the Katyn Massacre was instrumentalized through Nazi propaganda, analyzing how war crimes were turned into a means of legitimacy in the international public sphere. Dr. Çağatay Balcı’s article, “The Dysfunctionality and Consequences of Decapitation in the War on Terror: The Case of Jundullah in Iran” evaluates the failure of the decapitation strategy and its impact on states’ counterterrorism policies.
Dr. Yeter Solak’s article, “State Violence, Mental Resistance, and Memory in the Apartheid Regime: Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement,” addresses the apartheid regime in the context of state crimes, emphasizing the importance of mental resistance and collective memory.
This special section examines, from an interdisciplinary perspective, how states’ strategies of violence, propaganda, and cultural destruction become international crimes and the lasting effects of these processes on societies. We are deepening the tradition we have developed in previous issues with special sections focused on law and history by including cultural, ideological, and economic dimensions in this issue. Built upon the conceptual accumulation of previous issues’ special sections, this theme strengthens our journal’s academic contribution in the field of international crimes with an interdisciplinary perspective.
PhD Student Aykut Aydeniz’s article, “Evaluating the Establishment of the WTO from a Neoliberal Perspective,” which addresses the economic dimension, critically evaluates the institutional structure of the World Trade Organization and its relationship with the neoliberal paradigm. The study examines how the transition from GATT to the WTO created a transformation in the global trade order, revealing the debates generated by the neoliberal governance approach in the context
of international law, state sovereignty, and commercial justice. This article adds an important dimension to legal-political studies in the field of international crimes and history by emphasizing the role of economic institutions.
Finally, the reports section includes Chief Mehmet Birlik’s article titled “Military Interventions, Lausanne-Defined Minorities, Social Movements, and Media (1960-1971): A Multidimensional Analysis of Crisis Dynamics” The study examines the relationship between military interventions in Türkiye and minority rights, social movements, and the international conjuncture, addressing the crisis dynamics of the period within a holistic framework. We believe that this analysis of Türkiye’s
own historical experience will make valuable contributions to discussions on democracy, law, and social peace not only at the
national level but also at the international level.
With its 26th issue, the International Crimes and History journal continues to contribute to critical discussions on political, legal, and social transformations at the global level. Our journal aims not only to understand the legacies of the past but also to offer rich content for current and future discussions on international law and justice. In this context, the examination of economic structures, alongside legal and political analyses, constitutes an important part of our journal’s multidimensional approach. In the coming issues, we will continue to maintain this approach and contribute to the examination of international crimes and the presentation of their historical contexts.
Index
YORUM/COMMENTARY
ULUSLARARASI MAHKEMELERDE GÖRÜŞÜLEN DAVALAR / CASES BEFORE INTERNATIONAL COURTS
ÖZEL BÖLÜM : Devlet Suçu, Propaganda ve Kültürel Yıkım
ARAŞTIRMA MAKALELERİ / RESEARCH ARTICLES
RAPOR/ REPORT
Authors
Mustafa Oğuz Demiralp, (January 22, 1952, İstanbul), Turkish diplomat, Ambassador (R). Graduated from the Lycée Saint- Joseph, French High School in İstanbul on July 1971 and the Middle Eastern Technical University on January 1976. He served as Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997-2000); Ambassador/ Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (2000-2002), Vice President of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Council, Chairman of the WTO Trade and Investment Working Group, Chairman of the WTO Trade and Environment Committee; Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the European Union (EU) (2002-2005); Ambassador/Secretary General for EU Affairs (2005-2009); Ambassador to Bern (2009-2010); Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN Geneva Office (2010-2013) and Ambassador to Mexico (2014-2017). Speaks English and French. He is married and has two children.
Contact: ouzdemiralp@yahoo.com
Burak Tekin completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Yaşar University. He earned his master’s degree with the thesis titled “The Right to Respect for Private and Family Life within the Scope of the ECHR.” He is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Law at the same university. Tekin serves as a lecturer at the International Final University. His research interests include international human rights law, the procedural law of the European Court of Human Rights, constitutional law, and genocide studies.
Contact: buraktekin@final.edu.tr
Contact: buraktekin@final.edu.tr
Baki Burak Acıl received a PhD from the Department of Art History at Anadolu University. The research examines the historical and political dimensions of vandalism against works of art in Türkiye from the late Ottoman period to the present, with a particular focus on iconoclastic interventions, censorship practices, and practices of symbolic violence against monuments, sculptures, and visual representations. Baki Burak Acıl holds a BA from the Department of Architecture at Middle East Technical University and an MA from the History of Art program at Istanbul Technical University. The doctoral dissertation explores how public art is shaped as a site of ideological struggle, memory politics, and resistance. In addition to academic work, Baki Burak Acıl has published and presented on gender, visual culture, and political memory, and also works in the cultural field as an architect specializing in the accessibility of stations at the Turkish State Railways.
Contact: bakiburakacil@anadolu.edu.tr
Caner Çakı was born in 1989 in Bafra. He graduated from Department of Public Relations and Advertising of Communication Faculty of the Karadeniz Technical University (Trabzon/Türkiye) in 2012. He completed his master’s in Department of Communication Sciences of Inonu University (Malatya/Türkiye) in 2016. Then he completed his doctorate in the Department of Communication Sciences Faculty of Erciyes University (Kayseri/Türkiye) in 2021. He has worked as a research assistant at Inonu University between 2015-2021. His interest areas are propaganda, political communication, social media and public relations. He has studies on the propaganda activities in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China. He published studies on propaganda activities in certain national and international journals. He is editor of three books titled “Propaganda and Communication”, “Propaganda Music in Turkish Political Life” and “Propaganda Studies in Turkish Political Life”.
Contact: caner.caki@ahievran.edu.tr
Çağtay Balcı, graduated from the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Selçuk University, in 2015. In 2018, he completed a Master’s degree in Intelligence Studies at the Police Academy Institute of Security Sciences, writing his thesis on the topic of ‘Intelligence Structure in the Islamic Republic of Iran’. In 2023, he completed his doctoral studies in the International Security and Terrorism Programme at the Alparslan Defence Sciences and National Security Institute of the National Defence University. He currently works as a researcher at the Centre for Iranian Studies (İRAM), focusing on Iran’s regional policies, security structures, relations with non-state armed actors, and strategic communication activities.
Contact: cagataybalci@iramcenter.org
Yeter Solak, graduated from the Department of Public Administration at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University in 2014. In
2017, she completed her master’s degree at the same university with the thesis titled “Civil Disobedience within the Framework of the Views of David Henry Thoreau and Mahatma Gandhi”, earning the title of Master of Science. In 2024, she received her doctoral degree from the Department of Public Administration at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University with the dissertation entitled “The American Enlightenment and Thomas Paine”.Since 2002, she has been working as a lecturer at
Osmaniye Korkut Ata University. She is married and the mother of one son. Her research interests include political science, Turkish political life, and political philosophy.
Contact: yetersolak@osmaniye.edu.tr
Aykut Aydeniz graduated with high honors from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Middle East
Technical University (METU) in 2017. He also successfully completed a minor program in the Department of International Relations. In 2020, he earned his master’s degree from the Department of International Relations at METU with his thesis titled “World Trade Organization (WTO) Reform and Türkiye”. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD at Hacettepe University in the Department of International Relations. Aydeniz began his professional career in March 2018 as an Assistant Specialist at the Ministry of Economy. He received the specialist title in June 2020 by completing his thesis titled “Commercial Diplomacy and Türkiye’s Situation in Light of New Perspectives and Developments”. He served in the Technical Advisory Team at the Ministry between August 2023 and July 2025. As of July 2025, he has been serving as a Commercial Counsellor at Türkiye’s Permanent Representation to the WTO.
Contact: aykutaydeniz@hacettepe.edu.tr
Mehmet Birlik (October 24, 1964, Adapazarı-Sakarya) graduated from Adapazarı Ozanlar High School in 1981 and from
Anadolu University, Faculty of Business Administration, Department of Business, in 1986. He began his career at the Turkish Electricity Authority (TEK) in 1989 and currently serves as Chief at TEİAŞ Sakarya 5th Regional Directorate. He is pursuing his master’s degree in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Sakarya University. He has proficiency in English. He is married and has one child.
Contact: mehmet.birlik1@ogr.sakarya.edu.tr
