The primary objective of this work is to develop the (rationalist) thesis of integrity or the integral view in the realm of legal-political thought. This view consists in the elaboration of the essential-conceptual interdependency of law, the political authority (i.e. the state) and the universal moral standpoint of justice (i.e. the standpoint encapsulated by the idea of human rights in our age) in a way avoiding the shortfalls of legal-moralism illustrated by the natural-law-theories. The rationalist thesis of integrity suggests that the elements within the complex nexus of the law, the state, and justice can neither be divorced from nor be assimilated into each other. This evidently refutes the (positivist) thesis of separation which breaks off the cord between law and the state, on the one hand, and the moral standpoint of justice, on the other hand. However, the thesis of integrity equally opposes the theses of assimilation whereby either law and political authority are assimilated into morality (&ldquo / the moralist-naivety&rdquo / ) or law and justice are assimilated into brute political force (&ldquo / the realist-cynicism&rdquo / ). In brief, the integral view gives each element its due in the nexus of law, the state and the universal moral idea of justice (i.e. human rights). In this work, this view is strived to be deduced from a comparative critical-examination of three legal-political theories, each of which is taken as representing a particular approach beyond legal-moralism. These are Hans Kelsen&rsquo / s Pure-Theory-of-Law representing the positivist approach, Carl Schmitt&rsquo / s Concrete-Order-Thinking representing the realist approach, and Otfried H&ouml / ffe&rsquo / s Ethical-Philosophy-of-Law-and-the-State representing the rationalist approach.

This thesis analyzes World Trade Organization Doha Round negotiation process and its implications for Turkey&rsquo / s relations with its neighbors. The thesis mainly focuses on two pillars of negotiating package, namely agricultural and non-agricultural products (NAMA) negotiations. Both segments of negotiations have different dimensions due to Turkey&rsquo / s regional and multilateral obligations. As a developing country, Turkey&rsquo / s position in agriculture is more in line with other developing countries / in NAMA however it defends more liberal policies because of its Customs Union with the EU. Results of Doha Round will affect not only Turkey but also Turkey&rsquo / s neighbors and these effects will be more dramatic in some of them. Chapter I is Introduction Chapter. Chapter II evaluates Doha Round in detail / Chapters III and IV examine agriculture and NAMA negotiations and their implications for Turkey. Chapter V evaluates other negotiation topics such as services, trade facilitation, environment and rules. Chapter VI analyzes Turkey&rsquo / s Customs Union with the EU and its bilateral trade arrangements. The last Chapter is the Conclusion.

This thesis is meant to describe and analyze approach of international organizations in relation to education, development and empowerment as well as their role at the intersection of these three concepts. In its attempt to understand the nature of international involvement in education with a development discourse and particularly to see the effects of this involvement on the target groups of the projects and programs, the thesis explores Multi-Purpose Community Centers (&Ccedil / ATOMs) in Turkey&rsquo / s southeast. The thesis identifies, on the one hand, that the &Ccedil / ATOM project supports the analyses in the literature regarding the role of international organizations in the institutionalization of the idea of &lsquo / education for development&rsquo / and in the standardization and dissemination of their own discourses about this idea. On the other hand, the current work proposes that &Ccedil / ATOMs as a project supported by international organizations have produced rather limited but meaningful outcomes in terms of its economic effects on the participants / however, more importantly, it has also created qualitative changes on the daily life of the beneficiaries, which may contribute to social transformation of the region in the long term.

This thesis analyzes the construction of geopolitical imaginations of Turkey in the post-September 11 era on the basis of critical geopolitics and in the frame of a center (the United States and the European Union)-margin (Turkey) relationship. The dissolving of the relatively stable concepts of the Cold War era by globalization and the demise of the Soviet Union -such as state integrity, sovereignty, inside/outside dichotomy and state identity- has created deterritorialization in the global space of territorial states. However, territorial states have continued to exist via reterritorialization on the basis of new enemies/others/boundaries borrowed from old concepts, narratives and dramas. Following the September 11 attacks, the attempts to construct self/other dichotomy based on the geopolitical imaginations of the globe and Turkey in the US and the EU political circles have changed geopolitical imaginations of Turkey. Their discourses over Turkey have encountered counter-discourse of Turkish policymakers presenting Turkey as a &ldquo / bridge&rdquo / between civilizations to increase the &ldquo / strategic&rdquo / value of Turkey. In this study, taking into consideration the geography as a product of a specific power/knowledge alignment rather than something naturally given to determine foreign policy, the geopolitical (geocultural) imaginations of Turkey are being examined and the power-knowledge relationship is exposed.

The purpose of the current study was to examine personal cognitive variables (adolescents&rsquo / beliefs supporting aggression, adolescents&rsquo / self-efficacy for alternatives to aggression, and adolescents&rsquo / personal value on achievement) as potential mediators of the relationship between perceived family factors (parental support for aggression, family conflict, and parental monitoring) and adolescents physical aggression among Turkish adolescents living in Ankara. Volunteered students (2443 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders) from randomly selected schools (36 primary school) participated in the study. Physical Aggression Scale, Beliefs Supporting Aggression Scale, Self- efficacy for Alternatives to Aggression Scale, Personal Value on Achievement Scale, Parent Adolescent Relationship-Monitoring Scale, Parental Support for Aggression Scale, and Family Conflict Scale were used in the data collection. Results of the SEM analyses showed that the models adequately described the data for the sample of male and female adolescents and the fit indices were all within the acceptable thresholds. When considering the explained variance in physical aggression / the latent model accounted for 48% of the variance in physical aggression among girls and 40% of the variance in physical aggression among boys. In general, the results suggested that the influence of perceived family factors on physical aggression can be mediated by personal cognitive factors. Moreover, the patterns of interactions and the strength of the relationships differed in boys and girls model. The results revealed that the proposed model of physical aggression, which was based on integration of problem behavior theory (Jessor, 1987) and social information processing model (Huesmann, 1998) was supported by the data.

The objective of this thesis is to explain the dynamics bringing about the removal of the Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze from power through the &lsquo / Rose Revolution&rsquo / . Relying on an historical sociological approach, contrary to the society-centered and the state-centered studies in the literature on the &lsquo / Rose Revolution&rsquo / , this thesis argues that the coercive, administrative, extractive, distributive and regulative incapacitation of the Georgian state, which resulted in the loss of state autonomy vis-&agrave / -vis domestic and external political actors before the &lsquo / Rose Revolution&rsquo / , led to the removal of Shevardnadze. In fact, the society-centered studies, which exclusively focus exclusively on the political opposition, the NGOs and the mass media, fail to explain the dynamics of the &lsquo / Rose Revolution&rsquo / since they neglect the role of the state. Likewise, the state-centered studies&rsquo / exclusive focus on the coercive aspect of the Georgian state capacity resulted in the insufficient explanation of the &lsquo / Rose Revolution&rsquo / since they neglect other aspects of state capacity such as administrative, extractive, distributive and regulative. The thesis consists of six main chapters, introduction and conclusion. Chapter 2 develops the theoretical framework of the study. Chapter 3 explores the historical background. Chapter 4 examines the process leading up to the &lsquo / Rose Revolution&rsquo / . Chapter 5 and 6 analyze the &lsquo / Rose Revolution&rsquo / and its aftermath. Before the concluding chapter, Chapter 7 compares the Georgian case with the other seven post-Soviet cases.

The present study firstly aimed to examine specific metacognitions as unique predictors of various psychological symptoms including anxiety, depression, worry and social anxiety. The second aim of the study was to investigate the moderator role of coping styles in the relationship between metacognitions and these psychological symptoms. Based on these aims, the study was conducted with 435 participants between the ages 18-35 and the following scales were administered in addition to demographic forms / Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Libowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 and The Ways of Coping Inventory. According to the results, Negative Beliefs Concerning Uncontrollability of Thoughts and Danger (MCQ-2) was found to be as significant predictor of all examined psychological symptoms. Positive Beliefs about Worry (MCQ-1) was also revealed as significant predictor of anxiety, worry and social anxiety and avoidance. Furthermore, the results revealed negative associations between Cognitive Self-Consciousness (MCQ-5) and anxiety, worry and social anxiety. Finally, Beliefs about Need to Control Thoughts (MCQ-4) was found to be related with increase in depression and decrease in worry. In addition, regression analyses revealed negative relationship between Problem-Focused Coping and anxiety, depression and worry / and positive relationship between Emotion-Focused Coping and anxiety, social anxiety and avoidance. The moderation models of coping styles was also supported in which coping ways moderate the relationship between metacognitions and psychological symptoms including depression, absence of worry, social anxiety and avoidance. Findings were discussed based on relevant literature / and clinical implications of the study and future directions were also provided.

This thesis will examine Ali Bula&ccedil / &rsquo / s distinctive ideas and approach to modernity and democracy as two significant aspects of the Western Question within the framework of Muslim-West relations, with the aim of judging his contribution to the Western Question of Muslim. The West and Muslim world have been in contact with each other since the appearance of Islam on the global scene. The nature of this contact has changed throughout this 1400 year long interaction as peace or conflict reigned. In the past two centuries, the dominance of the West over the Muslim world increased dramatically. Consequently, the West transformed into a subtle question for the Muslims. The Western Question has become more complex as Western influence over the Muslim world increased with colonization, modernization and democratization policies pursued by the West. Conflicts have prevailed in Muslim-West relations in the past two centuries. Muslims have not remained indifferent to the rising dominance of the West in their society. They began to seek an appropriate response to the Western Question / but failed to devise a common one thus far, and proposed many different alternative solutions, including the one elaborated in this thesis, to deal with the Western Question.

International programmes, namely Framework Programmes 6, 7, and European Research Cooperation Agency (EUREKA), aim supporting national Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to subcontract their research needs to Research and Technological Development (RTD) performers. Main objective of this thesis is to measure level of success of knowledge transfer from RTD performers towards Turkish SMEs within the FP6, FP7 and EUREKA. The thesis proposes a model for knowledge transfer consisting of four stages: initiation, implementation, elaboration, and internalization. Extensive data is collected from sixty projects involved in these programmes via structured survey. The data is analyzed within the context of the proposed model via using the variables selected from the literature. Main findings show that the initiation stage is at a satisfactory level. The national SMEs continue learning from the international partners while they practice the knowledge they acquire, therefore, necessary support should be given to national SMEs to communicate as much as possible in order to receive as much knowledge as possible from their international partners, during implementation process. Level of absorptive capacity is indispensable for elaboration. Therefore, much effort is required to strengthen absorptive capacity of national SMEs. Internalization is the weakest stage. If internalization is not successfully achieved, it is hardly possible to sustain and systematize the knowledge. All stages are mutually exclusive. If the initiation is not based on real needs and expertise of the SMEs, implementation will fail. It will be difficult to elaborate on the knowledge / therefore, improvement of the knowledge will not be at expected level. Since the improvement will not be sustained, internalization of the knowledge will be less, which will undermine successful transfer.

The thesis seeks to chart the foundation and transformation of NATO-Russia relations from Yeltsin to Putin and Medvedev. It attempts to potray the continuity and change in the Russian Foreign Policy towards NATO in the light of the main international developments such as the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Bosnian war and the Kosovo conflict / as well as the internal transformation of the Alliance marked by the extension of the traditional NATO roles and the expansion policy. The thesis tries to depict the new initiatives in the Russian Foreign policy aimed at undermining NATO and US&rsquo / roles in Europe by attempting to establish an alternative European architecture to a NATO-centric one. It is argued that while Yeltsin promoted multilateralism based on the world led by the USA and the Russian Federation on a par, Putin and Medvedev&rsquo / s multilateralism was to undermine the American world hegemony and consolidate relations with Europe.