Purpose of the TÜBAKOV DATABASEProje Amacı
The Turkish Peacekeeping Database (TÜBAKOV) aims to reveal the extent of, and trends in, Turkey’s contribution to the growing number of peacekeeping operations since the end of the Cold War. In addition to data collection from primary and institutional sources, anecdotes, observations and when required, unique historical cases were included to widen the scope of the work.
Content of The TÜBAKOV DATABASEProje Konusu
The TÜBAKOV database is designed and established to cover the peacekeeping operationsTurkey has contributed to since the end of the Cold War within the scope of the research conducted as “Project on Analysis of Turkey’s Participation and Trends in Peacekeeping Operations”.
Although there are other dataset collections around the world offering similar data about peace operations for different regions, Turkey has long lacked these kinds of sources. In order to fill this important gap in the field of research and related data, TÜBAKOV was established. Qualitative and quantitative data were compiled for the use of those who are interested.
Basic Findings of TÜBAKOVSonuç
The findings of the TÜBAKOV dataset are expected to contribute to academic and scientific research in the fields of Foreign Policy Analysis and International Security. As a data and reference guide for researchers, the TÜBAKOV aims to sustain its role as a main reference source for Turkish Peacekeeping activities through regular updates.
TÜBAKOV
(TÜBAKOV) The Formulation of the Project on “Analysis of Turkey’s Participation and Trends in Peacekeeping Operations” and the Related Dataset
Main Stages of The Project
In order to achieve the goal of generating the Turkish Peacekeeping Database, conceptual classification of peacekeeping operations (peacekeeping, peacemaking, peace enforcement, peace building) was initially aimed at. After this classification was made, related operations were categorized by putting them into historical perspective and relevant context.
Main Stages of The Project
After classification, through using historical sources and legal documents, TÜBAKOV as a database was created by including facts, figures and related data – comprised of details related to the operations like, time of contribution, kind of contribution, content and number of personnel.
Main Stages of The Project
Throughout the whole process of formation of the TÜBAKOV, Turkey’s priorities with regard to the formulation of its policy on peacekeeping operations, and political and economic motivations behind the decisions to participate or not to participate to these operations were also considered, facilitating the researchers to carry out their analyses within this framework.
GENERAL Framework, Content and Stages of the Project and the “TÜBAKOV” as the Final Output
The goal of project was to generate the TÜBAKOV and, thereby, to determine the extent of Turkey’s contribution to peacekeeping operations since the end of the Cold War. In this context, the research hypothesis was formulated as follows: “Turkey has been willing to take an active role in international politics in the post-Cold War period by being involving in peacekeeping operations and in time increasing its contribution in order to reflect its growing economic and political power and related ambitions in the international arena particularly from the early 2000s.”
There have been some findings to support this hypothesis in the International Relations literature. Throughout the project’s life these earlier findings were hoped to be substantiated with anecdotes and observations collected from the people with operational experience in the field or particular historical cases of Turkish contribution to peace operations as well as classifying these operations and relating the relevant data to a user-friendly and up to date framework for analysis.
Through the quantitative and qualitative data collected and to be collected after the project has been put into practice, this hypothesis will be tested according to the universal scientific criteria.
The historical background of the TÜBAKOV database is grounded in the period when the theoretical framework for the peacekeeping approach emerged at the international level. In this regard, Turkey’s participation as a founding member of the United Nations and its active involvement in organizations such as NATO, OSCE, and the Council of Europe indicates a significant beginning for the expansion of its role in the international arena.
In this context, Turkey has begun to get involved in a significant number of international operations abroad at different levels.
Although academic studies exist on this subject, these studies lack an integrative approach and they fail to become a data source for subsequent researchers. In order to make up this deficiency, through the “Project on Assessment of Turkey’s Participation and Trends in Peacekeeping Operations”, generating a database which includes the peace operations Turkey had participated in between 1985 and 2013 at the first stage and making regular updates of the data set afterwards was planned.
Although, there exist plenty of databases in the field of International Relations worldwide, there is no study focusing on this subject in Turkey. Thus, throughout this project the first step of creating databases originating in Turkey was taken and after the project was completed, the process to submit new national and international project proposals and broadening project’s scope commenced.
As the TÜBAKOV database is available with free access, academic studies aiming to analyze Turkish foreign policy and/or to evaluate Turkey’s contributions to international peace and security could easily refer to the TÜBAKOV and benefit from the output of this project. It is also expected to provide a long-term contribution to the academic and political researches and studies on the topic of Turkish participation to peace operations.
The project “Assessment of Turkey’s Participation and Trends in Peacekeeping Operations” was realized at three stages.
During the first stage, quantitative and other data on Turkey’s contribution to international operations between 1985-2013 that were covered on media was collected and an incident based archive was formulated.
During the second stage, studies were carried out through the formulation of quantitative variables/unit of analysis and parameters that would include it in universal studies and subsequently the construction of a quantitative database in accordance with international standards was worked on. For this purpose, state codes of the Correlates of War Project, which is well known and adhered to by International Relations scholars, were utilized.
During the third stage of the project, the hypothesis was tested in terms of these data and the analysis, which presents the tendencies with regard to the peacekeeping operations, was realized. At this stage, the aim was to comparatively analyze the contribution of Turkey to peacekeeping operations and the consequences of this contribution to the international arena.
The data acquired after data collection, analysis, evaluation processes and assumptions was put to good use by introducing TÜBAKOV to researchers and policy makers through a website with the aim of turning it into an information platform which is open to interaction.
Thanks to the TÜBAKOV project, data (regularly updated) with regard to Turkey’s contributions to international peace and security can be accessed on internet from (http://tubakov.org/en/) .
As an open source database, TÜBAKOV can be freely used by academics, scholars, military personnel, bureaucrats, journalists and researchers and is expected to be a much-cited source of reference. In the aftermath of the project, the aim is to broaden its scope and make it sustainable via the development of new national and international projects related to the database and peace operations in general.