Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü

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Browsing Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü by Institution Author "Alioğlu, Mehmet"

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    Doctoral Thesis
    Continental Powers and Quest for Status: a Comparative Study of Sultan Abdülaziz's Fleet (1861-1876)
    (Kadir Has Üniversitesi, 2020) Alioğlu, Mehmet; Güvenç, Serhat
    In this study, the Ottoman Fleet during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz is taken as a case that stands out as a Nineteenth Century precursor to subsequent efforts by continental powers, Kaiser Wilhelm II's Germany and Stalin's USSR, to build sub-optimal fleets in the Twentieth Century. Therefore, these two cases are added in order to answer the following question: why do continental powers establish or try to acquire naval power beyond levels needed for the physical security of the state? In the first chapter, the purpose, the scope, and the methodology are presented. In the second chapter, the theoretical framework of the study is established and why a Constructivist theoretical framework is preferred over a Realist one is explained. The third chapter is devoted to the study of Ottoman sea power from historical and theoretical perspectives. As a result, the Ottoman Empire is identified as a continental power. In the fourth chapter, the strategic needs of the Ottoman Empire are studied to identify physical threats to the state from a historical perspective. The fifth chapter covers the fleet of Sultan Abdülaziz and its evaluation against potential threats. The inquiry made shows that Sultan Abdülaziz's Fleet was not commensurate with the threats it was supposed to counter. Therefore, it was an irrational arming decision. As a result, it is studied from a struggle for recognition perspective which fits in with the Ottoman naval expansion during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz. In the sixth and seventh chapters, the German and the Soviet naval expansions are evaluated against the threats these states faced. As a result, the German and Soviet fleets during the reigns of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Joseph Stalin are identified as inappropriate tools against the physical threats they were supposed to counter. They instead fit better in a struggle for recognition perspective. Then Ottoman, German, and Soviet naval expansions are comparatively evaluated to answer the question of why continental powers establish or try to acquire naval power beyond levels needed for the physical security of the state. In this context this study concludes that all three states tried to acquire status through naval power. Hence, Constructivism offers a better explanation of continental states' over-investments in naval power.