Framing Turkiye's Cosmopolitan Relations with the Western Balkans.

• Author: Mulalic, Muhidin

Introduction

In the postmodern age, the conventional multilateral and/or bilateral understanding of diplomacy has been challenged. Therefore, diplomacy and foreign policy are in the midst of the continuous process of change and adaptation to new political, economic, technological, and security realities. In particular, technological developments, digital media, social media, and the public sphere became central in shaping diplomacy and foreign policy. Digital media and social media, as new instruments, in turn, influence and shape the image of a particular country in the global public sphere. In this regard, both state and non-state diplomatic actors have to adapt to new postmodern realities. They require a thorough understanding of multiple perspectives of the issues and interests within the postmodern and digital contexts. Thus, diplomacy offers win-win opportunities in tackling sensitive issues and challenges. Although in the course of diplomatic communication, it is important to maintain good foreign office-to-foreign office relations between two nation-states it is also significant to (re)consider the public sphere, digital technologies and cosmopolitan framework. The postmodern age is characterized by fragmentation, uncertainty, liquidity, individualization, plurality, and diversity, which in turn led to fragmentation and diversity of our perceptions, wants, needs, interests, experiences and ideological orientations. Therefore, diplomacy has to engage the postmodern age and respond to diverse actors that coexist and act in the public sphere. Using of digital technologies in diplomacy has accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been extended to continuous diplomatic engagement and presence in the public sphere. Finally, the cosmopolitan framework, which is the subject of this paper, has extended the diplomatic scope that is significantly attuned to the world risk society and reflexive modernization.

This paper frames Turkiye's cosmopolitan relations with the Western Balkans on Ulrich Beck's conceptions of risk, reflexivity, and cosmopolitan vision. The world of metamorphosis (verwandlung), grounded on digital and network technologies, certainly require new diplomatic approaches, techniques, and methods. The postmodern world and world risk society emerged as a result of science and technology, climatic and environmental changes, security threats, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. Such metamorphosis (verwandlung) requires a cosmopolitan reflexive reaction and cosmopolitan diplomatic approach, which strongly considers the interconnected world, global risks, and transnational forms. On the contrary, since the creation of modern nation-states, the Western Balkans relations have been strongly based on ethnonational, nation-state, and ideological models, which inhibit democratization, economic development, and regional security. The Western Balkans countries function within the nation-state container and focus on history, conflicts, borders, and ethnic exclusiveness, without tackling the global, transnational, and shared risks and opportunities. This is the reason why the Balkan's savage, divisive, disintegrative, and backward image has prevailed.

Turkish foreign policy and diplomacy towards the Western Balkans has evolved through different phases, which included the focus on conflict resolution, peace, humanitarian assistance, state-building, security, and economic and trade relations. In the past few decades Turkiye's foreign policy and diplomacy, strongly based on soft power and pragmatism, has been characterized by the use of different approaches and instruments. Furthermore, Turkish foreign policy was conditioned by regional ethnic-nationalist programs and ideologies that emphasize ethnicity, nationality, borders, religion, history, and culture. Therefore, this paper attempts to explore Beck's theories and concepts in framing Turkiye's cosmopolitan diplomacy towards the Western Balkans. What could be the role of involuntary enlightenment, enforced communication across different borders, political catharsis, enforced cosmopolitanism, global system of governance, international legalism, and digitalization in framing Turkiye's cosmopolitan diplomacy towards the Western Balkans? How the focus on environmental diplomacy, health diplomacy, migration diplomacy, reconciliation diplomacy, digital diplomacy, youth diplomacy, and education diplomacy could encounter an exclusive Western Balkans focus on emancipatory politics, ethnonationalism, narratives, and ideologies?

Cosmopolitanism

A doctrine of progress, as the essence of modernity, has been used for the study of an ever-changing world, whereby the notion of change and scientific progress were seen as vehicles of human continuous progress and development. Such linear progress and development were strongly rooted in the philosophy and sociology of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), G. W F. Hegel (1770-1831), and Auguste Comte (1798-1857). (1) Thus, linear knowledge strongly grounded in science, technology, and research, contributed to human progressive development, represented in the mechanical worldview, mass production, the electronic age, information technology, and scientific knowledge. Consequently, the modern world was seen as progressive, structural, orderly, and predictable. These developments inevitably led to the emergence of digital technology and network society, which began to shape the postmodern world of risk and uncertainty. (2) Therefore, Ulrich Beck began to question the doctrine of progress because the world is not simply changing and progressing but we live in a world of metamorphosis (verwandlung), which requires new ways of coping with risks and a shift from methodological nationalism to methodological cosmopolitanism. (3)

The modern structural world, grounded on science and technology, consequently led to the postmodern world and world risk society. (4) By the mid-1980s nuclear weapons, nuclear catastrophes, nuclear radiation, warfare, new military destructive technologies, environmental hazards, and over-use of energy had provoked the debates on the cosmopolitan vision and global risk society. A common view prevailed that manufactured uncertainty and world risk society will define the 21st century. (5) First, the subordination of nature to science and technology caused serious environmental and climatic changes due to hazardous emissions, ultraviolet radiation, frequent flooding, snowmelt, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Thus, the postmodern world entered the Anthropocene Age, whereby nature is no longer nature due to the human invasion of the planet. These postmodern challenges transcend specific geographies, state institutions, and nation-state borders. (6) Second, the postmodern world has encountered biological, biomedical, and chemical threats, which reached their climax in the COVID-19 pandemic. These threats require global awareness, collaboration, and coordinated actions, which greatly define global security. (7) Third, terrorism, migrations, and securitization contributed to the emergence of the state/world of exemption and the state/world obsession with risk prevention and its management. (8) Fourth, uncertainties and risks have been caused so far by the rise of the global population and demographic aging, which challenge the global sustenance and functioning of the global system of governance. (9) Fifth, the postmodern world is shaped by artificial intelligence, whereby smart robots, cars, phones, and computers shape and transform human automated lives and created a metamorphosis generation. Then, modern technology contributed to the emergence of automated authority, governance, planning, and decision-making. This in turn affected the conventional understanding of the system of governance and security. (10)

The above-mentioned examples clearly envision the postmodern world, which is metamorphosing and requires a reflexive reaction. (11) In this regard, the global risks are beyond the nation-state model and require a new cosmopolitan reflexive approach. Beck challenged modern concepts, methods, and views based on the notions of non-knowledge, metamorphosis, and emancipatory catastrophism. He held an ironic view that humanity must cope with insecurities, whereby there is a need for a shift from a linear world seen as progressive, orderly, systematic, and structural. (12) The postmodern world is framed by security issues, existential threats, and manufactured uncertainties. Since 9/11 the securitization and manufactured uncertainties have become a condition of the global world. Since risks take place at spatial, temporal, and social levels, risks and uncertainties evolve beyond nation-state borders, with unlimited and unpredictable effects and consequences. Thus, in the future states, state institutions, state authorities, and experts will encounter difficulties in their rigid attempts of controlling risks. (13) Therefore, the postmodern world challenges the effectiveness of the nation-state model in tackling global governance and security, including pandemic threats, natural disasters, and climatic changes. (14)

Ulrich Beck has reaffirmed the significance of cosmopolitanism and risk society discourse in the postmodern world. Cosmopolitan vision is a sociological phenomenon and as such has some similarities with internationalism, globalization, transnationalism, universalism, and the like. First, cosmopolitan vision takes into consideration independent and lived realities, cultures, diverse expectations, and experiences within unconscious and unintended contexts, spaces, and times. Therefore, cosmopolitized reality leads to the borderless necessity to cooperate and solve global problems and exchange with others. Second, cosmopolitanism as a new social determinant strongly takes into consideration a global and interconnected world and transnational forms of social and political organization. (15) Third, a...