KOMPLO TEORİLERİ VE DIŞ POLİTİKA ALGISI: ULUSLARARASI İLİŞKİLER, GÜNDELİK SÖYLEMLER VE SİYASAL ALGILAR ÜZERİNE DİSİPLİNLERARASI BİR İNCELEME

Dış politikayı, iç politika ile ilişkisi ve çok katmanlı olarak incelediğimiz bu makalede “sıradan” bireylerin dış politika algılarına odaklanmaktayız. Bu bağlamda, makalenin amacı kurumsal dış politika mekanizmalarına dahil olmayan bireylerin gündelik anlatılarında vuku bulduğu haliyle dış politika algılarının komplo anlatılarıyla nasıl ilişkilendiğini göstermektir. Bu makale boyunca öne sürdüğümüz savlar 2021 ve 2022 yıllarında farklı safhalarda gerçekleştirdiğimiz odak görüşmelerine dayanmaktadır. Araştırma bulgularımız komplo anlatılarının dış politikayı nasıl anlaşılabilir kıldığını ve bu anlaşılabilir kılma işlevi ile alttan yukarı bir toplumsal etki yarattığını göstermektedir. Ana argümanımız komplo anlatılarının temelini “dış güçler” ekseninde geliştirilen ve Türk dış politikasındaki gelişmeleri Türkiye’nin diğer uluslararası aktörlerle mücadelesi olarak değerlendiren anlatıların oluşturduğudur. Bu anlatıyla ilişkili olarak, ekonomik sorunları dış güçlerin müdahalesi ve manipülasyonları olarak gören anlatılar da gündelik deneyim ve sorunların dış politikayla ilişkilendirilmesine dair bir örnek oluşturmaktadır. Son olarak ise bu anlatılarda ortaya çıkan kabil, egemen ve özel bir “biz” algısı ulusal kimlik çevresinde geliştirilen söylemlerle dış politika algısının ilişkisini göstermektedir. Makale, dış politikanın komplo teorileri aracılığıyla gündelik söylemlere nasıl sirayet ettiğini inceleyerek pek çok disipliner ve interdisipliner tartışmaya katkı yapmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

dış politika algısı, komplo teorileri, uluslararası ilişkiler, siyasallaşma

CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND FOREIGN POLICY PERCEPTIONS: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, EVERYDAY NARRATIVES AND POLITICAL PERCEPTIONS

In this article, we examine foreign policy and its relationship to domestic politics through attending to the foreign policy perceptions of “ordinary” individuals. The aim of the article is to demonstrate how foreign policy perceptions are connected to conspiracy theories circulated by individuals who are not involved in institutional foreign policy mechanisms. The arguments we make throughout this article are based on focus groups we have held at different stages in 2021 and 2022. Our research findings underline first and foremost that conspiratorial accounts, regardless of their epistemic status, make foreign policy understandable and, through this social function, generate a bottom-up effect in everyday politics. Drawing on an analysis of the collected data, we first argue that such conspiratorial perceptions of the foreign policy is centered around narratives of "foreign powers" and construe the developments in Turkish foreign policy as Turkey's struggle with malign international actors. Related to this narrative, these accounts also instantiate domestic economic problems as the manipulations of malign foreign powers also constitute an example of associating daily experiences and problems with foreign policy. Finally, the perception of a capable, sovereign and special national identity emerges across these narratives highlighting the relationship between the discourses developed around national identity and the perception of foreign policy. The article contributes to many disciplinary and interdisciplinary discussions by examining how foreign policy is intricately related to everyday politics through the circulation of conspiracy theories.

Keywords:

Foreign policy perceptions, Conspiracy theories, international relations, politicization,

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