Us foreign policy and violent non-state actors in the 2000s cases of HAMAS and GAM

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2017

Öğrenci: SAFFET AKKAYA

Danışman: ÖZLEM TÜR KÜÇÜKKAYA

Özet:

The Violent Non-State Actors (VNSA) play a substantial role in post-Cold War international relations. They influence the social, political and security environment at regional and international context. In this thesis, two Islamist VNSAs with similar specifications; HAMAS of the Middle East and GAM of the Southeast Asia have been studied. The purpose is to investigate the reasons why did the US actively pursued a conciliatory/inclusive approach towards GAM (Gerakan Acheh Merdaka/Free Acheh Movement in Indonesia) but not towards HAMAS (Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya/The Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine)? The conclusion is that the US foreign policy has come up with two different solutions in Palestine and Acheh conflicts; while GAM has been persuaded to end violence and transit into a peaceful political organization in Indonesian political system, HAMAS has not been so far. The factor which affects these two conflicts is the complex interaction amongst the US, the VNSAs (HAMAS and GAM) and the Parent states (Israel and Indonesia). In this complex interaction, the core element is the nature of the relations between the US administration and the Parent States (Israel and Indonesia).