Introduction
Over the years, Turkey and Germany have continued to put in place comprehensive measures and policies to curb insecurity. These measures and concepts on security are always developed with an aim to promote cohesive coexistence between states, building confidence in relations among states, enhancing possibilities of diplomacy and agreeing on the use of arms and its limitations, disarmaments and promoting political goodwill and economic security among between the countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a policy brief covering Turkey and Germany by comparing the two countries focusing on the different security and other threats.
The need to discuss the security and international security is real if mutual trust, respect, and understanding among the different states are to be enhanced. Different security concepts are evolving in response to the need for national security. Notably, response to insecurity issues depends on military capabilities, economic strengths of the states, technological and scientific progress made by the states as well as political cooperation (Martin, 2004, p. 22). The political cooperation among nations is always through bilateral and multilateral diplomacy that in some cases it has to involve international organizations.
It is paramount to put the country’s needs as a priority by preserving the base identity of a nation, protecting the territorial integrity and ensuring the survival of the populations. Notably, national security and collective security are related pillars that countries use to check for any threats. The evolving security challenges have made countries and the international community alert concerning any case of insecurity (Göksel & Shiriyev, 2013, p. 55).
Similarly, countries neighboring the analyzed countries are faced with security threats in varying magnitude. The security threats experienced by states around the world are directly inclined to the nations' geographical locations, its relations with the immediate neighboring countries and capability of handling security issues within its boundaries (Barkey & Fuller, 1998). In some cases, the security threats that face some nations are similar depending on political ideologies held in such states and many other international issues. Because of the different security threats that countries are likely to experience, they put in place different policy briefs to handle the situations and the threat they are to face. In the two countries, the same is also experienced as depicted in the following discussions.
The security threats and the related policy briefs
In both countries, Turkey and Germany, the immigrants coming in are seen as a threat to the nation's security. The security risks in the two nations are likely to be high due to the influx of the illegal migration of refugees from other places. The refugees come in at the expense of security checks and the entry borders. Most of the asylums in Germany are from Algeria, Morocco and Australia, who are of Muslim origin (Ember & Ember, 2004, p. 32). The refugees are likely to bring representations of Islam alarmists and radicalization that is likely to be a security threat to the nation. A similar threat is likely to face Turkey because of increases immigrants from the troubled Syria and Iraq that are at war (Çabuk & Erdemir, 2008, p. 34). The runaway refugees who are increasingly moving into Turkey are likely to radicalize the rest of the population in the country as the case is in Syria and this is likely to be the great threat to the security of Turkey.
The runaway refugees who are of Muslim origin often settle mostly on the eastern side of Turkey and radicalization of their fellow Muslims against the western part of the country is likely to occur leading to war in the country. In the two countries, the increase of refugees is likely to lead to rising of regimes in ethnicity and impact negatively on the national security of the nations as a whole.
The two countries have then put in place the German-Turkish migrant plan that is to help deal with the issue of the immigrant refugees in both countries. The policy seeks to allow Turkey to stop migrants from crossing to Greece and at the same time readmit those who make the journey by sea. The policy further aims at resettling the refugees will go a long way to help the two countries to check the radicalization that is likely to take place because of the refugees who seek asylum (Akçam, 2012, p, 21). In both countries, the resettlement policy will focus largely on families, as this would preempt the controversial debate on family reunification in later years. The policy is also in place to help Germany in handing the many refugees that triple in the country yearly. Some of whom were from Turkey as early as in the 1960s will be encouraged to go back and seek reunion.
Apart from the security threat that faces the two countries, the second threat that
Germany and Turkey face is the human security. The threat on human security is high in Turkey where by the ethnic assertiveness in the country have been supported by religious agencies. The human security is further enhanced critical geopolitical position of Turkey between Europe, the Middle East and the Caucasus. This makes Turkey to face socio cultural development challenges and the instability brought about by the Kurdish Separatist Organization (Matthew et al., n.p). To handle the issue of threats on human security Turkey has adopted the dual policy framework that tries to help the situation. That allows Turkey to cooperate with its neighbors and ensure an understanding of each other. The policy tries to protect the aspect of every individual in the country and the neighbors and enhancing shared culture among themselves. Turkey has in addition to the above policy adopted The EU-Turkey Foreign Policy Relationship has also been put into place. The policy enhances human security protection on the EU-Turkey union (Scheffran, n.p).
In Germany, the human security threat is not much and extreme as in Turkey. This because security in Germany has over the years focused on sate and protection of its borders and people from harmful actions from other individuals or nations. The position of Germany by neighboring peaceful countries such France, Norway, Australia, Denmark, and Poland puts it in a position to have little threat on human security as compared to Turkey. Further, to ensure the security threat in the country is held and may be not arise in future the Germany adopted the Human Development Policy set up in 1994 by the United Nations, which ensures that security needs to place greater emphasis on people’s security and their protection from threats. The policy embraces more on absence of violent conflict, encompassing human rights, good governance, access to health and education care for its citizens (Scheffran n.p).
The third security threat that Germany and Turkey are likely or are currently facing is environmental security threat. In Germany, the threat is not as much as Turkey and this is because in areas of environment the country has continued to ensure environmental protection is vital to every citizen in the country. The strategies the county uses are also friendly to ensure the country is safe in terms of environment. One of the policies that the country has put in place is the disarmament policy in the country that is directly interlinked to environment. The policy allows Germany to support many projects and consultations among science allow conservation of the environment. The country has further adopted the German Environmental Policy that allows public opinion and general importance of environmental protection. The policy stresses on the implication of global environmental change concerns with an aim to ensure reduction of defense expenses favor of environmental development (Culshaw et al. 329).
Turkey too as a nation faces environmental security threats as other nations around the globe. The demographic changes in the country in the recent years put the country in a position where by environmental use and stability has become an area of concerns in Turkey. Growing and shrinking urban areas in the country put the country in a greater environmental security threat as people continue to deplete the existing ecosystem for expansion purposes. The continued war in the country between the government and the Kurdish organization as well as the fights that Germany engages with its neighbors such as ISIL in Iraq and Syria poses a great environmental security threat to the country. The country’s is likely to be attacked any time and this will eventually affect negatively to its environment. To ensure it handles the environment security threat Turkey has adopted a number of policy briefs. One of the policy briefs in relation to the threat is the Turkey environmental security policy that focuses on state of the environment in the country and connection between environment and human security. It tries to handle the trans-boundary environmental conflicts in relation to resources such as water in the country. The policy also addresses the issue of armed conflict in the country and the Middle East region that could affect negatively on the environment (Petrosillo, n.p).
Conclusion
Conclusively, by combating terrorism and addressing the different security threats such as human security, environmental security, bio politics security that countries around the globe are likely to face, requires good policies to be put in place. Therefore, the policies that are adopted by countries should allow the domestic and international actions that are to be undertaken to be consistent with laws, values and human justices. The policies that state put in place should first be addressed to ensuring the national security issues are first dealt with before trying to address issues that are beyond the border points (Fahimi, 2015, p. 45).
Nations need to employ and look at the broader picture of military, economic, social and political aspects when coming up with the policy briefs to be in a better position to confront contemporary security challenges that they are likely to face. The policies that are adopted should focus on cooperation and partnership, sovereignty respect, territorial integrity and independence of States (Martin, 2004, p. 32). The policies should be guided by establishing and maintaining friendly ties among nations, enhancing regional and international cooperation through multilateral and bilateral understanding. The policies should also aim at resolving conflicts through peaceful means and enhancing regional and international peace. The global security threats should initiate and precipitate the nations around the world to put in place security policy that should then enhance the handling of security in and outside their borders.
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