Review: The Theory of War and Peace The Geophilosophy of Europe

make a substantial majority within a municipality. She also notes that Macedonia’s experience with decentralization requires urther re orms to consolidate the process and actors such as clientelism, patronage politics and lack o democratic culture in the political system hinders other potential bene ts o the decentralisation. In this sense, the book can be used by politicians, experts and academics as a policy recommendation to test and improve provisions o the Ohrid Framework Agreement. The Theory o War and Peace: The Geophilosophy o Europe By Oleg Bazaluk, translated by amara Blazhevych Newcastle upon yne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017, 191 pages, $60.57, ISBN: 9781443898836 Rev ewed by B rkan Ertoy, Soc al Sc ences Un vers ty o A pro essor in the Department o Philosophy, Oleg Bazaluk ocuses on war and peace in his book and attempts to develop a philosophical theory o these concepts. As he explicitly expresses at the beginning o chapter two, “Methodology and Axiomatics o the Teory o War and Peace,” Bazaluk’s aim is to develop a “scienti c theory o war and peace” based on well-known discussions in international relations (IR) and to determine “the rhizome” o these concepts (pp. 35-44). Te book is divided into seven chapters and a conclusion. In the rst ve chapters, Bazaluk ocuses on explaining his theory; the other two are devoted to implementing it. Every chapter has a conclusion that allows readers to see the summary o discussions and quickly grasp a comprehensive understanding. In the rst chapter, the author analyzes the concepts o war and peace on philosophical grounds and determines two lines o reasoning in understanding these concepts. Te main reason, according to Bazaluk, is to understand these concepts be ore ormulating a Ankara theory (p. 33). While the rst line represents Democritus’ ideas and re ers to the realist tradition in IR, the second line represents Plato’s thoughts and re ers to idealism or liberalism (p. 11). Bazaluk provides a historical and philosophical background or these concepts that IR literature has excessively ocused upon, and claims that he ollows Plato’s line (p. 43). A er explaining the main lines o thought in the literature o war and peace, Bazaluk determines the main axiomatics or dependent variables o his theory: “Earth’s Civilization” and “Loci o Civilization” or “Sociocultural Centers” (p. 37). In a way, chapter two represents the meta-theory o his approach since he explains his methodology along with the dependent variables. Bazaluk points out that he has chosen “geophilosophy,” an approach that combines philosophy and geography, as the methodology o his theory (p. 43). However, he extends the limits o geophilosophy by adding political philosophy, social philosophy, and psychology to 2019 Sprıng 237 BOOK REVIEWS ormulate a comprehensive theory o war and peace (p. 107). Te reason why the author has chosen geophilosophy becomes more explicit in chapter three. Bazaluk claims that what we now think o as realities were imaginary at the beginning. o strengthen this argument, he argues that “a nation [state] is a set o nationalities: mental spaces and geographical territories, which are ormed and protected by governmental institutions” (pp. 62–63). In this sense, it might be argued that the desire to nd the link between geography and ideational spheres led author to use the methodology o geophilosophy. In the ollowing chapter, Bazaluk ocuses on the causes on war to argue why there is a need or a theory o war and peace. Bazaluk identi es war as the “violent penetration o one mental space into a locus o another mental space, which entails substantial changes and mani estations” and peace as the “coordinated interactions between mental spaces” (p. 109). From this point o view, the author does not accept that war and peace are consequences o politics but rather argues that they are the “mani estations o mental spaces” (pp. 110, 121). ry is the relationship between limitrophe states and aggressors (pp. 133-135). In this sense, the cause o war in Europe is the desire to change the “regulatory compromises” (p. 136). In addition to de ning the geophilosophy o Europe and determining the cause o war, the author presents his solution or the “coordinated interactions between mental spaces” which is education (p. 117). Bazaluk’s emphasis on education indicates his connection to Plato’s line o thought. Additionally, the author argues that any war might be “predicted” by ocusing and monitoring any possible disturbance o regulatory compromises between mental spaces (pp. 147-148). Bazaluk’s claim about prediction most likely derives rom the general positivist understanding o theory building in IR. In social sciences it is generally expected that a theory should predict the uture. By and large, a theory is a tool or interpreting events. Tere ore, this claim might seem a bit problematic or some researchers. A er explaining his theoretical perspective, Bazaluk tests his theory in chapters six and seven. Tese chapters are the case study o the author’s theory. Bazaluk identi es the geophilosophy o Europe and claims that there are two opposing civilizations (West/Capitalist and East/Sociologist). In addition to this claim, he argues that the ‘victims’ were the ‘limitrophe states’ (i.e. Ukraine, the Balkan region) or the states geographically close to ‘mental space-aggressors’ (i.e. Britain, France, Germany, and Russia). In the last chapter “Te European Security Strategy,” Bazaluk discusses the policies that Europe should consider or peace. According to him, Europe has made two atal mistakes. Te rst is to pave way or Russia’s revival regarding its economic and military power. Tere ore, the author considers that the 2014 Ukraine intervention “predictable” (p. 163). Te other is the “political corruption” caused by miscalculation. Bazaluk claims that there is a lack o understanding o the ontology o war and peace which he determines as the predominance o national interests over global interests (pp. 156-157). Te difculty o maintaining a regulatory compromise led the author to claim that “prediction and timely response” are the keys to maintaining peace. Tus, his theory is help ul or such a goal (p. 164). Tere ore, Bazaluk claims that the geo-philosophy o Europe in the 20th and early 21st centu- In the light o the explanation above, it might be argued that the theoretical perspective o 238 Insight Turkey the book is close to liberalism. Bazaluk’s emphasis on the elimination o the cause o war and the education o the new generation all point to liberalism. In addition to his explicitly expressed purpose, which is to develop a theory o war and peace, another aim is to warn Europe to establish and maintain the peace. In addition to the above-mentioned issue with the author’s prediction, some might nd his de nition o the Ukraine crisis as “predictable” a bit problematic since it is easier to de ne an event a er its results are obvious to researchers. Furthermore, Bazaluk’s reliance on Plato’s line o thought with some re erence to realism and other elds o social sciences might not provide a solution or Europe. Bazaluk claims that to maintain a regulatory compromise between mental space-aggressors, all actors’ interests need to be considered (p. 167). While Europe supports Ukraine’s independence, Russia claims that it is its inter- nal issue. Tere ore, the problem here is to assume that liberal and non-liberal states would act similarly. In this sense, it seems almost impossible to nd a common ground or both opposing sides’ interests in Ukraine. It is worth mentioning that these critiques do not aim to imply that Bazaluk’s work is ull o mistakes or that it is worthless. His attempts to ormulate a theory based on multiple elds in social sciences has the potential to broaden our horizons in analyzing any event. Additionally, the author highlights the role o leadership in analyzing events in several parts o the book. When considering the importance o leadership in the current system, one might say that his research might be help ul or oreign policy analyses in IR. Tere ore, using geophilosophy –which is not a well-known eld in the social sciences– as the methodology and aiming to develop a theory based on the current situation, Bazaluk’s e ort should be esteemed. Party Politics in the Western Balkans Edited by Věra Stojarová and Peter Emerson Abingdon: Routledge, 2013, 228 pages, $60, ISBN: 9780415849128 Rev ewed by Seçk n Arpalıer, Bursa Uludağ Un vers ty Party Politics in the Western Balkans is a volume o articles edited by Vera Stojarová and Peter Emerson about the realities acing the political parties in the Western Balkans rom the 1990s dissolution o the Yugoslavian Union and the all o the communist regime in Albania onward. Te book presents a meticulous analysis o the Western Balkan countries and their e orts during the transition process. Each chapter takes into consid- eration the birth o pluralist parties in the region while always giving an explanation o the roots o the parties’ problems. Considering the historical acts, these countries have aced several ordeals involving escaping rom di erent orms o war are and violence while trying to build their own path in establishing democracies and resolving con ict. Other essential acts that make this book important are the tables and charts that provide accurate 2019 Sprıng 239