Resumen de Legislative war powers in time: a historical institutionalist approach to the Turkish Parliament’s weight on foreign policy making

F. Murat Ozkaleli

• On 1 March 2003, the Turkish government’s war power motion failed inParliament even though most legislators had voted in favour of it, keepingTurkey out of the war in Iraq. This outcome reflected the anti-war sentimentamong the Turkish public but confounded Turkish-American relations. TheTurkish case shows that, contrary to one of the main assertations of theactor-specific perspectives, parliaments can play an important role in foreignpolicy decision making. How can Turkish legislative war powers beexplained? This study argues that the distinct position of the Parliament canbest be analysed by exploring the historical evolution of war powers acrossthe constitutions since the late Ottoman period, focusing on several criticaljunctures during a long path that turned Parliament into a key veto player inforeign policy making, capable of frustrating the executive’s intention to joina war.