Factors Driving Turkish Foreign Policy Betul Dicle Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2008 Factors driving Turkish foreign policy Betul Dicle Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Dicle, Betul, "Factors driving Turkish foreign policy" (2008). LSU Master's Theses. 3090. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3090 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FACTORS DRIVING TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of Political Science by Betul Dicle B. Law., Istanbul University, 2000 B. A., Ankara University, 1995 December, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE THE WORLD WAR II ............................................... 6 TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY DURING THE COLD WAR .................................................... 13 Beginning of the Cold War and Rapprochement with the West: 1945 - 1962 .......................... 14 Relations with Middle East and the Balkans between 1945 and 1962 ...................................... 16 Middle East ............................................................................................................................ 16 Balkans .................................................................................................................................. 19 The Cyprus Problem .............................................................................................................. 20 Second Episode of the Cold War: Changing Balances in the International Arena and Turkish Foreign Policy in 1960 – 1990 .................................................................................................. 24 A Deteriorating Relationship with the U.S: The Jupiter Missile Crisis and the Johnson Letter .................................................................................................................. 26 After the Dust Settled: Relations with U.S., Greece and U.S.S.R. ........................................ 28 1980 Military Intervention ..................................................................................................... 31 Turkey –U.S. Relations after 1980 ........................................................................................ 34 Turkey –Middle East Relations ............................................................................................. 37 Turkey –Iran Relations .......................................................................................................... 39 Turkey – Israel Relations ....................................................................................................... 41 Turkey – Europe Relations .................................................................................................... 43 TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY AFTER THE COLD WAR ....................................................... 48 Relations with the U.S. .............................................................................................................. 49 Relations with the European Union .......................................................................................... 52 Relations with Russia and Caucasia .......................................................................................... 56 Relations with Greece and Cyprus ............................................................................................ 60 Relations with the Balkans ........................................................................................................ 63 Relations with the Middle East ................................................................................................. 65 Turkey and Israel ................................................................................................................... 65 Turkey and Syria .................................................................................................................... 67 Turkey and Iran ...................................................................................................................... 69 SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................ 71 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 77 VITA ............................................................................................................................................. 82 ii ABSTRACT Evaluation of Turkish foreign policy events suggests that both external and domestic factors have affected its determination. While a consistent pattern in foreign policy has been observed since Ottoman times, the 20th century has led to substantial challenges. Long-established Turkish foreign policy, based exclusively on external factors, was reshaped to include domestic factors as well. With the new Republic in 1923, the process of reshaping foreign policy, based on Western values, has started. The end of the Cold War started a new era in which domestic factors gained predominance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the factors that have driven Turkish foreign policy and the changes thereto in three different time periods. The most important change is primarily the shift from external factors to domestic factors, especially after the Cold War. However, the period before the end of Cold War is further subdivided into two distinct periods— before and after the Second World War. Balanced neutrality in the pre-World War II period shaped Turkish foreign policy. After the war, with the change in the balance of power in the international system, the U.S.S.R. appeared as a serious threat. The Western Alliance was in the center of Turkish foreign policy. Domestic factors became evident with the 1960 coup d‘état, which led to a new constitution to allow different political groups to become active. It was the end of the Cold War which put domestic factors in a predominant position. Ethnic and religious politics posed the biggest challenge for Turkey. Based on the recent events in the international system, Turkish foreign policy is again at a turning point in which domestic factors are not only predominant, but may in fact be the driving force behind foreign policy making. iii INTRODUCTION Geopolitics is a fundamental factor in determination of Turkish foreign policy since Ottoman times (Larrabee and Lesser, 2003; Hale, 2000). According to Gallois (1990) and Boniface (2000)1, ―geopolitics is the study of the relationships between the implementation of power policies internationally and the geographical context in which they occur.‖ According to Hale (2000), geopolitics is the link (in terms of continuity and consistency) between Ottoman and Turkish foreign policy. ―While its geographical situation increases Turkey‘s international weight, it also raises the prospect of an attack by any of the great powers with ambitions in these regions‖ (Hale, 2000). Turkey is located both in Europe and in Asia, a trait shared only with Russia. Geographically, it is a Balkan, Black Sea and Mediterranean state. The Balkan and Black Sea regions are vital for strategic relations with Central Asia and the Caucasus, especially through its ethnic, religious and cultural ties. The Mediterranean region is imperative for relations with the Arab world, Israel and Europe. While Turkey is a Middle Eastern country, considering its historical ties to the region (Mango, 1996; Aydin, 2004; Hale, 2002; Kirisci, 1997), it is also a bridge between the Middle East and Europe as well as Central Asia. Accordingly, the Turkish Straits (Bosporus and Dardanelles) carry significant strategic importance. Turkey‘s proximity to the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans both illustrates its geopolitical importance and contributes to the diversity of Turkish foreign policy. Its location in the tumultuous Middle Eastern region creates significant security concerns. In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire followed a foreign policy agenda based on ‗the exploitation of balance of power‘ between major European powers. With the advance of foreign 1 As reported by Gagné (2007) 1 affairs institutions in the 19th century, Ottoman Empire sought ‗flexible alliances‘ based on the strategic needs at the time (Okman, 2004). The new republic in 1923 led to a period of transformation from old Ottoman values to new Turkish Republic values2. The Ottoman foreign policy based exclusively on external factors (for security and development) was reshaped into a policy in which accounted for domestic factors along with external factors. The emergence of the U.S.S.R. after the Second World War as a threat to the Western alliance allowed Turkey to form permanent alliances with the Western powers.