CONTAINING TITO: U.S. and SOVIET POLICIES TOWARDS YUGOSLAVIA and the BALKANS the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences O
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CONTAINING TITO: U.S. AND SOVIET POLICIES TOWARDS YUGOSLAVIA AND THE BALKANS The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by LEVENT İŞYAR In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BİLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA September 2005 I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History. ...................................... Asst. Prof. Dr. Edward P. Kohn Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History. ...................................... Prof. Dr. Evgeni Radushev Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History. ...................................... Assistant Professor Dr. Nur Bilge Criss Examining Committee Member Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences …………………….…. Prof. Dr. Erdal Erel Director ABSTRACT CONTAINING TITO: U.S. AND SOVIET POLICIES TOWARDS YUGOSLAVIA AND THE BALKANS, 1945-1955 İşyar, Levent M.A., Department of History Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Edward P. Kohn September 2005 This thesis examines the early Cold War in the Balkans by bringing historical and regional factors into play. In particular, it focuses on the plans for a Balkan federation and the Balkan Pact. The major actor in these cooperation attempts was Yugoslavia, and it was a privileged state in its relations with the superpowers. By putting Yugoslavia into the centre of analysis, this thesis reconsiders this period and the influence of these two regional alliances upon the regional and Cold War relations. Balkan federation plans were the extension of historical tendencies of the contributing parties. Balkan Pact was completely a Cold War tool but its demise was triggered by non-Cold War reasons rooted in the regional relations. Early Cold War in the Balkans should be studied by treating the role of historical and regional factors as equal with the superpower policies. Key Words: Tito, Yugoslavia, Balkan Federation, Balkan Pact, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Soviet Union, U.S.A., Cold War. iii ÖZET TİTO’YU ÇEVRELEMEK: AMERİKA VE SOVYETLERİN YUGOSLAVYA VE BALKAN POLİTİKALARI, 1945-1955 İşyar, Levent Yüksek Lisans, Tarih Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Edward P. Kohn Eylül 2005 Bu tez Balkanlarda Soğuk Savaş’ın erken dönemlerini tarihsel ve bölgesel etkenleri de hesaba katarak incelemektedir. Özellikle, Balkan federasyonu planları ve Balkan Paktı’na odaklanmaktadır. Yugoslavya bu işbirliği çabalarında temel aktördü ve süpergüçlerle ilişkilerinde imtiyazlı bir ülkeydi. Tez Yugoslavya’yı analizin merkezine koyarak bu dönemi ve iki bölgesel ittifakın bölge ve Soğuk Savaş üzerindeki etkilerini yeniden ele almaktadır. Balkan federasyonu planları katılan tarafların tarihsel eğilimlerinin Soğuk Savaş’taki uzantısıdır. Balkan Paktı ise tamamen bir Soğuk savaş aracıdır ama çöküşünü kökü bölgesel ilişkilerde yatan Soğuk Savaş dışı sebepler tetiklemiştir. Balkanlardaki erken dönem Soğuk Savaş, tarihi ve bölgesel etkenlerin rolünü süpergüç politikalarıyla eşit muamele ederek çalışılmalıdır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Tito, Yugoslavya, Balkan Federasyonu, Balkan Paktı, Türkiye Yunanistan, Bulgaristan, Sovyetler Birliği, ABD, Soğuk Savaş iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the preparation of this thesis, my thanks are due above all to my mother and brother. Their support has served me as a backbone for years. Thanks Leyla and Bülent İşyar; all for one, one for all! My special debt of gratitude is owed to Edward P. Kohn, my mentor, my master, for his devotion in the organizational work. May the Force be with him! Special thanks to Nur Bilge Criss and Evgeni Radushev for the meticulous care she and he invested in the editing work. I also received great deal of advice from many other academics. I am particularly grateful to all good people of Bilkent History Department for their fruitful collaboration. I am thankful to total strangers who indirectly supported me, namely Dimitrakopulo Wines Inc., British-American Tobacco Inc. and internet reversi players. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................iii ÖZET..........................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................................vi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................1 CHAPTER II: THE BALKANS UNTIL THE COLD WAR.................................8 2.1 Introduction...............................................................................................8 2.2 Attempts and Extent of Cooperation after the Great War.................11 2.3 Balkan Entente........................................................................................12 2.4 World War II and Its Impact on the Balkans......................................18 2.4.1 Turkey and the Soviet Threat.................................................18 2.4.2 Greece and Greek Civil War..................................................21 2.4.3 Tito Strikes Back......................................................................24 2.5 Conclusion................................................................................................27 CHAPTER III: PLANS FOR A BALKAN FEDERATION.................................29 3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................29 3.2 Initial Plans for a Balkan Alliance........................................................30 3.3 Moscow-Belgrade Relations: Tito-Stalin Conversation of May 27-28, 1946......................................................................................34 3.3.1 Tito: Mission Greece! .............................................................36 3.3.2 Yugoslav-Albanian Relations..................................................39 vi 3.4 Yugoslavia and the U.S...........................................................................41 3.5 Resurrection of Cominform...................................................................46 3.6 Background to the Crisis: From Secret Soviet-Bulgarian-Yugoslav Meeting of February 10, 1948 to the Tito-Stalin Split.........................49 3.6.1 Last Phase: Cold War Crisis and the End of Tito’s Balkan Dream.................56 3.7 Conclusion: Entirely New Problem.......................................................63 CHAPTER IV: TRANSITION PERIOD: WHEN THE DEVIL WAS SICK, THE DEVIL A MONK WOULD BE..........................................................67 4.1 Introduction.............................................................................................67 4.2 Difficulties of Developing a Sound Policy Towards Yugoslavia.........69 4.2.1 Danube Conference and the Early Symptoms......................73 4.3 Good-bye Uncle Joe - Welcome Uncle Sam..........................................75 4.3.1 American Support Without Strings Please!..........................78 4.4 NSC 68 and the Korean War.................................................................80 4.4.1 What about aiding a Communist Country?..........................82 4.5 The Road to the Balkan Alliance is Opened.........................................84 4.5.1 Passionate Neighbors: Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia.......87 4.6 Conclusion: Great Expectations and Unstatisfying Results................96 CHAPTER V: CACOPHONY: THE ROAD TOWARDS THE BALKAN PACT..........................99 5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................99 5.2 One Alliance Born, One Leader Dies..................................................100 5.3 Military Talks and Turkish-Greek Competition...............................102 5.3.1 Full Throttle...........................................................................105 vii 5.4 U.S. Increases Control and Tito’s Maneuvers................................................107 5.4.1 The Question of How to Slow Down the Process................109 5.4.2 Big Brothers and the Text of the New Treaty.....................112 5.5 Happy End: Dulles’ Scheduling and the Balkan Pact.......................115 5.6 Surprising Developments in the Cold War and the Balkans............120 5.6.1 Tito- Khrushchev Correspondence......................................120 5.6.2 Cyprus Issue...........................................................................124 5.7 Conclusion.............................................................................................127 CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION............................................................................129 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................137 APPENDICES.........................................................................................................147 APPENDIX I...............................................................................................147 APPENDIX II..............................................................................................150