Şuhnaz Yilmaz

Between Europeanization and Euro‐Asianism: Foreign Policy Activism in Turkey during the AKP Era

Abstract Focusing on Turkish foreign policy in the post‐Cold War era, this paper argues that the period can be divided into three distinct phases: an initial wave of foreign policy activism in the immediate post‐Cold War context; a new or second wave of foreign policy activism during the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) government era with a strong emphasis on Europeanization; and the more recent tension between Europeanization and Euro‐Asianism. This paper argues that during the AKP era Turkey maintained considerable continuity in terms of foreign policy activism and a multilateral approach to policymaking. Yet at the same time, a certain discontinuity or rupture can be identified starting in the middle of the first AKP governments reign, signifying a shift from a commitment to deep Europeanization to loose Europeanization along with a parallel shift to a soft Euro‐Asianism. Ultimately, the interaction between an intricate set of priorities on the domestic and international fronts will determine the future path of Turkish foreign policy.

Turkey and Russia in a shifting global order: cooperation, conflict and asymmetric interdependence in a turbulent region

Abstract The current global political economy is characterised by the intensifying economic interaction of BRICS and ‘near BRICS’ economies, with emerging powers increasing their influence in neighbouring regions. The growing partnership between Turkey and Russia constitutes a useful case study for examining this transformation, in which Western supremacy and US hegemony are under increasing challenge. Turkish–Russian relations shed light on broader themes in global political economy. First, significant economic interdependence may be generated among states with different political outlooks, in the form of loose regional integration schemes driven by bilateral relations between key states and supporting private actors or interests. Second, growing economic interdependence may coexist with continued political conflict and geopolitical rivalry, as indicated by the Syrian and Ukrainian crises. An important strategy that emerges is the tendency to compartmentalise economic issues and geopolitical rivalries in order to avoid negative spill-over effects. This facilitates the coexistence of extensive competition with deepening cooperation, as reflected in relations in the field of energy.

Turkey’s quest for NATO membership: the institutionalization of the Turkish–American alliance

This article aims to analyze the institutionalization of the Turkish–American alliance through the Turkish pursuit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership. It examines the external as well as some of the internal factors that shaped this transformation during the period of 1945–1952, starting with the end of the Second World War and lasting until Turkey’s accession to NATO. The main argument of this paper is that Turkey’s NATO membership has institutionalized three important transformations. The first one is the culmination of Turkey’s long-lasting search for security. The second one is Turkey’s quest for Westernization and an acknowledgement of its identity and role as an integral part of the West and its institutions. Finally, the third and more specific one is the institutionalization of the Turkish–American alliance through Turkey’s NATO membership, which has become one of the main pillars of Turkish foreign policy to this date.

Gunboat diplomacy : Turkey, USA and the advent of the cold war.

This article aims to re-evaluate the visit of the battleship USS Missouri to Turkey on 5–6 April 1946, to ascertain whether or not it might be considered an early attempt on the part of the United States to challenge the Soviet Union. Greater historical clarity than previously possible has been achieved through the use of hitherto unreleased documents from the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic. Moreover, this article aims to achieve a more balanced and comprehensive analysis by integrating the systemic factors with the actions of crucial actors at the individual level based on new archival evidence. By doing this, the main argument emerges whereby the United States displayed its power against the Soviets via the visit of the USS Missouri only in hindsight; while the decision to send home the exhumed body of the late Turkish ambassador Mehmet Münir Ertegün was the action of an individual. However, due to the advent of the Cold War, the dynamics shaping Turkeys search for security and ultimately the containment policy of the United States, has loaded the event with more meaning than was originally intended, turning a ‘diplomatic courtesy’ into ‘gunboat diplomacy’.

Turkey–USA Relations in an Age of Regional and Global Turmoil: Challenges and Prospects

This special issue on Turkish–American relations with a specific focus on the Middle East aims to analyse a complex web of relations at a critical regional and global juncture, with important implications well beyond bilateral relations. The idea for this special issue emerged during the ‘Turkish–American Alliance in a Volatile Region: Challenges and Opportunities’ Conference organized by the Center for Globalization and Democratic Governance (GLODEM) at Koç University, İstanbul, on 29 March 2012. The insightful and well-rounded nature of the presentations and the extensive interest they received from the academic community compelled us to examine several important points and intriguing questions which were raised during the conference in a much more comprehensive and systematic manner. The papers in this special issue highlight the complexities of the Turkish– American partnership in an age of acute global and regional turmoil. The future of the Arab Revolutions is surrounded by a great deal of uncertainty. Progress towards a political opening in the Arab world is not likely to be a smooth, uni-linear process. We may expect significant crises and reversals on the way, as the events in Libya, Egypt and Syria clearly testify. Similarly, the Western world has still not emerged from deep financial and economic crises, which clearly limit their ability to make a positive impact on the transformation of the Middle East on a scale comparable to the transformations that occurred in post-Soviet Central and Eastern Europe some 20 years ago. Moreover, the increasing importance of new and powerful actors, such as China and Russia, as a part of the shifting patterns of globalization accelerated by the global economic crisis of 2008 and beyond, generate new fault lines and uncertainties in an already complicated picture. Within this broad global and regional context, we aim to draw attention to the changing dynamics of Turkish foreign policy and the Turkish–American partnership, which are currently very significant and will continue to require further scholarly attention in the future.

Managing the transition from Pax Britannica to Pax Americana: Turkey’s relations with Britain and the US in a turbulent era (1929–47)

ABSTRACT By analyzing Turkey’s relations with Great Britain and the US in a period of drastic change (1929–47), this article argues that the origins of the shift in the orientation of Turkish foreign policy from Pax Britannica to Pax Americana not only affected the perceptions and strategies of relevant powers, but also entailed a dynamic interactive process. It asserts that the transition featured aspects of significant change, as well as continuity for the region. It demonstrates that while attempting to bandwagon with the relatively stronger naval, military, and economic partner, Turkey also endeavored to pursue a more autonomous foreign policy at various stages of this transition.