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Whitehall Papers

Order from Taylor & Francis

By Gülnur Aybet
18 Jun 2004

Turkey’s importance to the security of the entire European continent has never been in doubt; as a large country bordering on the Middle East and with a joint border with the Soviet empire, its contribution in NATO was always eagerly sought. Furthermore, at least as far as the West is concerned, Turkey is also a role model for a Muslim society that underwent a relatively successful transformation, in both economic and political terms.

 

Yet, with the collapse of the Cold War, most of the assumptions underlying Turkey’s relations with the West have been overturned. Although NATO has been good at preventing any conflagration in the southern part of the Balkans, the Alliance has merely succeeded in freezing, rather than solving long-standing difficulties, especially in Turkey’s relations with Greece and over the Cyprus problem. Turmoil in the Middle East, the collapse of the Soviet empire, fighting in the Caucasian republics and the disintegration of Yugoslavia have compelled Turkish leaders to re-evaluate their relationship with the West.

 

This Whitehall Paper, therefore, seeks to document this re-evaluation by placing it in a wider historic context, as seen from Ankara. It also points out that, despite policies which may appear to be a radical departure, Turkey’s stance is actually a continuation of a strategy adopted before the end of the Cold War, and is still evolving.