Suits and Uniforms

Turkish Foreign Policy Since the Cold War

Philip Robins

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• Published: 2003
• Subject Listing: Middle East Studies
  Political Science
• Bibliographic information: 352 pp.
• Territorial rights: North American rights only
• Contents

The changes in the international system beginning in the year 1989 have had a profound effect on Turkey, which moved from being a secondary player in a global conflict to a central player in a range of new regional conflicts. Whether in the Balkans, the Transcaucasus, Central Asia or the Middle East, Turkey has emerged as an actor of pivotal importance, not least to the West. This book examines the origins, political make-up, and direction of Turkish foreign policy during this period of flux.

Robins contends that since 1989 domestic factors - history, security, ideology, and political economy - have determined foreign policy. In four case studies - the Bosnian conflict, ties with Israel, Ankara's involvement with northern Iraq, and relations with the Turkic republics of Central Asia - the foreign policy implications are traced in detail. Robins also analyzes the heightened importance of Turkey as a secular Muslim state and NATO ally in the wake of September 11.

Philip Robins is the university lecturer in politics of the Middle East at the University of Oxford and a fellow of St. Antony's College. His publications include Turkey and the Middle East.

"Turkey is an increasingly important player on the world scene and there is an important public need for a good systematic and informed book on Turkish foreign policy. Philip Robins has superbly filled the need. He sheds insight on all important aspects of Turkish foreign policy and light on some which are a little obscure. Carefully choosing his case studies he has avoided pontificating on issues adequately treated elsewhere such as Cyprus. But foreign policy of course heavily depends on domestic considerations, and Robins understands them very well indeed in the case of Turkey, and he convincingly relates them to the formulation and execution of foreign policy, no mean feat. Finally he has provided a thoughtful analysis of the evolution of Turkish foreign policy and both the durable and changing factors that have shaped policy and Turkish thinking on foreign affairs. All this makes his book a particularly fine contribution to the field." - Mort Abramowitz, formerly US ambassador in Turkey

Acknowledgments
Maps
Introduction
PART ONE: TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY IN CONTEXT
1. Turkey and the Changing International System
Faultline 1989
The Gulf Crisis, 1990-1
Turkey and the West
- The CFE treaty
- NATO enlargement
Norms and order
- Human rights
- Good international citizenship
2. Players and Processes
Three phases in Turkish foreign policy
- Overriding personal approach, 1986-91
- Collegiate bureaucratic approach, 1991-4
- Weak, fragmented, competitive approach, 1994-9
Primary players
- The government
- The presidency
- The Foreign Ministry
- The Security Establishment
Secondary players
- Parliament
- The Media
- Interest groups
- Ethnic pressure groups
- Public opinion
PART TWO: DOMESTIC MOTIVATORS OF TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY
3. History and Foreign Policy
The Arabs: orientalism without the sentimentality
- The Arab revolt
- The Baghdad Pact
West Europeans: friends not to be trusted
- The imperial legacy
- Treaty of Sevres
- The Ankara Agreement
- Helsinki or Luxembourg?
Greece and Cyprus: the perennial preoccupations
- The mercurial relationship with Greece
- Cyprus: 'clash of interests and emotions'
The minorities question: strength through homogeneity
- The treaty of Lausanne
The United States: the unreliable ally
- The Johnson letter, 1964
- 1974 arms embargo
4. Ideology as Foreign Policy
Foreign policy in the Kemalist paradigm
- The pursuit of the EU
- The pursuit of the WEU
Foreign policy as a symbol of Islamist revisionism
- The rhetoric of change
- The new transnational links
Foreign policy as a contested domain
- Erbakan's Islamic opening
5. Security and Foreign Policy
Turkey's strategic culture
Threat perceptions and foreign relations
- The threat from neighbors combined
- The threat from without as the threat from within
- The threat of disorder and disintegration next door
Capabilities and foreign relations
- Conventional capabilities
6. Economics as Foreign Policy
Balancing the oil bill
Trade and the European vocation
Russia and the energy driver
- Gas: the fuel of choice
- 'Suitcase' trade
- Other gas options
GAP and cross border water issues
PART THREE: TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY IN ACTION
7. Turkey and Israel: Embattled Allies in the 'New Middle East'
Policy predicament
Subterranean relations, 1986-93
From mistress to wife, 1993-6
From the deft to the clumsy, 1996-
- The military training agreement
- Refah and the further agreements
- The primacy of military relations
8. Self-interest before Sentiment: Turkey's Relations with the Turkic Republics
Policy predicament
Period of euphoria: September 1991-October 1992
Moment of disillusionment, October 1992
Period of despondency, November 1992-December 1993
Period of realistic expectations, 1994-
- Elite relations
- Business links
- Infrastructure
Waiting for the panacea: pipeline infrastructure, 1991-
- Stage One: the first 'agreement' with Azerbaijan
- Stage Two: Azerbaijan's 'early oil'
- Stage Three: Baku-Ceyhan revisited
9. Turkey and Northern Iraq: Learning to Live with Contradictions
Policy predicament
Analytical chronology
- Provide comfort: short-term crisis management as long-term strategy, February 1991-July 1991 and beyond
- Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds: a partnership not forged, February 1991-June 1993
- Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds: disengagement and recrimination, June 1993-October 1994
- Turkey and Northern Iraq: an influence undiminished, October 1994-September 1996
- Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds: partisan peace-making, September 1996-September 1998
10. In Pursuit of Peace: Turkey and the Bosnian Crisis
Policy predicament
- Managing domestic tensions
- Active in the Balkans
- Analogies
The policy chronology
- Turkey as reluctant actor, 1923 to April 1992
- Turkey as vigorous advocate, May 1992-January 1993
- Turkey as passive bystander, January-September 1993
- Turkey as mediator, September 1993-June 1994
- Turkey as a consolidator of peace, June 1994-
Conclusion
Select Bibliography
Index