Daring and caution in Turkish foreign policy

Middle East Journal

Volumn 52, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 31-49

  Mufti, Malik ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0003297050     PISSN: 00263141     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (97)

1. Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "The Goals and Principles of Turkish Foreign Policy," (Ankara: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 1996). It can also be found at the ministry's Internet home page (http://www.mfa.gov.tr).
2. Ibid.
3. I am grateful to Füsun Koroglu and Ertugrul Oguz Çiragan for making this material available to me.
4. Mehmet Gönliibol and Cem Sar, Atatürk ve Türkiyenin Diş Politikasi 1919-1939 (Atatürk and Turkey's Foreign Policy 1919-1939) (Istanbul: Milli Egitim Basimevi, 1963), p. 90, footnote 86.
5. Quoted in Duygu Bazoglu Sezer, "Turkey's Political and Security Interests and Policies in the New Geostrategic Environment of the Expanded Middle East," Henry L. Stimson Center, Occasional Paper no. 19 (July 1994), p. 25.
6. Şükr̈ Elekdag, "Ufuk Turu" (Tour d'horizon), Milliyet (Istanbul), 15 April 1996. Author's translation.
7. Dimitri Constas, ed., The Greek-Turkish Conflict in the 1990s (London: Macmillan, 1991), Appendix 1, p. 249.
8. Reuters, 25 October 1994.
9. Turkish Daily News (Ankara), 19 June 1995, p. A3.
10. Quoted in Hürriyet (Istanbul), 5 July 1995, p. 12. Author's translation.
11. Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Western Europe (hereafter FBIS-WEU), 4 April 1996.
12. Şükrü Elekdag, "2 1/2 War Strategy," Perceptions 1, no. 1 (March-May 1996), p. 49.
13. Quoted in Al-Hayat (London), 22 April 1996, p. 1. Author's translation.
14. Quoted in Al-Hayat, 25 April 1996, p. 4. Author's translation.
15. Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Near East/South Asia (hereafter, FBIS-NES), 31 March 1997.
16. Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) Daily Digest, no. 8, part 1, 13 January 1997.
17. New York Times, 17 December 1996, p. A12.
18. FBIS-WEU, 10 February 1997.
19. Author's interview with Gazne Soysal, executive director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Center for Strategic Research, in Ankara, August 1996.
20. Author's interview with Mehmet Akat at the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara, August 1996
21. See for example Duygu Bazoglu Sezer, "Turkey, Russia and the New Geopolitics of the Black Sea," paper presented at the Middle East Studies Association annual conference, Washington, DC, 7-9 December 1995.
22. Financial Times (London), 22 May 1992.
23. See, for example, the article by Gennadi Starchenkov in Aziya I Afrika Seyodnya in December 1994, translated in FBIS, Central Eurasia (hereafter FBIS-SOV), 10 March 1995.
24. See for example the articles by Aleksandr Ignatenko in Segodnya on 12 May 1995, translated in FBIS-SOV, 1 June 1995; Vadim Markushin in Krasnaya Zvezda on 27 July 1995, FBIS-SOV, 28 July 1995; and Aleksandr Kondrashev in Argumenty I Fakty in July 1995, FBIS-SOV, 8 September 1995.
25. See for example the articles by Aleksandr Ignatenko in Segodnya on 12 May 1995, translated in FBIS-SOV, 1 June 1995; Vadim Markushin in Krasnaya Zvezda on 27 July 1995, FBIS-SOV, 28 July 1995; and Aleksandr Kondrashev in Argumenty I Fakty in July 1995, FBIS-SOV, 8 September 1995.
26. See for example the articles by Aleksandr Ignatenko in Segodnya on 12 May 1995, translated in FBIS-SOV, 1 June 1995; Vadim Markushin in Krasnaya Zvezda on 27 July 1995, FBIS-SOV, 28 July 1995; and Aleksandr Kondrashev in Argumenty I Fakty in July 1995, FBIS-SOV, 8 September 1995.
27. Süleyman Demirel was prime minister of Turkey in 1965-71, 1975-77, 1979-80, and 1991-93. He became president in 1993.
28. Gareth Winrow, Turkey in Post-Soviet Central Asia (London: The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995), p. 17.
29. Ibid.
30. Quoted and translated in FBIS-SOV, 3 November 1994.
31. Al-Hayat, 5 May 1996, p. 1.
32. For an interesting review of the "existential threat" the Turkish and Iranian regimes pose to each other, see Henri J. Barkey, "Iran and Turkey: Confrontation across an Ideological Divide," in Alvin Z. Rubinstein and Oles M. Smolansky, eds., Regional Power Rivalries in the New Eurasia (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1995), pp. 147-68.
33. Boston Globe, 8 September 1996, p. A1.
34. New York Times, 4 October 1997, p. 1.
35. FBIS-NES, 2 April 1996.
36. FBIS-SOV, 4 January 1996.
37. Al-Hayat, 20 June 1996, p. 8. Author's translation.
38. Ibid.
39. Al-Hayat, 17 June 1996, p. 1. Author's translation.
40. A. Suat Bilge, Güç Komşuluk: Türkiye-Sovyetler Birligi Ilişkileri: 1920-1964 (Difficult Neighbors: Turkey-Soviet Union Relations: 1920-1964) (Ankara: Türkiye Iş Bankasi Kültür Yayinlari, 1992), pp. 261-63; Mehmet Gönlübol and Haluk Ülman, "Türk Diş Politikasinin Yirmi Yili: 1945-1965" (Twenty Years of Turkish Foreign Policy: 1945-1965), Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi 21. no. 1 (March 1966), pp. 152-53; Oral Sander, Türk-Amerikan Ilişkileri, 1947-1964 (Turkish-American Relations, 1947-1964) (Ankara: Sevinç Matbaasi, 1979), p. 15. See also Henri J. Barkey, "Turkish-American Relations in the Post-War Era: An Alliance of Convenience," Orient 33, no. 3 (1992), especially pp. 447-49.
41. A. Suat Bilge, Güç Komşuluk: Türkiye-Sovyetler Birligi Ilişkileri: 1920-1964 (Difficult Neighbors: Turkey-Soviet Union Relations: 1920-1964) (Ankara: Türkiye Iş Bankasi Kültür Yayinlari, 1992), pp. 261-63; Mehmet Gönlübol and Haluk Ülman, "Türk Diş Politikasinin Yirmi Yili: 1945-1965" (Twenty Years of Turkish Foreign Policy: 1945-1965), Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi 21. no. 1 (March 1966), pp. 152-53; Oral Sander, Türk-Amerikan Ilişkileri, 1947-1964 (Turkish-American Relations, 1947-1964) (Ankara: Sevinç Matbaasi, 1979), p. 15. See also Henri J. Barkey, "Turkish-American Relations in the Post-War Era: An Alliance of Convenience," Orient 33, no. 3 (1992), especially pp. 447-49.
42. A. Suat Bilge, Güç Komşuluk: Türkiye-Sovyetler Birligi Ilişkileri: 1920-1964 (Difficult Neighbors: Turkey-Soviet Union Relations: 1920-1964) (Ankara: Türkiye Iş Bankasi Kültür Yayinlari, 1992), pp. 261-63; Mehmet Gönlübol and Haluk Ülman, "Türk Diş Politikasinin Yirmi Yili: 1945-1965" (Twenty Years of Turkish Foreign Policy: 1945-1965), Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi 21. no. 1 (March 1966), pp. 152-53; Oral Sander, Türk-Amerikan Ilişkileri, 1947-1964 (Turkish-American Relations, 1947-1964) (Ankara: Sevinç Matbaasi, 1979), p. 15. See also Henri J. Barkey, "Turkish-American Relations in the Post-War Era: An Alliance of Convenience," Orient 33, no. 3 (1992), especially pp. 447-49.
43. A. Suat Bilge, Güç Komşuluk: Türkiye-Sovyetler Birligi Ilişkileri: 1920-1964 (Difficult Neighbors: Turkey-Soviet Union Relations: 1920-1964) (Ankara: Türkiye Iş Bankasi Kültür Yayinlari, 1992), pp. 261-63; Mehmet Gönlübol and Haluk Ülman, "Türk Diş Politikasinin Yirmi Yili: 1945-1965" (Twenty Years of Turkish Foreign Policy: 1945-1965), Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi 21. no. 1 (March 1966), pp. 152-53; Oral Sander, Türk-Amerikan Ilişkileri, 1947-1964 (Turkish-American Relations, 1947-1964) (Ankara: Sevinç Matbaasi, 1979), p. 15. See also Henri J. Barkey, "Turkish-American Relations in the Post-War Era: An Alliance of Convenience," Orient 33, no. 3 (1992), especially pp. 447-49.
44. Gönlübol and Ülman, "Turk Diş Politikasinin Yirmi Yili: 1945-1965,® p. 178. Author's translation.
45. Ibid., pp. 143-44.
46. Constas, ed., The Greek-Turkish Conflict in the 1990s, Appendix 1, p. 235.
47. Bülent Ecevit, "Turkey's Security Policies," Survival 20, no. 5 (September/October 1978), p. 203.
48. Ibid., p. 205.
49. Kemal Kirişçi, "Turkey" in Theodore Couloumbis, ed., The Foreign Policies of the European Union's Mediterranean States and Applicant Countries in the 1990's: A Comparative Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1997).
50. Mehmet Gönlübol, Diş Politika: Iç Etkenler Açisindan Bir Diş Politika Incelemesi (Foreign Policy: A Study of Foreign Policy from the Perspective of Domestic Factors) (Ankara: Ulusal Basimevi, 1969), p. 22. Author's translation.
51. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Nutuk (The [1927] Address), volume 1 (Istanbul: Milli Egitim Basimevi, 1963), pp. 70-71. Author's translation.
52. See Mümtaz Soysal, Diş Politika ve Parlâmento (Foreign Policy and Parliament) (Ankara: Sevinç Matbaasi, 1964).
53. Gönlübol, Diş Politika: Iç Etkenler Açisindan Bir Diş Politika Incetemesi, pp. 23-24.
54. Philip Robins, Turkey and the Middle East (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1991), p. 27.
55. Ismail Soysal, "The 1955 Baghdad Pact," Studies on Turkish-Arab Relations: Annual 1990, vol. 5. p. 83.
56. William Hale, Turkish Politics and the Military (London: Routledge, 1994), p. 258.
57. Necip Torumtay, Org. Torumtay'in Anilari (The Memoirs of General Torumtay) (Istanbul: Milliyet Yayinlari, 1994), p. 124. Author's translation.
58. Thus "Turkey is never proactive in foreign affairs, never embarks on bilateral or multilateral initiatives, and is driven by a defensive psychosis," according to Kamran Inan, Hayir Diyebilen Türkiye (The Turkey that Can Say No) (Istanbul: Timaş, 1995), p. 42. Its foreign policy has been marked by a "low key, cautious, diffident approach," according to Philip Robins, "Turkish Policy and the Gulf Crisis: Adventurist or Dynamic?" in Clement H. Dodd, ed., Turkish Foreign Policy: New Prospects (Huntingdon: Eothen Press, 1992), p. 85. Under Ismet Inönü, Turkey adopted an "over-cautious and timid posture," writes Ferenc A. Váli, in Bridge Across the Bosphorus: The Foreign Policy of Turkey (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), p. 310. Some see its policy toward Greece as characterized by a "reluctance to take risks and . . . a lack of innovation," Kirişçi, "Turkey," p. 11; and toward the Middle East "cautious, even to the point of meekness," Robins, Turkey and the Middle East, p. 27.
59. Thus "Turkey is never proactive in foreign affairs, never embarks on bilateral or multilateral initiatives, and is driven by a defensive psychosis," according to Kamran Inan, Hayir Diyebilen Türkiye (The Turkey that Can Say No) (Istanbul: Timaş, 1995), p. 42. Its foreign policy has been marked by a "low key, cautious, diffident approach," according to Philip Robins, "Turkish Policy and the Gulf Crisis: Adventurist or Dynamic?" in Clement H. Dodd, ed., Turkish Foreign Policy: New Prospects (Huntingdon: Eothen Press, 1992), p. 85. Under Ismet Inönü, Turkey adopted an "over-cautious and timid posture," writes Ferenc A. Váli, in Bridge Across the Bosphorus: The Foreign Policy of Turkey (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), p. 310. Some see its policy toward Greece as characterized by a "reluctance to take risks and . . . a lack of innovation," Kirişçi, "Turkey," p. 11; and toward the Middle East "cautious, even to the point of meekness," Robins, Turkey and the Middle East, p. 27.
60. Thus "Turkey is never proactive in foreign affairs, never embarks on bilateral or multilateral initiatives, and is driven by a defensive psychosis," according to Kamran Inan, Hayir Diyebilen Türkiye (The Turkey that Can Say No) (Istanbul: Timaş, 1995), p. 42. Its foreign policy has been marked by a "low key, cautious, diffident approach," according to Philip Robins, "Turkish Policy and the Gulf Crisis: Adventurist or Dynamic?" in Clement H. Dodd, ed., Turkish Foreign Policy: New Prospects (Huntingdon: Eothen Press, 1992), p. 85. Under Ismet Inönü, Turkey adopted an "over-cautious and timid posture," writes Ferenc A. Váli, in Bridge Across the Bosphorus: The Foreign Policy of Turkey (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), p. 310. Some see its policy toward Greece as characterized by a "reluctance to take risks and . . . a lack of innovation," Kirişçi, "Turkey," p. 11; and toward the Middle East "cautious, even to the point of meekness," Robins, Turkey and the Middle East, p. 27.
61. Thus "Turkey is never proactive in foreign affairs, never embarks on bilateral or multilateral initiatives, and is driven by a defensive psychosis," according to Kamran Inan, Hayir Diyebilen Türkiye (The Turkey that Can Say No) (Istanbul: Timaş, 1995), p. 42. Its foreign policy has been marked by a "low key, cautious, diffident approach," according to Philip Robins, "Turkish Policy and the Gulf Crisis: Adventurist or Dynamic?" in Clement H. Dodd, ed., Turkish Foreign Policy: New Prospects (Huntingdon: Eothen Press, 1992), p. 85. Under Ismet Inönü, Turkey adopted an "over-cautious and timid posture," writes Ferenc A. Váli, in Bridge Across the Bosphorus: The Foreign Policy of Turkey (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), p. 310. Some see its policy toward Greece as characterized by a "reluctance to take risks and . . . a lack of innovation," Kirişçi, "Turkey," p. 11; and toward the Middle East "cautious, even to the point of meekness," Robins, Turkey and the Middle East, p. 27.
62. Thus "Turkey is never proactive in foreign affairs, never embarks on bilateral or multilateral initiatives, and is driven by a defensive psychosis," according to Kamran Inan, Hayir Diyebilen Türkiye (The Turkey that Can Say No) (Istanbul: Timaş, 1995), p. 42. Its foreign policy has been marked by a "low key, cautious, diffident approach," according to Philip Robins, "Turkish Policy and the Gulf Crisis: Adventurist or Dynamic?" in Clement H. Dodd, ed., Turkish Foreign Policy: New Prospects (Huntingdon: Eothen Press, 1992), p. 85. Under Ismet Inönü, Turkey adopted an "over-cautious and timid posture," writes Ferenc A. Váli, in Bridge Across the Bosphorus: The Foreign Policy of Turkey (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), p. 310. Some see its policy toward Greece as characterized by a "reluctance to take risks and . . . a lack of innovation," Kirişçi, "Turkey," p. 11; and toward the Middle East "cautious, even to the point of meekness," Robins, Turkey and the Middle East, p. 27.
63. Quoted in Váli, Bridge Across the Bosphorus: The Foreign Policy of Turkey, p. 84. Author's translation.
64. Inan, Hayir Diyebilen Türkiye, p. 43.
65. Inan, Hayir Divebilen Türkiye, p. 52. Author's translation.
66. Interview by author in Ankara, August 1996.
67. Kamran Inan, "Rusya'nin Kafkasya Politikasi" (Russia's Caucasus Policy), Avrasya Dosvasi 1, no. 1 (Spring 1994), p. 27. Author's translation.
68. Cemil Ünal, "Azerbaycan" (Azerbaijan), Yeni Forum 14, no. 293 (October 1993), p. 43. Author's translation.
69. Aydin Yalçin, "Türkiye Ne Yapmali?" (What Should Turkey Do?), Yeni Forum 14, no. 293 (October 1993), pp. 2, 5. Author's translation.
70. Ibid.
71. Ibid.
72. Atilgan Bayar, "Neo-Osmanlilar" (The Neo-Ottomans), Aktüel, no. 49 (11-17 June 1992), p. 31.
73. Ibid., p. 33. Author's translation.
74. Inan, Hayir Diyebilen Türkive, p. 39.
75. Hasan Köni, "Günümüzde Rus Milliyetçiligi ve Sonuçlari" (Russian Nationalism and its Consequences Today), Avrasya Dosyasi 1, no. 1 (Spring 1994), p. 8. Author's translation.
76. See Bülent Ecevit, "Bolge-Merkezii Diş Politika" (A Region-Based Foreign Policy), Democratic Left Party pamphlet (1995).
77. William Ward Maggs, "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Looking toward the Middle East," Current History (January 1993), p. 8.
78. Gareth Winrow, Where East Meets West: Turkey and the Balkans (London: Institute for European Defence and Strategic Studies), p. 15.
79. Kirişçi, "Turkey," p. 9.
80. Ibid., pp. 9 10, 43.
81. Sezer, "Turkey's Political and Security Interests and Policies in the New Geostrategic Environment of the Expanded Middle East," p. 29.
82. Interview with Şükrü Elekdag in Istanbul, August 1996.
83. Interviews with Mehmet Akat, Ethem Tokdemir, and Kerim Uras at the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara, August 1996.
84. Ibid.
85. Ibid.
86. Ibid.
87. Torumtay, Org. Torumtay'in Anilari, pp. 114, 115.
88. Robins, "Turkish Policy and the Gulf Crisis: Adventurist or Dynamic?" p. 70.
89. Ibid., p. 76.
90. Torumtay, Org. Torumtay'in Anilari, p. 126. Author's translation.
91. Ibid., p. 117.
92. Ibid., p. 133.
93. Ibid., p. 135.
94. Plato, Statesman, 310e-311c, 294a-b.
95. Robins, Turkey and the Middle East, p. 38. See also Samuel P. Huntington's praise of Atatürk's skill in Political Order in Changing Societies (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1968), pp. 344-57.
96. Robins, Turkey and the Middle East, p. 38. See also Samuel P. Huntington's praise of Atatürk's skill in Political Order in Changing Societies (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1968), pp. 344-57.
97. Mümtaz Soysal, Diş Politika ve Parlâmento, pp. 118-19. Author's translation.