DİPLOMASİ

The practice of defining Turkey as a responsible diplomatic actor that should contribute to the solution of regional and global humanitarian, developmental and security problems has strengthened during the reign of Justice and Development Party governments since 2002. The imperial mentality seems to have made itself appear in the foreign policy discourse of the AKP era politicians. For example, former Prime Minster Ahmet Davutoglu quite often said that the scope of Turkish diplomacy is global and Turkey should act as an order-creator country in its environment. The circles that see Turkey through imperial eyes find it difficult to understand that the Republic of Turkey constitutes a break with the Ottoman past.

Another legacy of the Ottoman years is that the alternative ideologies and strategies that had once come to the agenda in late 19th century with a view to ensuring the survival of the Ottoman Empire - namely pan-Turkism, pan-Ottomanism and pan- Islamisim - have continued to influence Turkey’s diplomatic practices during the Republican era. Despite the fact that the founding rulers of the Turkish Republic discarded all adventurist strategies from the lexicon of state and heavily invested in Turkish nationalism, all the ‘isms’ mentioned have continued to be influential in coming decades.

Since the beginning of the Republic, Turkey’s diplomatic efforts have aimed at protecting Turkey’s territorial integrity, national sovereignty and societal cohesion. The number one national security interest has been to preserve Turkey’s gains and ensure that Turkey survives as an independent sovereign country. Maximalistandirredentistclaimshavenevershaped Turkey’s republican era diplomatic initiatives. As a middle power, Turkish diplomatic and security initiatives aim at reading the external developments right and taking the most appropriate measures in responding to them.

The United States defined Turkey as the unsinkable aircraft carrier during the Cold War. The Soviet Union wanted to get control of the straits and eastern part of Anatolia in the immediate aftermath of the World War II and this prompted Turkey to seek security cooperation with the United States. Turkey joined NATO in 1952 to deal with the Soviet challenge much better. Turkey’s efforts to become an energy hub during the post-Cold War era are noticeable. In its effort to convince the Europeans to the idea of Turkey’s membership in the European Union, Turkish rulers have continuously instrumentalized Turkey’s geographical location as a bargaining chip.

The time period between 1923 and 1939 had a multipolar international and regional environment with none of the great powers having the ability to set the course of international developments, let alone imposing its will on to others through unilateral and coercive means. During this period, Turkey’s maneuvering capability was high and Turkey pursued a multi-directional foreign policy.

Turkey’s strong military power capability constitutes the most important source of Turkish diplomacy. Unless buttressed by military power capability in the background, diplomatic initiatives might not yield positive results in the anarchical environment of international relations. Deployment of Turkish military units outside Turkish boundaries has in recent years improved Turkey’s ability to score diplomatic gains against its contenders.

Turkey has been one of the most important members of NATO since its accession to the Alliance in 1952. Having defined for many years its foreign, defense and security policies on the basis of NATO membership, Turkey began to adopt a more questioning and critical perspective towards the Alliance with the end of the Cold War.

The most important factor that facilitated Turkey’s accession to the Alliance was that the United States, as being the most important NATO member, attributed tremendous importance to Turkey’s geopolitical position and military capacity in the context of Cold War’s security dynamics. The assumption on the part of the US strategists was that the task of fulfilling NATO’s containment and deterrence strategies vis-à-vis the Soviet Union would be much easier if Turkey joined the Alliance and prevented the Soviet penetration into the eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions.

Threats leveled against Turkey’s national security have changed during this process. While the end of Cold War reduced the threats stemming from the Soviet Union and positively affected Turkish-Russian relations, developments in the Middle East, Balkans and Caucasus have started to become more important in the context of Turkey’s security.

To AKP governments, Turkey should be defined as a central country, suggesting that Turkish rulers adopt a Turkey-centric worldview in defining national interests and policies. In addition, Turkey should be in a position to feel itself as part of each and every geographical location. The main foreign policy objective of Turkey should be to help shape regional developments decisively and to forge interests-based pragmatic relationships with key global actors. Turkish foreign policy should be defined and conducted in a multi-lateral and multi-dimensional fashion so as to make sure that regional and global developments do not negatively affect the liberal democratic transformation and economic development processes at home.

Turkey has been one of the most important members of NATO since its accession to the Alliance in 1952. The correct answer is D.

Turkey has been one of the most important members of NATO since its accession to the Alliance in 1952. Having defined for many years its foreign, defense and security policies on the basis of NATO membership, Turkey began to adopt a more questioning and critical perspective towards the Alliance with the end of the Cold War. Although NATO continues to maintain its importance in Turkish foreign and security policy thinking, it would be wrong to suggest that this is at the same level as it was during the Cold War era. The correct answer is B.

After the Second World War ended, Turkey wanted to join NATO mainly from a security oriented perspective. Not possessing the means to cope with the threats stemming from the Soviet Union on its own (for instance, Moscow’s territorial demands on the Straits and the provinces of Kars and Ardahan in eastern Anatolia) Turkey wanted to secure Western help by joining the multilateral security organization NATO. 

Another factor that initially pushed Turkey to seek membership in NATO and later on proved to be one of the main reasons for its justification in the eyes of Turkish people was that NATO membership was considered as an important milestone in Turkey’s decades-old Westernization/ Europeanization/modernization process. Thanks to NATO membership, Turkey could argue for many years that it was a Western/European state.  The. correct answer is E.

The United States defined Turkey as the unsinkable aircraft carrier during the Cold War. The Soviet Union wanted to get control of the straits and eastern part of Anatolia in the immediate aftermath of the World War II and this prompted Turkey to seek security cooperation with the United States. The correct answer is A.

Turkey initially opposed to NATO’s intervention in Libya. This operation was at the beginning launched by Britain and France outside NATO framework and then taken over by the Alliance. Turkey was extremely sensitive on the possibility of this NATO operation causing severe human losses in Libya and negatively affecting Turkey’s image across the Islamic world. The correct answer is C.

US-led Western international community against the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. The correct answer is A.

The revision of the Lasuanne regulations on the status of Turkish Straits through the Montreaux Convention in 1936, the incorporation of Hatay region into Turkey in 1939, and the settlement of the Mousul question and the border dispute with Iraq in 1926 are all examples to the use of international law and diplomacy in Turkish foreign policy. The correct answer is D.

The revision of the Lasuanne regulations on the status of Turkish Straits through the Montreaux Convention in 1936, the incorporation of Hatay region into Turkey in 1939, and the settlement of the Mousul question and the border dispute with Iraq in 1926 are all examples to the use of international law and diplomacy in Turkish foreign policy. Diplomacy backed by hard power capability and diplomatic initiatives conferring legitimacy on military victories constitute the backbone of Ataturk’s diplomatic legacy. The correct answer is E.

Turkey initially opposed to NATO’s intervention in Libya. This operation was at the beginning launched by Britain and France outside NATO framework and then taken over by the Alliance. Turkey was extremely sensitive on the possibility of this NATO operation causing severe human losses in Libya and negatively affecting Turkey’s image across the Islamic world. However, once the allies sorted out their disagreements and decided that NATO should take over the operational responsibility, Turkey became a part of this consensus. However, Turkey played an important role in setting the limits and operational mandate of the operation to be carried out in Libya. Turkey was highly sensitive that ground troops not be used during the operation and the primary mission to be controlling the embargo imposed on Gaddafi forces from the sea and air. The correct answer is B.

Moreover, Turkey has evaluated NATO‘s missile defense shield system in the context of its relations with Iran. The assumption held by the security circles in Turkey was that in case some parts of this system were installed in Turkish territories, Iran might have considered it as a threat against itself and adopted a more hostile attitude towards Turkey. This very much explains why Turkey increased its efforts to ensure that NATO’s new security document adopted in Lisbon in November 2010 does not mention Iran as a threat and emphasize that the radar component of the system to be deployed in Turkey is for purely defensive purposes. The correct answer is C.