Highway improvement and agricultural mechanization: Turkish high priority economic development projects in the framework of "free" world recovery program and their repercussions

Abstract

Postwar era witnessed profound changes, such as the rapid dissolution of the Grand Alliance, an accelerated move towards a bipolar world order. As the leader of the "free" world countries, the U.S. launched a tripartite "free" world recovery program: the Greek-Turkish Aid Program, as the first appeal of the U.S. against totalitarianism; the European Recovery Program, a joint effort to make Europe again a self-sufficient and viable economic power; The Technical Assistance Program, to improve the conditions in underdeveloped regions. Turkey participated in this joint effort. However, due to its backwardness as a participating country, it had a development program. After diagnosing the Turkish situation the U.S. and Turkish policy makers determined highway improvement and agricultural mechanization as high priority programs, since these would best serve the objectives of the recovery program and contribute to Turkey's integration to world economy. However, various reasons affected programs' implementation, repercussions of which shattered Turkish society.