Turkey and NATO

Abstract

This article takes stock of Turkey's contributions to and benefits from the NATO in the context of an evolving strategic context and an adapting alliance. Turkey joined NATO in 1952 in the face of the then Soviet threats. As a strategically important Southern Flank nation it relieved the military pressure on Western Europe by tying down many Soviet divisions in the South and also by constituting a formidable barrier for the Soviets and the Warsaw Pact for their aspirations to have direct access to the Middle East. The dual-track approach of dialogue and deterrence/defence pursued in the years of detente of 1960s and 1970s suited Turkey, whose dialogue and economic cooperation with the Soviets and Warsaw Pact states increased. Events related to Cyprus and in particular President Johnson's letter of 1964 implying that NATO would be unwilling to defend Turkey in case of a Soviet intervention resulting from Cyprus crisis, had a profound impact on Turkey's strategic approach and pushed Turkey to re-evaluate its overall foreign relations and diversify its external ties by opening up to the Third World. The end of the Cold War was brought about, basically, as a result of the decline of communist ideology and failure of the Soviet economy. While maintaining the priority of the collective defence function, the Alliance adapted itself to the end of the Cold War by agreeing to additional missions in its new strategy. Turkey continued to give priority to the collective defence mission and made important contributions to Alliance's new functions through a robust participation in its crisis management operations, to its partnership programs and in facing up the emerging security challenges. The crises that may affect the peace, security and stability in the North Atlantic area concern regions in Turkey's vicinity such as Ukraine or the Middle East (Arab Spring related developments). In short, Turkey continues to contribute to and benefit from the new Alliance. © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 2015. All rights reserved.