The policy of Eisenhower administration towards Turkey , 1953-1961

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the objectives, implementation and outcomes as well as making of the policy of Eisenhower Administration toward Turkey between 1953 and 1961. Specific emphasis was placed on newly declassified U.S. primary sources. During the research phase. The policy of Eisenhower Administration toward Turkey was shaped within the confines of Eisenhower’s overall concept of ensuring a balanced budget while putting emphasis on the use of nuclear weapons, a concept which aimed at winning the Cold War in the long run without exhausting the American economy. This concept coupled with the sensitivity of the Republicans about balanced budget and their economic understanding, led to disagreements with Turkey, which was implementing a very ambitious development programs both in the military and economic fields and which was looking to the United States for the primary source of funding. In the eight-year-period of the Eisenhower Administration, an almost perfect cooperation was sustained between the two countries in the military and political fields, while the endless requests for aid by Turkey and the perceived failure of Turkey to stabilize its economy created tensions in the relationship.