American-Turkish Relations in the Aftermath of the WWII: The Beginning of American Hegemony Over Turkey

Year 2022, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 55 - 66, 29.01.2022

Onur Alp Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.47478/lectio.1049329

Abstract

This article aimed to examine the post-WWII era’s international environment and the US’s changing attitude towards Turkey in light of Morgenthau’s political realist perspective. The US was not eager to have close relations with Turkey during the very early post-war period as it also embraced an isolationist foreign policy. Interestingly enough, the US had a close relationship with the USSR during and after WWII. More specifically, the close relationship between the USSR and the US continued until the US perceived the USSR as more of a foe, a threat to its national interest rather than a difficult friend. After the US realized the Soviet threat to its national interest, it started to have close relations and a partnership with Turkey. Although the US acted with the moral thesis of “democracy advocacy” to legitimize its close ties with Turkey, the relations that had been established in reality emerged with the concern of maximizing the US’s national interests. This situation was explained and exemplified by showing the course of the emerging ties. The study concluded that the Turkey-US “strategic partnership”, claimed to serve the interests of both states, is actually shaped around the US’s national interests.

Keywords

Turkish Foreign Policy, Hans Morgenthau, WWII, Truman Doctrine, Policy of Containment

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