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Reconstructing Turkish-American relations: Divergences versus convergences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2015

Mustafa Aydın
Mustafa Aydın*
Affiliation:
Department of International Relations, University of Economics and Technology, Ankara, maydin@etu.edu.tr
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Abstract

The Turkish-American relationship experienced the most difficult period of its history after the refusal of the Turkish Parliament on 1 March 2003 to allow US troops to open a northern front to Iraq from Turkish territory. By the time a new administration took power in Washington in early 2009, the badly damaged relationship had recovered somewhat and recently has even taken a positive turn. Although the parameters of the recovered relationship are not yet clear, by analyzing the intricacies of diverging and converging worldviews and interests of the two states in the post-Cold War era, one can understand what happened to the strategic partnership of the 1990s and how Turkish-American relations may develop in the future. Accordingly, this paper will first look at the constraints and limitations of the current relationship through diverging interests and contextual viewpoints in the post-Iraq War world. It will then highlight the areas of convergence that existed even during the lowest point of the relationship. Finally, I will argue that, while the strategic partnership may have ended, a strategic relationship between the two states will continue to exist and may even produce a newer form of connection and cooperation, the contours of which will also be outlined for the coming years, taking into account the opportunities and hurdles ahead.

Keywords

Turkish-American relationsstrategic partnershipstrategic relationshipspecial relationshipnational interests
Type
Articles
Information
New Perspectives on Turkey , Volume 40: Special Issue on Turkish Foreign Policy , Spring 2009 , pp. 125 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © New Perspectives on Turkey 2006

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