In Search of a Post-Cold War Identity: 1983–2002

Abstract

The end of the Cold War altered the basic material and ideational context which Turkish policy makers were accustomed to for more than forty years. In the Cold War setting, to a large extent Turkey could rely on the United States to deal with its security questions, while maintaining critical economic and trade relations with Western Europe. The West considered Turkey as a significant buffer zone bordering the Soviet Union and took the task of its protection into their hands. Turkey followed an active diplomacy in the Middle East and elsewhere, while maintaining its position in the Western alliance system. In the case of Cyprus alone, Ankara demostrated its willingness willing to confront its Western allies.