Turkey And NATO - (Un) Happy Together
Abstract
In 1952 both Turkey and Greece joined NATO, decided largely out of Cold War strategies against the Soviet Union. While some question why Turkey, a country nearly 2,000miles from the north Atlantic, was offered membership into the Alliance, the reason was twofold: its strategic location within Europe and the underlying principle of the Truman Doctrine extending military and economic aid to states vulnerable to Soviet threat / expansion.1Membership in NATO guaranteed that Turkey would not become a Soviet ally and expanded NATOs reach eastward toward, what was then, the Soviet Union. With firmly anti-Communist governments, Greece and Turkey were viewed by the West as bulwarks against Moscow and the spread of communism in Europe.2 With the Korean War on the horizon, fears of China and Russia expanding their influence into other parts of the world were realized. (Both Greece and Turkey contributed troops to fight in Korea).3 While Turkey can be viewed as an important member of the Alliance and a reliable ally for nearly six decades, Turkeys relationship with NATO and the West has been both complicated and tumultuous. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's continual defiance of the democratic principles that form the bedrock of the United Nations Charter has pinned the Alliance against one of its own members. Last years failed coup attempt to overthrow President Erdogan was a watershed moment that has further strained Turkey-NATO relations, jeopardizing Turkeys close ties with the Alliance, while pushing it toward warming relations with Russia. NATO must not stand by and watch the erosion of democracy take place from within Turkey.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1054982
Entities
People
- Ryan Randall
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College