Turkey and NATO: An Ambivalent Ally in a Changing Alliance

Abstract

This study tries to examine Turkey’s evolving approach towards NATO over the last two decades. The main argument is that throughout this process Turkey has adopted a more interests-based than identity-based approach towards the Alliance and that Turkey’s positions on the main issues occupying NATO’s transformation agenda have become more crtical and questionizing than ever. The concern of being entrapped has become more pronounced than the concern of being abandoned. There are three main reasons of such a shift in Turkey’s attitude towards the Alliance. The first pertains to the changes occuring at the systemic and international level. The second relates to the institutional/identity crisis within the Alliance and the last one concerns the particular national identity and foreign and security policy vision of the Justice and Development Party, which has been ruling Turkey since late 2002. This study tries to highlight the explanatory value of these variables in terms of Turkey’s views on NATO’s enlargement, relations with Russia, NATO’s out-of-area missions, NATO’s globalization, NATO-EU relationship, missile defence system and the appointment of NATO’s Secretary General.

Keywords

NATO’s Transformation, Turkey, Entrapment-Abandonment Dilemma, Justice and Development Party, Interests versus Identity

Citation

Oğuzlu, Tarık, “Turkey and NATO: An Ambivalent Ally in a Changing Alliance”, International Relations, Volume 9, Issue 34 (Summer 2012), pp. 99-124.

Affiliations

• Tarık OĞUZLU, Assoc. Prof., International Antalya University, Department of Political Science and International Relations