Cold Turkey No More: Security Perspectives For the Republic of Turkey in the Post Cold War Era

This thesis explores the security interests of the Republic of Turkey in the post-Cold War era. Tracing the evolution of Turkey's entry into NATO and its place in the Cold War structure of containment, it argues that the aggressive approach the United States took following the end of World War II to integrate Turkey into the NATO alliance should have been mirrored in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Failure to grant Turkey full membership in current economic and security alliances such as the European Union and the Western European Union could lead to the loss of Western influence over Turkey and possibly lead to the break-down of the modern secular democratic Turkish state. Thus, the United States, as leader of the Western world, must take a new leadership role with respect to Turkey, and seek to improve both Turkey's economic and foreign policy concerns through closer ties. Turkey is still of vital strategic importance to the U.S. and the West, as many of Turkey's and the West's security concerns continue to be convergent. Failure to include Turkey in emerging Western alliance structures simply because the Soviet threat has been diminished by the end of the Cold War, is imprudent and short-sighted.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Defense and Strategic Studies

Year

1994

Author dc:creator

• Pasley, James F.

Contributors dc:contributor

• William Van Cleave

• Defense and Security Studies

Statement dc:rights

• © James F Pasley

Repository record dc:identifier

https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/567

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-1568