Suchergebnisse

Turkey has been member of NATO for more than six decades. Turkey's contributions to NATO's collective defense have evolved in quantity and quality in step with changes in the ends and means of security. In terms of its contributions to the alliance, two elements of continued stand out. The first one is Turkey's location. Its proximity to zones of risks and threats in NATO's assessments has turned Turkey into an asset. The other element is Turkey's ability to raise and maintain a large army at a relatively low cost. This has been considered Turkey's "competitive edge" in NATO. Its real estate value and its large army constituted the two main pillars of Turkey's contribution to NATO during the Cold War. Turkey has shifted its emphasis away from quantity to quality to meet NATO's evolving requirements for post-Cold War out-of-area collective security missions. Nevetheless, Turkey's real estate value has come a full circle for the alliance with Ankara's decision to host an radar site as part of NATO's Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense System.

With its automobile exports measured in millions of units annually Turkey has become one of the top automobile producing nations in Europe. The current state of the Turkish motor vehicle industry stands in contrast to its modest origins which can be traced back to the early years of the Cold War. In the 1950s a private company ventured into the business of assembling Willy's Jeeps in Turkey. The early developmental trajectory of the Turkish automobile manufacturing resembled the experiences of many other countries that resorted to import substitution to reduce foreign currency dependency for automobile imports. However it differed significantly from others in two ways. First it was not undertaken in response to a coordinated government policy but rather as a one-off private initiative. Second it was justified in the context of the Cold War military and strategic requirements. In other words it stands out among its contemporaries in terms of the prominence of military and defense considerations that shaped US and Turkish military views on a private venture during the Cold War. Although the Jeep assembly experience in Turkey ended in failure its products had remained in service in the Turkish Army for nearly 50 years surviving the Cold War and beyond. The experience also left its deep imprint on Turkey's pursuit of an indigenously designed and manufactured automobile.

The recent revival of academic and popular interest in the Korean War in Turkey has played an important role in instigating the production of new books and documentaries. In Turkish accounts the Battle of Kunu-ri (November 1950) figures more prominently than any other event during the entire conflict. However the Turkish Brigade's performance at this battle remains controversial. This paper assesses the impact of U.S. military assistance on Turkish military's transformation compares and contrasts the official U.S. and Turkish accounts of the battle (known in U.S. sources as the Battle of Chongchon) and discusses why the official perspectives of the engagement diverge substantially.

For the last two decades two fears have largely shaped Turkey's view of NATO. These are fears of entrapment and abandonment. Both are symptoms of a type of security dilemma that is peculiar to military alliances and coalitions. Both fears had their origins in the Cold War in the context of Turkey's 60-year-old NATO membership. They also led to the pursuit of autonomy in Turkish foreign policy both as a response strategy and as a strategic choice in its own right. While the former version featured a heavy dose of reliance on military means or hard power the latter version de-emphasized the military option in foreign policy and relied instead on soft power. A multitude of dynamics accounts for variations in the Turkish approach to NATO for the last two decades: Geography and regional considerations the transatlantic dynamics NATO's restructuring and transformation and Turkey's domestic dynamics. It may be suggested that NATO membership now looms large in the strategic calculations of the new Turkish elite in the aftermath of the Arab Awakening. This development might be the harbinger of the end of an era marked by fears and the pursuit of autonomy in Turkey's approach to NATO.