Turkish Foreign Policy Studies

Matters of Turkey's foreign policies have long constituted attractive topics for scholars, journalists, and others. The volume of books and articles to emerge over the past several years, however, seems to indicate not just a sustained interest in these issues but a likely rise.¹ While many scholars focused previously on Turkey's foreign relations during the Cold War in rather stark (and simplified) East-West terms, the collapse of the Soviet Union brought many new challenges to Turkey. As events over the past decade and a half revealed, Turkey did not lose its significance in the emerging post–Cold War world order. Rather, Turkey's foreign policies began to appear for many as suddenly more complex and challenging to understand in terms of the varied dynamics and processes at work within both the country and the wider world. In fact, understanding Turkey's foreign relations had never been as simplistic as some Cold War reductionists portrayed. In this essay, three recent works are reviewed in order to provide an overview of both their contributions and the field of Turkish foreign policy studies in general.

The studies in Lenore G. Martin and Dimitris Keridis's edited volume focus on all those issues that Turkey faces presently and will be facing in the future. Without necessarily falling into potential pitfalls of attempting to outright prophesize what challenges are on the horizon and how Turkey might/should conduct itself, the book instead brings together divergent views of scholars from Turkey, Europe, and the United States who provide a solid basis of understanding for what may transpire. The issues covered are quite diverse and look collectively at Turkey's past and present policies with Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, among other parties. Though the book is based on the proceedings of a conference on Turkish foreign policy held at Harvard University in October 1998, the authors and editors did an excellent job of updating their material to meet the book's eventual 2004 publication. Postconference developments, therefore, such as September 11, Turkey's involvements in Afghanistan, and the United States' invasion of Iraq are also included in various parts of the book.

Following introductory material, the editors divided the book into three sections that helped organize the chapters by topic. The introductory and first sections concern historical and philosophical dimensions of Turkish foreign policy in order to highlight the diversity in themes and perspectives. The other two sections examine the challenges facing Turkish foreign policymakers internationally and domestically. Feroz Ahmad's first chapter surveys background issues contextualizing Turkey's foreign relations since its 1923 emergence as a nation-state and considers Ottoman legacies that still reverberate in Turkish politics and foreign affairs. He argues that the 1920 Treaty of Sèrves that partitioned the Ottoman Empire had an enduring resonance in the minds of the Turkish public and policymakers. Though the treaty would be challenged in the following years, resulting fears and insecurities remained intact. This historic background is essential to comprehend Turkey's future relations and appreciate subsequent continuities and changes.

The first regular section of the book covers philosophical approaches and includes chapters by well-known Turkish authors Mümtaz Soysal and Cengiz Çandar. While Soysal represents traditional views and encourages Turkey to follow a cautious foreign policy path, Çandar, a journalist and special adviser to Turkey's ex-president Turgut Özal from 1991 to 1993, argues for a reformed foreign policy. Aware of Turkey...