INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: SECURITY CHALLENGES
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TURKEY: BETWEEN APPARENT FRIENDSHIP AND CONCEALED ANIMOSITY
Abstract
Turkey can no longer be considered the West’s periphery. The issue of finding a common language with Turkey for the United States has become a top priority of its foreign policy, even at the cost of making some difficult compromises. The alliance between the United States and Turkey, established during the Cold War, faced many challenges in the decades following this great global conflict. While this alliance was relatively reliable during the Cold War, this situation later changed significantly. From a relationship in which both sides knew what to expect from each other, to one in which disguised animosity began to strengthen. Bearing in mind that the paper deals with a very complex geopolitical phenomenon, the use of the geopolitical method becomes extremely important. The history of relations between the United States and Turkey is full of upheavals and challenges. Official diplomatic relations between the USA and Turkey were established earlier, but they intensified only after the end of the Second World War. Between the First and Second World War, things in international relations took a completely different direction, and caused strengthening cooperation between the Soviet Union and Turkey. The end of World War II and the escalation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union led to the Cold War, which called into question many alliances. Although the United States has seen Turkey as a possible ally in the past, it was only the Cold War that made it possible for the conditions to be formed for this alliance. Having in mind the change in the position of the President of the United States of America, this paper gives a detailed analysis ofhow different administrations have dealt with Turkey. From the moment Ankara refused to allow US troops to cross the Turkish-Iraqi border in 2003, to sharp bilateral disagreements with Obama which continued during the time of Donald Trump. The main question is what Biden’s administration is willing to do with this important alliance. Based on Joseph Biden’s election campaign, it was impossible to predict in advance what his administration’s foreign policy would be towards certain specific regions. This is also the reason why it was difficult to predict his moves when it came to relations between the United States and Turkey. One of the biggest challenges the Biden administration will face is that the United States and the European Union have allowed Turkey to expand into Kurdish areas outside its borders without any consequences.
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