Turkey and NATO - Domestic political currents and security policy action 1952-2023

This study aims to increase the understanding of Turkey as an actor in relation to NATO. It does so by examining the influence of three prominent domestic political currents -Western orientation, nationalism, and Islamism- on Turkey's actions concerning several security policy-related events that have been or are significant for NATO. These events cover the period from Turkey's accession to NATO in the 1950s up to 2023. The events are distributed in three overarching epochs, which in turn are based on political changes that are central for political developments in Turkey. The study finds that Turkey was a dedicated ally of NATO during the initial decades, in this study 1952-1980. Turkish foreign policy was essentially oriented towards the West, influenced by Kemalist nationalism. Over time, and especially after the military coup in 1980, Islamist movements in Turkey grew stronger, pushing the increasingly disparate nationalist forces in a more conservative direction. This, in turn, affected Turkey's foreign and security policy focus, which increasingly turned towards the Muslim world. During the study's second epoch, 1980- 2002, Turkey's own geopolitical aspirations began to play a greater role in the country's foreign policy than its dedication to the West, making Turkey a rather active ally within NATO. However, since NATO's and Turkey's interests overlapped during this epoch, tensions could be avoided. In the study's final epoch, 2002-2023, encompassing the period during which the current ruling party, AKP, has held power, a growing pragmatism is evident, where Turkey's actions in relation to NATO increasingly rely on political strategies where NATO becomes a tool to advance Turkey's own interests. To achieve this, the government leans on ideas that are central for the three political currents, Western orientation, nationalism, and Islamism, interchangeably. In other words, and concerning NATO, based on its actions in the final epoch, Turkey can be understood as an increasingly autonomous ally.