Turkey’s quest for NATO membership: the institutionalization of the Turkish–American alliance

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the institutionalization of the Turkish–American alliance through the Turkish pursuit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership. It examines the external as well as some of the internal factors that shaped this transformation during the period of 1945–1952, starting with the end of the Second World War and lasting until Turkey’s accession to NATO. The main argument of this paper is that Turkey’s NATO membership has institutionalized three important transformations. The first one is the culmination of Turkey’s long-lasting search for security. The second one is Turkey’s quest for Westernization and an acknowledgement of its identity and role as an integral part of the West and its institutions. Finally, the third and more specific one is the institutionalization of the Turkish–American alliance through Turkey’s NATO membership, which has become one of the main pillars of Turkish foreign policy to this date.