Turkish - American Relations in 2009

Abstract

This article analyses Turkish foreign policy towards the USA in 2009. After putting the Turkish-US relations into historical and political context it focuses on a set of developments that affected bilateral relations in 2009. It argues that Turkish-American relations in 2009 were shaped and influenced more by “third party” problems and issues, than by bilateral ones. The set of such issues were categorized and examined under three levels- bilateral, global and regional. The year 2009 could be seen as a positively exceptional span of time for Turkish foreign policy, because of Turkey’s high level of cooperation with the USA. The term developed to describe this new era, model partnership, could be defined as extensive and intensive collaboration between Turkey and the USA to set up a new regional order in the countries and regions around Turkey. Thus, during 2009, Turkey and the USA actively cooperated for the resolution of crises pertaining to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, and the ArabIsraeli conflict

Keywords

• Turkish foreign policy, American foreign policy, Turkey-USA relations in 2009, Model Partnership, regional order in Eurasia.

References

1. Most of the data used in this work was gathered from Turkish daily newspapers and other
2. media sources. The data dated in the text refer to the corresponding daily newspapers, Hürriyet, Zaman, Radikal and Milliyet.
3. For the 1 March 2003 decree see Ramazan Gözen, “Causes and Consequences of Turkey’s Out-of-War Position in the Iraq War of 2003”, The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations, Vol.36 (2005), pp.73-99.
4. James A. Baker III. and Lee H. Hamilton, “The Iraqi Study Group Report 2006”, pp. 27- 28, at http://bakerinstitute.org/Pubs/iraqstudygroup_findings.pdf [last visited 10 January 2010].
5. For a report showing the level of importance that the Obama administrations paid to Turkey see: Spencer P. Boyer and Brian Katulis, The Neglected Alliance: Restoring US-Turkish Relations to Meet 21st Century Challenges, Center for American Progress, Washington D.C., 2008.
6. Scott Wilson, “Obama Calls on Muslims for a ‘New Beginning’ With the US”, Washington Post, 5 June 2009.
7. Boyer and Katulis, The Neglected Alliance , pp. 1-3.
8. Ramazan Gözen, Türk Dış Politikası Barış Vizyonu, Ankara, Palme Yayınları, 2006.

9. “Obama’dan Tarihi Konuşma”, Hürriyet, 7 April 2009.
10. Philip H. Gordon visited Ankara and met with Erdoğan and Davutoğlu on 12-13 November 2009. See Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Dış Politika Kronolojisi Kasım 2009”, at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/kasim-2009.tr.mfa [last visited 15 October 2010].
11. Philip H. Gordon, “The United States and Turkey: A View from the Obama Administration”, The Brookings Institution Sabancı Lecture, Washington DC, 17 March 2010, at
12. http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/2010/138446.htm; on the importance of the regions for Turkey-USA cooperation, see Boyer and Katulis, The Neglected Alliance: Restoring Turkish-US Relations to Meet 21st Century Challenges.
13. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Sayın Bakanımızın ABD Ziyaretleri Öncesi Havaalanında Yaptıkları Basın Toplantısı”, at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/sayin-bakanimizin-abd- ziyareti-oncesi-havaalaninda-yaptiklari-basin-toplantisi.tr.mfa [last visited 31 May 2010].
14. Bülent Aras, “A Golden era for US-Turkey Relations”, Guardian, 4 April 2009.
15. Erdoğan’s and Davutoğlu’s visits to the USA on the occasion of the UN 64th General Assembly on 22-30 September in New York, and exclusive meeting with Obama on 6-8 December, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Dış Politika 2009”, at http://www.mfa.gov. tr/eylul.tr.mfa [last visited 23 September 2010].
16. US Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner and his delegation visited Istanbul to participate at the IMF-World Bank meeting of Governors, 4-8 October 2009, at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/ ekim.tr.mfa [last visited 12 September 2010].
17. Davutoğlu participated at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels on 3-4 December 2009 for a series of regional conferences. See Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “No: 223 NATO Dışişleri Bakanları Toplantısı Hk.”, at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_-223-01- aralik-2009_-nato-disisleri-bakanlari-toplantisi-hk_.tr.mfa [last visited 16 September 2010].
18. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The Turkey-Iraq-US Trilateral Mechanism met in Ankara”, at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/temmuz.tr.mfa [last visited 28 July 2009].
19. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The Turkey-Iraq-US Trilateral Mechanism met in Baghdad”, at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/aralik.tr.mfa [last visited 20 December 2009].
20. Davutoğlu met Ahmedinejad and Muttaki in Tehran on 20 November 2009. See Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Türk Dış Politikası Kronolojisi- Kasım 2009”, at http:// www.mfa.gov.tr/kasim2009.tr.mfa [last visited 15 September 2010].
21. For example, alleged “genocide” claims on Turkey, problems regarding the closed Turkish- Armenian border, Armenian demands from Turkish territory or re-drawing the border, and Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory.
22. Boyer and Katulis, The Neglected Alliance, pp. 21-26.
23. Davutoğlu participated in a meeting on the Middle East in the UN Security Council, arguing a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Dış Politika 2009” at http://www.mfa.gov.tr/mayis.tr.mfa [last visited 11 May 2009].
24. Boyer and Katulis, The Neglected Alliance, p. 21.
25. Ramazan Gözen, İmparatorluktan Küresel Aktörlüğe Türkiye’nin Dış Politikası, Ankara, Palme Yayınları, 2009; Ramazan Gözen, “Türk-Amerikan İlişkileri ve Türk Demokrasisi: Realist Bağlantı”, Liberal Düşünce, Vol. 4, No. 13 (Winter 1999), pp.87-108.
26. Ali H. Aslan, “ABD Ergenekon’un Neresinde”, Zaman, 12 January 2009.
27. Sedat Ergin, “Amerika Ergenekon’a Nasıl Bakıyor?”, Hürriyet, 16 March 2010.
28. For instance, Graham Fuller, Yeni Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, İstanbul, Timaş Yayınları, 2008.
29. Gözen, “Türk-Amerikan İlişkileri ve Türk Demokrasisi : Realist Bağlantı”, pp. 87-108.