Turkey and the US Exceptionalism: Change and Continuity inBilateral Ties inthe 21st Century

Abstract

The emergence of the modern republic of Turkey from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in the twentieth century was the ramification of European great powers' geostrategic interests to a great extent and it reflects in Turkey's domestic and foreign policy as well. The fears and optimism vis-à-vis great powers shaped the country's foreign policy choices throughout the twentieth century. Accepting the American' exceptionalism and operating under it remained a norm for Turkey during the Cold War period and afterward and it was not an exhibition of surrendering the country's national interests unconditionally but a strategy to deal with other immediate threats (mainly from the former Soviet Union) to its territorial sovereignty. Turkey in the first decade of the twenty-first century, meanwhile, witnessed a change in its domestic and foreign policy vis-à-vis all major powers including the US. It is imperative to comprehend contemporary Turkey's aspiration in domestic, regional, and international politics in the context of its Ottoman identity and past traumas. Turkey's policy imperatives, from becoming part of the US alliance in the Cold War period and later developing more cordial trade and geostrategic ties with Russia and China, are all based on Ankara's inherent identity and relevant insecurities rooted in its past glory and traumas.  The Turkish elite's efforts to revive the lost glory and restore its distinct role in the region (Middle East, Central Asia, Eurasia, and beyond)by constructing “Neo-Ottomanism” ideology for the country that is largely based on country’s geographical and historical characteristics is in contradiction with the US exceptionalism and interests in the region. This chapter aims to analyze the changing dynamics of the US-Turkey ties especially in the context of Ankara’s claims of regional hegemony and autonomous global stature.