Suits and Uniforms Turkish Foreign Policy since the Cold War by Philip Robins (Seattle: Washington University Press, 2003. 352 pages.)

Abstract

Philip Robins contends that Turkish foreign policy has faced four challenges
in four distinct periods of its history: (1) consolidating the emergent
Turkish Republic through external recognition (1930s), (2) remaining
neutral during the Second World War (1940s), (3) confronting the
challenge of Soviet expansionism (the cold war era), and (4) responding
to the end of bipolarity (post-cold war era). Robins examines these foreign
policy issues in the last period.
The main thesis of this work is threefold: First, Turkey is a status quo
power in the way that its foreign policy elites have fastened their thinking
and practice to the framework of “the sanctity of borders, of states, of
multilateral institutions and of norms of conduct, even when it became
clear that systemic changes had rendered some of these continuities no
longer tenable” (p. 6). Second, Turkey continues to be firmly oriented
westwards in terms of its foreign relations, which are characterized by its
strong commitment to NATO as well as its desire to join the European
Union (EU). Finally, Turkish foreign policy has been characterized more
by “caution than daring,” quoting Malik Mufti. Despite the increase in its
power relative to its neighbors, Turkey has avoided an interventionist foreign
policy by emphasizing the formation of multilateral frameworks for
conflict resolution.
Robins defends these arguments by analyzing the international systemic
and domestic politics context in which Turkish foreign policy is ...