Turkish-American Relations in the 21st Century

Turkish-American relations have been considered a model partnership between a great and middle power during the Cold War due to the positive nature of relations, being advantageous to both sides. While the United States took advantage of Türkiye’s geopolitical position and military strength against the USSR, Türkiye benefited from American economic power and military technology. However, with the end of the Cold War and the emergence of new regional and global developments, a stable framework to clarify and shape Turkish-American relations has not yet been crafted. Additionally, crises such as the non-approval of the 1 March memorandum in 2003 to support the American war effort in Iraq and the 15 July 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye further distanced these two historical allies. To discuss these issues frankly and to provide some suggestions to improve the two countries’ relations in many different regions/fields including Syria, Iraq, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, the defense industry, the energy sector, and much more; Turkish-American Relations in the 21st Centuryaims to bring important experts on Turkish foreign policy and Turkish-American relations together.

Herbert Reginbogin is collegiate fellow of law at the Catholic University of America Institute for Public Policy, researching a new security architecture and American Foreign Policy.

Ozan Örmeci is head of the department of political science and public administration (English) at Istanbul Kent University.