American-Turkish relations in transition from cold war era to present day

Abstract

This Master’s Essay examines the American-Turkish relations from the Cold War period up to the invasion into Iraq in 2003 and the bilateral relations after 2003 up to present day. Many geopolitical events in the region of the Middle East and in both countries have been shaping the relations in the recent years. The paper has the aim to examine changes in relations between the United States and Turkey and all the possible factors at domestic and international levels responsible for them. Democratic and Republican administrations have been changing each other in Washington and a party with a new vision of Turkey’s future and present has been in power in Ankara for the recent years. The main objective of the paper is to show that clashes of interests between the two countries caused by the geopolitical situation the region of Middle East and by different needs and agendas of the United States and Turkey may lead to cooling of the tight relationship between a major power and a regional power.