The Influence of the European Union on Turkish Foreign Policy by 'Ozlem Terzi

Author:'Ozlem Terzi [Terzi, 'Ozlem]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317027546
Google: xCegCwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 29374298
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2010-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

Turkish-Greek Relations

The dispute between Turkey and Greece has several reasons. Primarily, the psychological background of the conflictual relationship is the fact that two nations have fought against each other for their independence. Greece has gained its independence from the Ottomans in the 19th century and expanded its territory against the Ottoman Empire. Turkey has mainly fought against Greek forces in the Independence War, which was actually diverted against the partition of the Empire as foreseen by the allies after the First World War. Besides, the minorities remaining in each other’s lands after the Treaty of Laussanne in 1923 have been a major issue of contention between the two countries. Lastly, the lack of an undisputed border in the Aegean and the high level of threat perception from each other’s presence in such vicinity produce another issue in the dispute between the two countries.

From the Greek point of view, Turkey is perceived as a ‘threat from the East’. This perception has been further strengthened by Turkey’s intervention in Cyprus 1974. In the 1970s, the disputes between the two countries in the Aegean exacerbated following Turkey’s intervention in Cyprus. That is why, the Cyprus problem is an important determinant of the prospective solution of Turkish-Greek disputes (Heraclides 2001). The other issues on the agenda include the limitation of the continental shelf, potential extension of territorial waters to 12 miles by Greece and Turkey’s declaration of it as casus belli (reason for war), the 10 miles of Greek airspace over the Aegean and its non-recognition by Turkey, demilitarised status of the East Aegean islands (Fırat 2001a). Turkey’s traditional position regarding the Aegean dispute(s) was based on two major premises. The first one is that the disputes in the Aegean are intertwined and can only be solved by a package deal. In an environment in which the disputes are not solved through a package deal then – and this is the second traditional foreign policy premise toward Greece – the Turkish position was that Greece should be threatened by war in order to stop it from enlarging its territorial waters to 12 miles, which it claims to have right to under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), whereas Turkey refuses to become a party to the Convention for the same reason.

The Özal government in 1984 tried to improve relations between Turkey and Greece through economic incentives like the promotion of trade. However, these efforts proved futile (Fırat 2001b). The governments of 1990s in Turkey did not attribute great importance to relations with Greece, but rather to the Balkans and the Caucasus, which left the Greeks with a feeling of encirclement. The 1990s reveal a period in which there are several attempts especially within the NATO framework to define the problems between the two countries in the Aegean and then to engage in a dialogue to overcome them. However, each and every time, a dialogue opportunity was wasted due to populist tendencies of both governments (Ayman 1998).

The nationalistic public opinion

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