Strategic Relations Between the US and Turkey 1979-2000

Dr. Ekavi Athanassopoulou offers a sophisticated critical interpretation of a dynamic and difficult chapter of the strategic relationship between Turkey and the United States. Her achieved study is undoubtedly a very important read not only for those who are interested in the history of NATO's Southern Flank in the Cold War, but also for those who wish to have a clearer understanding why and how both states have so far been able to manage their strategic cooperation throughout the first decades of the post-Cold war era despite the complexities of that transformational period. Ali L. Karaosmanoglu Professor Emeritus of International Relations Bilkent University, Ankara Based on extensive research in archival and published sources as well as an impressive array of interviews with leading American, Turkish and Israeli policy makers, Strategic Relations between the US and Turkey underlines the importance, not only of principles but also of key individuals in the formation of foreign policy. Athanassopoulou makes a considerable contribution to the post-cold war history of US-Turkish relations, providing significant corrections to what we thought we knew about Turkish motivations. This perceptive study should interest general readers as well as scholars. James Goode Professor of History, Grand Valley State University, USA In this seminal informative study Ekavi Athanassopoulou has succeeded in placing the US-Turkish relations, especially after the 1990s, within the sphere of global events, such as Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Iraq war of 1990, Arab-Israeli relations, which transformed Turkey from a passive international actor to an aspiring regional power while the US redefined, re-evaluated and upgraded its relations with Ankara. Written in a clear lucid style and objective manner, the book is an indispensable basic source of new information for all students of US relations with Turkey and its surrounding areas, and is very highly recommended. Kemal H. Karpat Distinguished Professor of History University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Athanassopoulou, utilizing Turkish and US archival documents, memoirs, scholarly literature, and interviews of contemporary actors in this historical drama, has written a rich historical experience. Her analysis of the objectives, inconsistencies, ups and downs, pushes and pulls of the Ankara-Washington alliance during the last quarter of the 20th century is fact-packed. The reader emerges feeling his/her time has been well-spent in another place, another world, but always in an informative and relevant alignment with contemporary surroundings. Thomas A. Dine The International Spectator, 2016 VOL. 51, NO. 1, pp.148 Ekavi Athanassopoulou's book is a model to students of great power-small states relations; to Middle Eastern experts; to students who study the making of politics in the Washington; and to students who deal with the act of lobbying in the corridors of the Administration. For one book to serve as a model for so many fields is a major academic accomplishment. For a researcher to have contributed to changing the prevailing knowledge and understanding of a subject is perhaps amongst the highest academic achievements. Amikam Nachmani, Bar Ilan University Southeast European and Black Sea Studies