Peace Corps Volunteers and their activities in Western Anatolia (Muğla-Aydin)

During the years of Cold War, too many politics were produced concerning who would dominate bi-polarized world policy. USA and Soviet Union struggled for creating their own camps. USA, in so called invisible war, created its own markets while aiming to prevent spread of communism and to strengthen the countries both economically and militarily which seemed menaced by Soviet Union. At 1960s, contrary to Soviet Union's successful foreign policy, the extension of anti-Americanism all-round the world motivated USA to prepare a new project. The Peace Corps was founded by leadership of J.F. Kennedy in 1961, its volunteers came to Turkey in 1962 and outspreaded to the whole world. Although there are opposite ideas about the subject, the volunteers worked at the remotest corners of Turkey almost 10 years and were sent away in 1972 because of the claims of having secret missions. This study tries to analyze Peace Corps' foundation, aims, basic structure, spreading to world, coming to Turkey and their activities at western Anatolia in the scope of Muğla and Aydın. KEYWORDS: Cold War, USA, Turkey, Peace Corps Volunteers, Western Anatolia