NATO and Türkiye from the perspective of common security and defense policy

After the Second World War, the international system underwent a major change and a new global system called the Cold War emerged. In this new bipolar system, a system called West and East has emerged. The Western Bloc was led by the United States and mostly Western European states. The Western Bloc acted through the capitalist system. The Eastern Bloc was led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the majority of the Bloc was made up of Eastern European states. The Eastern Bloc, on the other hand, acted in the global system through the socialist system. With the beginning of the Cold War Era, both Blocs acted within the framework of defense and security. The Western Bloc established NATO as a defense organization, and the Eastern Bloc, in response, implemented the Warsaw Pact. The Western Bloc handled especially the security and defense of Western Europe through NATO. Within the framework of this approach, Western European states, while initiating economic and political integration, also began to adopt the European security and defense approach. Turkey became a member of NATO during the Cold War and took part in the European security architecture and made significant contributions. In the post-Cold War period, the NATO and European defense and security approach continued, and during this period, Turkey made significant contributions to the NATO and European security and defense approach within the framework of the common security and defense approach. NATO and Europe's common security and defense approach has continued, including the Cold War Period and its aftermath until today. NATO and the European security and defense approach have shown examples that reflect the approaches of both realist and idealist theory. NATO has the core of the defense and security approach in the context of the balance of power and deterrence approach, shaped within the framework of realism's anarchic international system and security dilemma. However, there have also been examples showing NATO's political approaches within the framework of idealism's approach based on interdependence and peace instead of war through the establishment of common institutions. Similarly, European powers adopted the same approach and reflected the basic features of both theories in terms of policy making. Turkey has made significant contributions to NATO and the European security and defense approach, acting within the framework of these two understandings, and has gained an important place in the NATO alliance of which it is a member, especially in European security. The thesis study dealt with the concepts of common security and common defense and aimed at the subject of the thesis within the framework of realism and idealism theories that deal with the concepts of security and defense as well as the level of analysis of both concepts.