The US grand strategy: Its historical development and effect on the Middle East and Turkey

A grand strategy is a whole of realistic and long-term plans that take into account every element of power. Since her establishment, the US has influenced the international system with her grand strategies. With the trade-oriented perspective of the grand strategy of neutrality (1776-1948), the US developed relations with the Middle East over the Mediterranean. The approach of the grand strategy of neutrality, which refuses to establish military and political ties, was abandoned after World War II and the struggle for dominance against the USSR began. In this struggle, the US with her grand strategy of primacy (1948-2007) succeeded by dissuading the USSR from competitive policies. After 2007, the grand strategy of offshore balancing, which considered China as an enemy, came into effect. The US, which intensifies her policies in the Indo-Pacific region, is searching for an order in the Middle East in which harmony is achieved between Israel and the Persian Gulf. The US accepted Turkey as a model partner within the framework of her new grand strategy, but the harmony between the two countries started to disappear in 2014. In this study, the grand strategy that shaped the foreign policy of the US as of her establishment and its effects on Turkey and the Middle East were examined through cases.