Turgut Özal period Turkey-Germany relations in the European Union membership process (1983-1993)

The 80s were a period of great political, economic and social transformations in the world. In these years, when the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union was in the process of disintegration, Europe, under the leadership of Germany, was trying to transform from a Community into the European Union. Turkey, on the other hand, is trying to become a strong country in its region under the leadership of Turgut Özal in the aftermath of the military interventions. After the September 12 military intervention, Turgut Özal and his Motherland Party, which had the chance to come to power alone, implemented policies to make Turkey more active in foreign policy. At this point, Turkey's application for full membership to the European Community on April 14, 1987 and its relations with Germany, the driving force of the Union, are the subject of this thesis. Between 1983 and 1993, Turgut Özal's prime ministership and presidency, relations with Germany continued on a fluctuating plane in line with mutual interests, but mutual distrust and a cautious tone prevailed in relations, especially with the rising tensions after the Gulf War. The aim of the study is to shed light on the period by revealing the relations of Germany, a country with more than three and a half million Turkish population, with Turkey on the road to the European Union.