Turkey-Britain relations in the Margaret Thatcher period

Margaret Thatcher is the most popular political leader in British political life after Winston Churchill. The unique style of administration, called Thatcherism, her active and occasionally aggressive foreign policy, the Falkland victory, and the effort to join the international system as a third power after the USA and the Soviets were the main factors that increased her popularity. Her impact on British and world politics has been and remains the subject of many discussions. The intriguing personality of Margaret Thatcher in the international arena is the starting point of this study. Accordingly, "What are the main parameters affecting the course of Turkish-British relations in the process of Margaret Thatcher rule and what is the role of Margaret Thatcher in these relations, which are positive or negative?" was the main problematic of the study. The study consists of three main sections. In the first chapter, Turkey and the UK's political, ideological, economic and social profiles have been analyzed. The study of the relations between the two countries, which constitute the main purpose of the study, took place in the second and third chapters, and the course of the relations has been discussed in the form of bilateral and multilateral relations. This study has been written using qualitative and quantitative research methods together. Accordingly, numerical data that can help to understand the course of the relations between the two countries have been analyzed with a descriptive and comparative method and the course of the events in the historical flow was evaluated through the historical research method. The data have been obtained through document review and primary and secondary sources have been used at this stage. On this basis, in the study aiming to analyze the Turkish-British relations between 1979-1990, four basic parameters that affect the course of the relations have been introduced. These are; New Rightist ideology, the changing dynamics of the international environment in favour of Turkey, Margaret Thatcher's pragmatic leadership style and "military security-centred" international relations approach and finally the country profile of Turkey. It has been concluded that the first three of these parameters provided positive contributions, the fourth dynamic (Turkey's economic, political, social and etc. conditions) undermined the development potential of the relationships.