The role of NATO and Cyprus in Turkey's post-Cold War therat perception

Turkey's geopolitical position has always played a dominant role in shaping its security perception. During World War II, the US pursued balance-of-power policies in Europe and the Middle East. After World War II, Turkey, which had a limited political, military and economic influence in the emergent bipolar order, chose to form an alliance with a great power. In order to balance the power of the USSR, which was the dominant power in Europe and perceived as a security threat, Turkey sided with the USA and became a member of NATO. During the Cold War, Turkey's NATO membership was critical for its national security. During this period, problems arose with the United States on issues such as Jupiter missiles, the Johnson Letter, and the arms embargo imposed between 1975-78 after the Cyprus Operation, but this did not prevent Turkey-NATO relations from continuing steadily. With the end of the Cold War period, NATO's transformation, new security concepts, and expansion policies came to the agenda. NATO formulated a more comprehensive security policy. Especially after the September 11 attacks, NATO started to implement new approaches against the common threat perceptions of its members such as terrorism and energy security. However, the alliances formed in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean in this period have also closely affected Turkey-NATO-Cyprus relations. This thesis examines Turkey-NATO-Cyprus relations during the Cold War and the regional factors shaping the historical transformation of Turkey-NATO-Cyprus island relations after the Cold War. The thesis seeks to answer the question of how Turkey's threat perception has affected Turkey-NATO-Cyprus relations, particularly with reference to the alliances in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean following energy discoveries in the region. It is argued that the alliances in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean region have elevated threat perceptions in Turkish public opinion. The thesis also discusses Turkey's response to the shifting alliances in the region and the consequences of Turkey's policies and strategies.