Tek-kutuplu yapıda ittifak oluşumu: İkinci Körfez savaşında Türk-American ittifakı örneği

This study examines the questions of who will ally with whom for what reasons under theunipolar structure of international relations. In the unipolar system, units can be classifiedinto two main groups according to the two different effects of the system on these twogroups of units. On the one side, the superpower might follow both status quo andtransformative policies, since its loyalty to the status quo depends on its own preferences.On the other side, secondary states in the system have to consent to the status quo sincethey lack the proper source of revising the system according to their wishes or adjustingtheir relative positions in the system. Unipolarity compels the units to the sensitivityagainst the danger of instability that creates a chaotic environment which may produceunmanageable problems. So, the states in the unipolar system will ally against theinstabilities rather than balancing power or threat as earlier alliance formation literatureused to claim. The source of the instability in the system determines the allianceformation policies of the states. If instability arises from a secondary state, bothsuperpower and others form large coalitions to bring the stability back in. If instabilityarises from the superpower, others attempt to restrain it through using soft policies. Thehypotheses developed in this study are examined in the context of Turkish-US alliancenegotiations before the Second Gulf War.Keywords: Alliance Formation, unipolar structure, instability, Second Gulf War,Turkish-US Alliance