The author draws attention to the strong state tradition and the pluralistic society that both prevailed in Turkey. He argues that the Turkish state tradition envisages centralization, social cohesion and an obedient political culture. Through the modernization process of the last century, it has tried to change the society from top to down, and built an ideological and unitarian public sphere. However, the transition to multi-party system in 1950 and the liberalization policies that followed in the post-1980s have prepared the ground for different social movements to come into existence in the same public arena. Social movements which developed particularly among Kurds, Alevis and women emphasize social diversity, pluralism, participation, limited authority, freedom and human rights. They, thus, have paved the way for the transformation of the ideological public sphere into a plural and a civil public domain. The author follows the traces of all these developments from the Ottoman Empire to the last decades of the Republican Turkey. Moving from the case of Turkey he makes an important contribution to the literature on various issues such as civil society, public sphere, modernization, democracy, and social movements.

Contents: Preface; Introduction; Theoretical Study of U.S.-Turkish Relations; Foreign Policy Formation in Turkey and USA; U.S.-Turkish Military relations 1960-1975; The Baghdad Pact and Turkish-American Relations; The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 and Turkey; The Cyprus Question Between 1960 and 1965 and its Effect upon Turkish-American Relations; The Cyprus Question Between 1965 and 1975 and its Effect upon Turkish-American Relations; The Opium Issue and Turkish-American Relations; Turkish-American Relations in the 1980's: Co-operation and Problems; Turkish-American Relations in the Post-Cold War Period; Conclusion; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

This book mainly focuses on the Cyprus question as a pivotal issue of Turkish foreign policy and Turkish-American relations. The Cyprus question was a constant factor in US-Turkish relations in the past and it still conditions the Turkish-American alliance, which is an important element of the present international relations. The period covered in this book is from 1960-1975. After experiencing a perfect honeymoon period in the 1950s, the durability, strength and cohesion of the US-Turkish alliance were tested by severe problems between 1960 and 1975. At the core of all the problems was there the Cyprus question, affecting the general tendency of the relationship between the two countries and the attitude of policy-makers of both states. Finally, the period covering from 1974 onward up to the present is generally studied with particular emphasis on Turkish-American relations and a supplementary chapter at the end of the book gives the latest developments from the Turkish point of view.