What does this research mean for the field?

Turkey's centre-right governments under Demirel and Özal utilized strategic compartmentalization—combining domestic anti-communism with pragmatic economic cooperation with the Soviet Union—to enhance Ankara's bargaining leverage during the Cold War. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To analyze how Turkish center-right leaders Süleyman Demirel and Turgut Özal reconciled hardline domestic anti-communism with pragmatic economic cooperation with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

September 8, 2026Middle Eastern Studies

Demirel and Özal’s Ostpolitik between the Western alliance and Soviet economic engagement: fighting reds at home, cooperating with reds abroad

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To analyze how Turkish center-right leaders Süleyman Demirel and Turgut Özal reconciled hardline domestic anti-communism with pragmatic economic cooperation with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Archival analysis of diplomatic agreements, trade treaties, and government records spanning Turkish administrations from 1965 through the late 1980s.
Qualitative assessment of bilateral relations concerning NATO commitments, sovereign control over US military installations, and Soviet industrial investment.
Demirel reasserted sovereign authority over US military operations on Turkish territory and obtained Soviet heavy-industry projects while preserving NATO membership.
Özal advanced post-1980 domestic market liberalization while finalizing the 1984 Soviet natural gas agreement that commenced gas flows in 1987 and boosted demand for Turkish contracting.
Strategic compartmentalization between domestic ideological confrontation and external economic cooperation enhanced Turkey's diplomatic bargaining power without requiring political concessions to the Soviet Union.

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Implication

Historical analysis reveals strategic compartmentalization between domestic anti-communism and Soviet trade in Cold War Turkey, highlighting how economic engagement enhanced foreign policy leverage.

Cite This Study

Behlül Özkan (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd7d558e84d0ff5b46da5 https://doi.org/10.1080/00263206.2026.2725814

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Implication

Historical analysis reveals strategic compartmentalization between domestic anti-communism and Soviet trade in Cold War Turkey, highlighting how economic engagement enhanced foreign policy leverage.

Demirel and Özal’s Ostpolitik between the Western alliance and Soviet economic engagement: fighting reds at home, cooperating with reds abroad

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Demirel and Özal’s Ostpolitik between the Western alliance and Soviet economic engagement: fighting reds at home, cooperating with reds abroad

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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