A “Good Neighbor” for the Middle East: Constructing Türkiye as a Development Mediator in the Early Cold War
Sunum, ss.4, 2026
- Yayın Türü: Diğer Yayınlar / Sunum
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.4
- İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
In the early Cold War, U.S. policymakers increasingly sought to position Türkiye as a regional mediator through which development initiatives could be conveyed to the Middle East. This article examines how Türkiye was constructed as a regional mediator through which institutional practices and reform models could be conveyed to the Middle East. After 1945, American officials came to believe that the direct transfer of U.S. or West European administrative frameworks into newly independent Arab states would likely encounter political resistance and legitimacy concerns. Türkiye appeared to offer a more adaptable alternative: a Muslim-majority country shaped by selective modernization, closely connected to Western strategic networks, and perceived as culturally proximate to neighboring societies. Drawing on diplomatic correspondence and policy debates, the study reconstructs how a “Good Neighbor” analogy, adapted from earlier U.S. hemispheric experience, informed development diplomacy in the region. This strategy materialized through institutional channels centered in Ankara. Administrative training at the Türkiye and Middle East Institute of Public Administration (TODAIE), technical education at the Middle East Technical University (METU), and UNsupported infrastructure programs facilitated the cross-border circulation of administrative techniques and professional norms. As decolonization advanced, Arab nationalism and resistance to Western-backed regional arrangements reshaped the interpretation of these initiatives. Türkiye’s diplomatic positioning further narrowed the political space for accepting its intermediary role. The article argues that while this experiment expanded opportunities for technical cooperation, it also exposed the political constraints that shaped the reception of Cold War development initiatives. Keywords: Türkiye, US foreign policy, Cold War development, knowledge translation