Mapping the Fault Lines

US-Turkish relations are often fraught and uneasy, it feels like Ankara and Washington are mutually suspicious of each other, but are also in an alliance with one another. Turkiye is a member of NATO and in a geostrategic important position from the perspective of the United States, while the US is an important ally and trading partner for Ankara. How should we understand the complexity of US-Turkish relations? This book aims to offer us a historically informed perspective charting Ankara and Washington’s turbulent relationship starting from the late Ottoman period in the 19th century and ending with Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.

Kilic Bugra Kanat argues that one of the issues with existing studies on US-Turkish relations tends to focus only on specific episodes, specific times or particular crises, moreover this approach tends to treat specific crises as unconnected to previous ones and this robs the analyst of the ability to chart wider patterns and trends. “A thorough analysis of the challenges of the bilateral relations necessitates a study with a longer memory span to identify the patterns and fault lines.” Mapping the Fault Lines in Turkey-US relations: Making the Vulnerable Partnership is Kanat’s attempt to fill this gap.

The book is broken down into 5 chapters with each chapter focusing on a particular area and charting it through history. These include chapters on public opinion, US congress, Russia, Syria and Iraq, Iran and Israel. Each of these areas produces its own fault line and understanding how these different elements will enable us to better comprehend how US-Turkish relations have reached the point they have today and give us an insight into where they might go in the future.

The influence of lobbies, in particular Armenian and Greek over US decision making, features quite prominently in discussions of Ankara-Washington ties. The study offers insight into the different push and pull factors shaping the relationship between them. While the chapter on public opinion offers some interesting insight into how this impacts policy. I would add that something that comes across in the chapter is a misunderstanding of the meaning of public opinion by one side and on the idea that the two sides are not equal. Kanat’s argument seems to be that there is no generalised anti-American feeling among Turks, more frustration over specific policies, whereas generalised anti-Turkishness does exist within American society.

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An example of this was the release of the Turkish film Valley of the Wolves in 2006. The film, which is set in Iraq after the US invasion, depicts American soldiers unfavourably with scenes of them massacring civilians and ends with Turkish forces killing the Americans. The release of the film triggered alarm bells in Washington as seen as evidence of extreme anti-Americanism in Turkiye. “Military commanders from the United States issued warnings to ensure the safety of American personnel in countries whenever this film or other similar stories were shown.” While it was true that public opinion of the US was quite dim due to the US invasion of Iraq, as Kanat argues, “The anti-Americanism in Turkey was more often a public rejection of the US attitude and policies towards the region and towards Turkey and seldom could generate a strong pressure over foreign policymakers.”

He contrasts this with the US where generalised anti-Turkish feeling can seep into decision making in Congress during times of heightened tension. The origins of this can be traced to the 1800s and Orientalists writings that depict Turkiye as backwards, uncivilised and barbaric, tropes which emerge in various forms during different times in history.

Another interesting facet is the role congress plays in US-Turkish relations, while at different times the White House opts to take a carrot approach to Ankara and offer closer assistance, arms sales and overall trade, only to find Congress blocking or obstructing some of this assistance and thus increasing tensions between the countries.

“During the last fifty years, tensions have intensified, as Congress repeatedly challenged both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations….Congress has taken on a gradually expanding role in shaping the nature of bilateral relations between the two countries,” Kanat explains. Congress taking more hostile attitudes towards Turkiye at different times was often a reflection of frustration over certain events and lobbying efforts by Armenian and Greek lobbies. However, the relationship is not always bad and as the book lays out there are cycles of warm and cold relations.

Mapping the Fault Lines clarifies issues within the US-Turkiye relationship by employing a historical model for charting out areas of contention. The long view it offers enables us to better grasp the trends and the background by which foreign policy decisions are made. It is necessary reading for those looking for a constructive and comprehensive introduction to one of the Middle East’s most important relationships. Policymakers, politicians, journalists, scholars and the lay reader will find something in it for them.