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FOREWORD
The first half of the year 1989 has been a rather busy period for the Foreign Policy Institute. During this period we organized a number of international conferences as well as round-tables and seminars with a number of European Institutes on bi-lalcral basis to discuss the future of Turkey’s relations with the European Community as well as European security issues at this time of changing political and security environment in Europe.
The first bi-lateral conference took place in Paris on February 24 and 25,1989 where the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) was our host. The second roundtable took place in Ankara, where our Institute was the host to Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) on March 1 and 2,1989. The third meeting was the continuation of our annual scries of conferences with the South East European Association of the Federal Republic of Germany. We organized this year’s conference at the site of the Atatürk Dam and Urfa Tunnel which is the site of a gigantic irrigation and hydraulic power production project. All these bilateral conferences were remarkable in their content and served their purpose of exchanging views and ideas on problems confronting our countries.
Foreign Policy Institute also organized three international conferences in the course of the current year. The first conference was a seminar on "The Fortieth Anniversary of the Council of Europe". Turkey joined the Council of Europe immediately upon its foundation in 1949, and has since played a uninterrupted active role in all its organs. In 1987 Turkey accepted the jurisdiction of the Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe to receive applications from private individuals and organizations in Turkey to safeguard their rights. Turkey ratified in the course of last year the European Convention for the prevention of torture, being the first country to do so. In 1989 Turkey also ratified the European Social Charter. The conference in Ankara provided us with a good opportunity to discuss with European and Turkish experts the role of tne Council to defend European human rights and cultural heritage. We also were able to discuss the future of the Council of Europe in the face increasing competition from the European Community.
The Directors and Representatives of European Institutes of International Relations meet once every two years to discuss among themselves the basic issues in East-West relations as they relate to their agenda of research. This year the Foreign Policy Institute was the host to the Conference in Istanbul on June 1 and 2,1989. We welcomed in this i
country the Directors of many European countries including those from Eastern Europe and were able to conduct our discussions with a substantial degree of "glasnost" in a good setting overlooking the Bosphorus.
NATO’s 40lh Anniversary, the Defense of the Southern Flank and New Technologies and Cooperation in Arms Production was the topic of our international conference again in Istanbul on June 27-29,1989. This conference brought together specialists from US, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, UK, Federal Republic and Turkey for a thorough discussion of the issues and review the study conducted by our Institute on strengthening NATO’s southern flank.
In this issue of our Review you will find a number of papers presented at these conferences.
In the course of this year the Foreign Policy Institute published a number of works. The most notable are: Secularism in Turkey, by Professor Doğu Ergil (in English); Council of Europe and Human Rights (in Turkish); The Tragedy of the Turkish Muslim Minority in Bulgaria (in English). The latter’s publication came rather timely because the persecution of the Turkish minority, has lately taken the form of deportation of hundreds of thousands of them to Turkey. These books can be obtained from the Foreign Policy Institute.
Seyfi Taşhan
Trends in the alliance*
M. Süreyya Yüksel
During the last four decades, the Alliance has held together, and has managed to secure peace in Europe. During these years it has surmounted a series of crises that threatened its unity, primarily because it clearly faced a hostile power which posed a threat unambiguous enough to require Alliance members to mute their disagreements.
Although the world is ever in transition, in this period the changes that made up that transition were generally so gradual as to be imperceptible or, as Raymond Aron said many years ago, the nuclearization of the European balance had led to the deceleration of history.
However, since 1986, the sense that significant and perhaps fundamental changes arc underway is almost manifest. It is mainly the changes in the Soviet Union that have provided the impetus to this transition.
On the Soviet side, the attempt to achieve a far-reaching adjustment in the Soviet system which necessitated, at the least, a period of international quiet in order to provide a breathing space in which to adapt internally, created new conditions in world affairs.
On the United States side, an opportunity for arms control and the relaxation of tension provided by the new Soviet policy affected her perception, and the known budget and trade deficits in the U.S. dictated a need for adjustment.
*Text of a paper delivered at the Anglo-Turkish Round Table held in Ankara between the Turkish Foreign Policy Institute and the Royal Institute of International Relations on March 1-2,1989.
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