Turkish–Israeli Relations

Rémi Daniel is a Researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS, Tel Aviv). He graduated from the Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne and the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris), studied in Istanbul’s Bosphorus University and earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research focuses on Turkey’s foreign policy, Turkish–Israeli relations and Eastern Mediterranean developments. He also published articles on European politics as well as the Québécois nationalist movement.

• Introduction; An understudied period; Democratization, Asymmetry and Regional Crises; Structure of the book; Background of Turkish-Israeli relations; Structural determinants; A structural asymmetry; Relations during the 1950s Chapter 1: The May 27 Coup, the Military Regime, and Israel; Introduction; Hopes; The immediate reaction to the coup; The Rise of a Pro-Israeli Coalition and Initial Difficulties; First Difficulties; Successes; Cyprus; Renewals; New Beginnings; Disappointments: Shared interests against the UAR but limited balancing; Turkey’s Position at the UN; The deteriorating factors shaping the Ankara’s position; Conclusion Chapter 2: The First Years of the Second Republic: Waiting for Normalization; Introduction; A Favorable International Context and a Radically New Domestic Configuration; The 1961 constitution: A revolution; The tense first years of the Turkish Second Republic; A favorable regional context; The Long Road Toward Normalization; The significance of the new regime for Israeli diplomats; Turkey’s pro-Israeli public opinion; The normalization that never cameThe strengthening of the political relations; An asymmetric technical cooperation; Israel: the solution to Turkey’s problem; The technical cooperation between Turkey and Israel; The character of the cooperation; Israel, a model for the Turkish left?; Conclusion Chapter 3: Cyprus: A Violent Shock to the Turkish Political System and to Turkish–Israeli Relations; Introduction; Cyprus, Turkey’s Emotions, and Israel’s Hesitations; The Cypriot Crisis of 1964 and its Impact on Turkey; Israel’s Delicate Position on Cyprus; Turkish–Israeli Relations in the Context of the Cyprus Issue, from Cooperation to Estrangement; A few Months of Inertia: Turkish–Israeli relations at Their Peak; Shazar’s Message to Makarios; The Redefinition of the Turkish Foreign Policy; Arabs votes and zero-sum gameThe last positive developments in Turkish–Israeli relations; Freezing; The adoption of the Arab narrative by Turkish officials; A growing distrust; An increasingly pro-Arab public opinion; A last Israeli attempt; Conclusion Chapter 4: The AP in power, a new vision of Turkey’s regional strategy; Introduction; The Justice Party (AP) and its impact on Turkey’s foreign policy; The rise of a new power; The AP’s pro-Arab policy; Turkish Israeli relations under the AP; Under Ürgüplü and Işık, a transition; The establishment of a new model; The relations under Çağlayangil; Changing balances of power in Ankara; The Turkish MFA between governmentsThe government against counter-powers; A new economic model and its impact on Turkish-Israeli relations; Israel’s reaction: how to pressure an unfriendly government; The assessment of the new situation by Israeli diplomats; Limiting the degradation in an asymmetric configuration; Conclusion Chapter 5: Turkey and the Six-Day-War; Introduction; The determinants of Turkey’s attitude; The Turkish public opinion, Israel and the Arabs; Domestic balances of powerGlobal and regional dynamics; The reaction and its evolution in time; A gradual change in public opinion; The Turkish government’s reaction; Conclusion Chapter 6 Radicalization of Domestic Politics, Deepening of Regional Problems, and Deterioration of Turkish–Israeli Relations (1968–1971); Introduction; The Configuration in Ankara; Domestic Determinants; Foreign determinants: the worsening of the Turkish–US relations; Turkey’s Extremists and Israel; Anti-Imperialism and anti-Israelism, the rise of a new far left; Turkey’s Islamist movement; Anti-Israeli extremists and the Turkish political system; Difficult years for the Turkish-Israeli relations; Turkey’s attitude toward the Arab-Israeli conflict; From official “neutrality” to an admitted alignment with the Arabs; Between Moscow and Amman, new contradictions in Ankara’s position; The emptying of Turkish-Israeli relations; The Al-Aqsa arson and Turkey’s participation in the Islamic Conference of Rabat: a case study of Ankara’s Middle Eastern policy; The Turkish reaction to the Al-Aqsa arson; Turkey’s participation in the Rabat Conference summit; Conclusion Conclusion; The 1960s as a key period for Turkish–Israeli relations; The first honeymoon in Turkish-Israeli relations; A pivotal period in Turkish-Israeli relations; Democratization; Asymmetry; Regional crises; Turkey and Israel’s regional policy; Cyprus and the Six Day War; Turkish-Israeli relations then and nowSources; Key figures (partial biography) References