Atatürkist foreign policy

3 September 2008 /MILLIYET, TAHA AKYOL

In the bipolar world of the Cold War era, some writers and politicians promoted a foreign policy line by which they argued Turkey should leave NATO, stay away from the EU and pursue a policy of "neutrality" or "non-alliance," alleging that this was an Atatürkist approach.

Their reference point for this assertion was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's "anti-imperialist" statements during the War of Independence. Is there such a thing as an "Atatürkist foreign policy" template? In fact, Atatürk's foreign policy is pragmatic. Principles like independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and peace are universal. And diplomacy inherently requires pragmatism. To this end, the fundamental factor that determines the foreign policy line of a state is its geographical location. It is impossible to cite a foreign policy that is free of errors.

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