Sabri Sayari: Political and Social Change in Turkey: Implications for Greek-Turkish Relations
ABSTRACT

The linkage between domestic politics and foreign policy in Turkey has become more pronounced than ever before in recent years. While external events (e.g., the Bosnian crisis) had strong repercussion in domestic politics, internal developments (e.g. the Kurdish problem) have played a major role in Turkey's bilateral and multilateral relations. In terms of Greek-Turkish relations, the most significant domestic developments in the 1990s include: increased political fragmentation in the party system and the absence of stable and strong governments; growing strength of political Islam and rising polarization between the secularists and the Islamists; intensification of Turkey's Kurdish problem; rapid growth of the private sector in the economy and greater involvement of the business elites in domestic and foreign policy issues; and the emergence of a monopolistic media that magnifies and encourages political conflicts. Electoral concerns, especially at a time when the party system has become highly fragmented, act as major domestic constraints on Turkey's policies toward Greece. Nevertheless, there is also growing recognition that détente with Greece may be important not just for lessening the potential for conflict but also for Turkey's relations with Europe and the U.S. as well as for greater economic cooperation between the two countries.

Sabri Sayari: Biographical Note