Turkish Intelligence and the Cold War: The Turkish Secret Service, the US and the UK

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Turkish Intelligence and the Cold War examines the hitherto unexplored history of secret intelligence cooperation between three asymmetric partners specifically the UK, US and Turkey from the end of the Second World War until the Turkeys first military coup d'tat on 27 May 1960. The book shows that our understanding of the Cold War as a binary rivalry between the two blocs is too simple an approach and obscures important characteristics of intelligence cooperation among allies. Egemen Bezci shows that a pragmatic approach offers states new opportunities to protect national interests, by conducting intelligence diplomacy to influence crucial areas such as nuclear weapons and to exploit cooperation in support of their own strategic imperatives. This study not only reveals previously-unexplored origins of secret intelligence cooperation between Turkey and West, but also contributes to wider academic debates on the nature of the Cold War by highlighting the potential agency of weaker states in the Western Alliance.

Reviews

Turkish Intelligence & The Cold War will broaden many readers knowledge of Turkish intelligence. A worthwhile contribution to the literature. * Studies in Intelligence *
In April 1957 US Ambassador Fletcher Warren burst into Prime minister Menderess cabinet meeting to try and prevent him from taking military action in Syria. Menderes had to make a hard choice. This is one of the more dramatic moments in Egemen Bezcis new book Turkish Intelligence and the Cold War. * Duvar English *
Overall, the book is highly likely to be beneficial for scholars and students who are interested in Cold War history, Middle Eastern history, Turkish history and Intelligence Studies. It focuses on an under-studied topic, challenges the conventional wisdom and makes a significant contribution to the literature. * Middle Eastern Studies *
Turkish Intelligence and the Cold War is unique in several ways, it gets us to think about the Cold War from outside the simple binary of the East-West divide, enables us to examine non-Western approaches to espionage and gets us to analyse how weaker powers respond to the asymmetrical relationships. * The New Arab *
A useful contribution to the intelligence literature, in particular on the subject of international intelligence cooperation and the role of intelligence in foreign policy. * Intelligence and National Security *

Author Bio

Egemen Bezci received his PhD in intelligence studies at the University of Nottingham, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is currently working as a Data Scientist helping private sector clients to address business requirements. His work appeared in academic and popular venues such as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, New Scientist, National Interest, War on the Rocks, and Stanford University Press, among others. His research received prestigious research grants including ones from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the University of Nottingham Vice-Chancellors Research Excellence Scholarship.