STABILIZING OR DESTABILIZING? RECONSIDERING THE REVELANCY OF TURKEY’S NATO MEMBERSHIP

The focus of this study is the Republic of Turkey‟s involvement in NATO with a special attention to Turkey‟s gradual withdrawal from NATO member countries. Additionally, this study will also analyze the influences of Turkey‟s maneuvers in international affairs to NATO‟s internal strategic concerns. After going through decades of democratization process, membership in NATO and great access to relations with the West that last until the present day, this study also offers reviews of Turkey‟s urgency and relevancy to perpetuate its NATO membership. The purpose of this study is to understand and identify the relationship between Turkey‟s international activities, Turkey‟s socio-political conditions at home and their effects to Turkey‟s position inside NATO. The data were collected by means of library research and online library research. The principle result of this study is that Turkey‟s entry into NATO and the drastic democratization in 1950 are all influenced by the international affairs in that period (after the First World War to the Cold War era). The final conclusion of this study is that Turkey is a less practically beneficial country for NATO now and NATO is no longer an essential need for Turkey, as Turkey has gained more self-confidence internationally and thus being no longer reliant on NATO protection, inter alia it is more willing to risk experiments in exercising its foreign affairs