An Ontological Security-Seeking Foreign Policy of The Turkish Republic During The Interwar Era

After the Liberation War, the founders of the Republic of Türkiye, whose main concern was to consolidate its power at home and to be recognized as modern by others, had to demonstrate that their new state would continue as a nation-state based on republican ideals. There had been a great transformation of law, social life, culture, and education within Turkish society in the 1920s and 1930s. This transformation was accompanied by a new state identity at the international level. After the foundation of the Republic, Turkish policymakers primarily engaged with their neighbors in order to eliminate mutual suspicions and build reciprocal relations with other states. Türkiye also preferred to become an active member of the international society with its contributions to the ideal of collective security. In this way, it avoided isolation and distanced itself from revisionism by not playing the role of a victim country despite long wars. The main research question addressed by this paper is how the Turkish politicians coped with new international circumstances while achieving their political objectives, keeping up with the ideal of collective security and maintaining a status-quoist stance. The answer given to this question draws on the argument that the Republican elite during the 1930s upheld an ontologically secured self-identity by crafting a narrative of survival and success for the new Republic, by forming a web of relations with other countries based on trust, and by preserving its self-integrity while tackling threats emanating from the new international circumstances.