Turkey and the Middle East in the Interwar Period

The Making of Modern Turkey Seminars host Assoc. Prof. Çağrı Erhan on Saturday, February 17, with a presentation entitled, "Turkey and the Middle East in the Interwar Period."

"Although the interwar period was essentially a time of tensions interspersed with rare moments of reconciliation between the status quo powers that sought to perpetuate the new European balance of power established by the Treaty of Versailles and the revisionists who challenged that order, there were also states that attempted to remain outside of this polarization," explains Erhan. "The newly established Turkish Republic, with its weak economy and an army recently come out of a drawn out war, was reluctant to take sides in these tensions in order to avoid likely damages in an eventual conflict. On the other hand, the revisionist and expansionist discourses of Italy and Germany had begun to escalate in the 1930s, causing a rapprochement between the Balkan and Middle Eastern states that felt themselves under threat. The Saadabad Pact, a non-aggression and regional security agreement between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan was signed in precisely such a context."

The Making of Modern Turkey Seminars have switched focus, this season, from domestic issues to international affairs. Held at the Ottoman Bank Museum on the third Saturday of each month, 2007's eight seminars will provide in-depth analysis of Turkish foreign policy.

Assoc. Prof. Çağrı Erhan Born in 1972, Çağrı Erhan graduated from the Department of International Relations at Ankara University in 1993. After obtaining his MA from the same department in 1996, Erhan earned his Ph.D. from the Department of History at Hacettepe University in 2000 and became associate professor in political history in 2003. Since 2000, he has been a faculty member in the Department of International Relations at Ankara University, where he teaches courses in "Ottoman Diplomatic History," "Developments in the Middle East,"  "NATO," and "American Diplomatic History." He has published anthologies and articles on political history, Turkish-American relations, the Middle East, and the EU. Appointed director of the European Studies Center in 2005, Erhan is, in addition, executive editor for the magazines,  Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları [Ankara Review of European Studies] and  Uluslararası İlişkiler [International Relations], editorial board member of the Center for Strategic Research at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, board member of the Center for International Political and Economic Studies, on the executive board of the Turkish Military History Commission, executive board member of the Council on Foreign Relations, board member of the Committee for European Historiography at the Turkish Ministry of Education, and editorial board member of the Council of Europe's History Education Committee.

The Making of Modern Turkey Seminars "Turkey and the Middle East in the Interwar Period" Assoc. Prof. Çağrı Erhan Saturday, February 17 , 2007 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Free admission The Ottoman Bank Museum Bankalar (Voyvoda) Caddesi 35/37 (0212) 334 22 70