Turkey and France in the Interwar Period

The Making of Modern Turkey Seminars host Assoc. Prof. Melek Fırat this month with a discussion on the relations between Turkey and France in the interwar period, which she will consider in two subperiods: the first lasting until 1928, the second covering subsequent years. The seminar will be held at the Ottoman Bank Museum on Saturday, March 17, at 2:30 p.m.

"During the first period, which lasted until 1928, the new Republic attempted to deal both with internal economic and political difficulties and find a solution to topics left unresolved by the Treaty of Lausanne," says Fırat. "The resolution of these issues prompted Turkey to speed up its efforts to develop political and economic relations with the West. The Hatay problem with France that emerged at this time was the main obstacle in attaining these objectives. Two factors made it easier to put pressure on France and settle the problem in Turkey’s favor: the instability that the economic depression of 1929 had produced in France, and, in particular, the fact that Great Britain, face to what was occurring in Germany, had begun to seek an alliance with Turkey."

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. Melek Fırat Born in 1963 in Malatya, Fırat attended middle and high school at the Notre Dame de Sion French Lycée in Istanbul. She then enrolled in the Faculty of Political Science at Ankara University. After graduating from the Department of International relations in 1986, she began to work in 1988 as a graduate research assistant in the same department. In 1989, she obtained her MA with a master’s thesis entitled,  "İran İslam Devrimi ve Türk İran İlişkileri 1979-1987" [The Islamic Revolution in Iran and Turco-Iranian Relations 1979-1987] and in 1996 her Ph.D., with a doctoral dissertation entitled, "Türk Dış Politikasında Çok Yönlülüğe Geçiş Süreci 1960-1971" [The Passage to Multisided Relations in Turkish Foreign Policy 1960-1971]. Fırat became associate professor in 2003, and is currently a faculty member in the Department of International Relations at Ankara University. She has written a number of articles on Turkish foreign policy, Turco-Greek relations, the Cyprus issue and the Cyprus dispute and Turkey’s relations with the EU.

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