Escaping the Whirlpool of War: a Two-fold Analysis of Turkey's Neutrality Policy in World War II

Turkey was one of the few countries that remained neutral during World War II. It was a big test for the government in Ankara since the rights of the wartime neutrals (particularly that of the small powers) were often ignored and they were labeled by the belligerents with such derogatory terms as "immoral free riders" or "war profiteers". This article argues that, Turkish ruling elite's choice of neutrality was not taken based on simple calculations of profiting from the trade with the belligerents, but it was their number one priority due to a national security psyche deeply ingrained in their past experiences. To this end, this article will firstly re-unfold the roots of Turkish neutrality philosophy. Secondly it will give a deeper analysis of the diplomatic methods undertaken by the Turkish ruling elite (balancing, bridging alignments, evasion, procrastination, downplaying countries strategic value, exhibiting pro-status quo tendencies, etc..) to counter the developments (ie. changing perceptions/war aims of belligerents) that would lead to its belligerency.