The Turkish – U.S. Relationship

Contrary to many of the comments I’ve received while in the U.S., Turkey is not a land of covered women and turbaned men willing to trade five camels to bring me back to their village. A walk down Istiklal Caddesi, Istanbul’s main shopping drag, reveals Turks who would look surprisingly familiar to Americans—jeans abound (including the Turkish brand Mavi), piercings, Puma Sneakers, and other styles common to the U.S.

In fact, I’ve perceived more embracing of material and cultural aspects of U.S. life than I’ve seen in Athens and London, for example. While cross-cultural fashion and education emulation seems to be alive and well, there are other aspects of the Turkish – U.S. relationship that have taken a heavy hit over the past five years. Anti-Americanism is on the rise in Turkey. The main focus of the anger is toward the Bush Administration and the Iraq War.

With the majority of Turks unable to afford international travel or obtain necessary visas, their perceptions of the U.S. will be molded largely by books, movies, and television. From what I’ve seen and heard in those categories, relations are likely to get worse. Irfan Erdoğan (no relation to the current Prime Minister, as far as I know) is a popular Turkish author who writes about social problems in the U.S. One open-minded PhD student that I spoke with wanted to know if what Erdoğan wrote was true. Some of Erdoğan’s main points? Obesity is a problem in the U.S. – can’t argue that one. Education is too expensive—true, although there are options. Violence within the family is common—this one I argued, but realized that when compared with the unconditional love that Turkish families seem to give each other, and especially their children, the bickering and yelling that accompany even the most loving of U.S. households could be perceived as such.

The real point is not whether Erdoğan’s writings are true or not. For many Turks, these writings might be their closest encounter with America—being able to hear an American’s point of view can be a rare opportunity. The main point is that Erdoğan’s books are not alone. There are many such books circulating within Turkey. Fiction such as the popular “Metal Storm” depict the U.S. attacking Turkey in year 2007, in what many Turks see as a probable scenario. To read an article about Metal Firtina and anti-Americanism in Turkey click here

The movie Kurtlar Vadisi is making headlines worldwide. From its origins as a TV series, the spin-off story of the 11 Turkish special operations forces arrested by U.S. troops for allegedly planning to assassinate the Kurdish governor of Kirkuk has captured Turkish attention. I have not yet seen the widely-shown movie, but it is a good indicator of how Turks perceive the implications of the military involvement on their southern border. Read more about the movie and the original incident here

Turn on the television, as happened while I visiting a Turkish family one evening, and you’ll see the mixed impressions that Turks are getting about the U.S. That evening we flipped back and forth between the un-tour-de-force, Cat Woman, and a CNN-Turk news story exploring treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. To say the least, neither of these programs cast the U.S. in its best light.

The family I was watching T.V. with is a well-educated, well-off family. Everyone speaks at least a little English, and one of the children is going to study in the U.S. this fall. However, the father was very passionate about his feelings about the Bush Administration (not good) and the continuing rise of anti-Americanism worldwide. Earlier that day a student I spoke with told me how badly she wants to move to New York. Later in the interview, when I asked what the majority of campus protests were about, she told me, with what I perceived as a bit of pride in her voice, that they are typically anti-American protests.



Anti-Americanism in Turkey is complicated, and can exist in the same person who covets an American lifestyle or education. Nor is anti-Americanism rational. Those who argue that anti-American sentiment has false foundations, or dismiss it because it is emotional or irrational are missing the point. Regardless of what it is based on, this burgeoning feeling is very real. And U.S. public diplomacy is atrophying. The below quote from the conservative Heritage Foundation website shows the lows to which American public diplomacy has fallen:

“While overseas opinion polls show mostly negative views of the United States, the State Department’s communications machinery remains in disarray. Congressional funding for public diplomacy programs has increased only slightly since 9/11, interagency coordination remains minimal, and America’s foreign communication efforts lack a focused strategy.[2] More worrisome, new programs may not be effective in confronting the array of security, foreign policy, and economic challenges emanating from the Middle East.” - August, 2005

I haven’t experienced any outright anti-Americanism while here. Everyone has been friendly and open. But beneath the surface there is anger in the population of a strategic ally—anger that the U.S. might want to take a little more seriously.