U.S. Public Diplomacy in Turkey (1953-1961) within the Context of Wilsonian Liberal Internationalism

Authors : Murat Toman
Pages : 1030-1051
Doi:10.17218/hititsbd.1715081
View : 94 | Download : 206
Publication Date : 2025-12-31
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :This study offers a reinterpretation of United States public diplomacy in Turkey during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s tenure (1953-1961) through the lens of Wilsonian liberal internationalism. It addresses the tendency to dismiss cultural and informational initiatives as ad hoc Cold War propaganda serving containment rather than recognizing them as components of a coherent ideological tradition grounded in democracy promotion, collective security, open diplomacy, and moral leadership. The article fills a gap in the literature by reframing Voice of America broadcasts, Fulbright exchanges, binational cultural centers, and private foundation projects as tools that combined normative aspiration with strategic calculation. Methodologically, it employs multi-archival research in the United States and Turkey, supplemented by contemporaneous Turkish and American media sources and program records, and uses process tracing to connect policy memoranda, budget decisions, audience targeting, and message design to observed outcomes. The analysis demonstrates that Turkish-language Voice of America programming fostered open information flows and public debate; Fulbright scholarships and binational centers expanded educational mobility and mutual understanding; and philanthropic development schemes linked knowledge transfer to civic participation. These initiatives simultaneously strengthened Turkey’s alignment with the United States, reinforced NATO’s southeastern flank, and diminished the social resonance of Soviet messaging. The key finding is that ideological and strategic functions were interdependent rather than hierarchical. Wilsonian commitments operated as a substantive component of Cold War statecraft in Turkey, shaping ends and means in tandem. By illuminating this reciprocity between values and interests, the study refines prevailing interpretations of American foreign policy and provides a more nuanced account of how public diplomacy influenced the evolution of Turkish–American relations during the 1950s.
Keywords : Wilsoncu liberal enternasyonalizm, kamu diplomasisi, yumuşak güç, soğuk savaş, Türk-Amerikan ilişkileri

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