Turkey-Iran Relations, 1979-2004: Revolution, Ideology, War, Coups, and Geopolitics

by Robert W. Olson

Robert Olson has written the first book detailing the tumultuous history and politics of Iran and Turkey during the past quarter of a century. This study discusses the impact of Iran's Islamic revolution, its militant ideology, the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and the affect of these developments on its relations with Turkey and the two countries' geopolitical rivalry in the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Caspian countries and the Central Asian region. Turkey's military coups in 1980 and 1997, the waning of the ideology of Kemalism and Ankara's war with the PKK, (Kurdistan Workers' Party) are among issues discussed that affected Turkey's relations with the Islamic Republic. The study stresses those issues that were of vital concern to the sovereignty and national security of each state: the transnational and domestic aspects of Kurdish nationalism, the growth of nationalist movements in Kurdistan-Iraq and Azerbaijan Iran and the Islamist question. The author emphasizes that, in addition to the Palestine-Israel conflict, the significance of the oil and gas resources of the Middle East and the U.S. and British occupation of Iraq, relations between Turkey and Iran are vital to understanding the politics of the Middle East and the future of the region.

284 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003