Research On The Drug Problem In Turkey's Diplomatic Relations With The United States (1965-1975)

When the Cold War begun,Turkey has been pulled into the Western camp by the United States and has established a strategic alliance with the it,which has become an important fulcrum for the United States to implement the Cold War policy in the Middle East.But the prominence of the drug problem and the dispute over it overshadowed relations between the two countries from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s.The drug dispute between the United States and Turkey stems from the American social crisis of the 1960s and the drug epidemic is one of the main causes and manifestations of this crisis.The U.S government was unable to block the flow of drugs and prohibited drug abuse in domestic.instead it seeks to cut off the sources of drugs to solve the problem of drug abuse,thereby diverting the attention of the public and bring domestic attention on social issues to abroad.Hence,Turkey has been the target of the United States,which is called for the main source of US drugs.For Turkey,the drug dispute is a disaster.The United States government has tried to persuade Turkey to reduce or even completely prohibit its poppy production,however,because of domestic political and economic reasons,Turkey has failed to meet the requirements of the United States,therefore,the two countries began a tug of war about drug problem for 10 years.It was not until 1974,when Ecevit government submitted the scheme of poppy straw to the United Nations Drug Agency,The dispute between the two sides on drug problem was alleviated.The drug problem around poppy cultivation became one of the most important issues in the relationship between Turkey and the United States in the mid 1960s and mid 1970s.While the drug problem outside the security and defense alliance,it also touches the hearts of the American and Turkish people and deeply affecting the relationship between Turkey and the United States.The United States attempted to solve the domestic drug problem by putting pressure on drug-producing countries to curb the origin of drug production has not achieved the desired results.This proves the gap between the ideal of diplomacy and the reality,and also shows the difficulty of international cooperation in drug control.The article contains the following four parts:The first chapter focuses on the background of drug problem between Turkey and the United States.This section firstly describes the history of the cultivation of opium poppies in the Ottoman empire,indicating that the opium poppy is the traditional crop of Turkey and occupies an important position in the economic and social life of Turkey,from this perspective to prove the special significance of poppy cultivation on Turkey from a long period of time,meanwhile,from the game around the opium cultivation of the two sides,we can prove that is complex and need a long time.Second,it discusses the origins of the US drug problem,about the international regulatory efforts to address the drug problem,the social issues in the United States in the mid-1960s,and the role and performance of drug abuse in the domestic.The U.S.government has no way of doing so,and the U.S.traces most of the sources of drug came from Turkey,which illustrates the emergence and characteristics of the drug problem between Turkey and the United States.The second chapter elaborates on the situation of the Justice Party under the leadership of Demirel of Turkey from 1965 to 1971.it will analyze the domestic and international situation respectively and discuss the American suppression of poppy cultivation and Turkish government how to response to this.Finally,under pressure from the United States,Turkey says it will reduce poppy cultivation gradually every year.During this period,the Demirel government pursued a series of the right policies,which eventually led to a military coup in 1971.then,The Demirel administration was forced to dissolve.The diplomatic game around drugs is directly related to the 1971 military coup.The third chapter focuses on the two governments of Turkey,namely,the Erim government and the Ecevit government's attitude to the opium poppy cultivation and the diplomatic game between Turkey and the United States.First of all,it focuses on the Erim government 's complete obedience to American opinion,After the military coup on March 12,1971,the army authorized the organization of the non-partisan Erim to form a cabinet.The U.S.ambassador held talks with Erim,After the poppy harvest in 1972,promulgating a decree of prohibiting cultivation.From this analyzes the attitude of Turkish officials and the public after the promulgation of the ban.Eventually it caused conflicts among all parties,Turkish Parliament impeaches Prime Minister Erim.Secondly,it discusses the continuous bargaining between Turkey and the US government in the period of Ecevit government.In 1974,after the election,Ecevit became the Prime Minister,he announced that in the fall of the same year he would allow seven provinces to grow opium poppy.it discusses after the ban on the restoration of poppy cultivation,all sectors in Turkey responded fiercely,which led to strong reaction from the U.S.But the U.S congress has no clear plan for the responsibilities and obligations of the government to deal with the problem.It was not until September 16,1974,when the Turkish government submitted its "poppy straw" programme to the United Nations drug administration,the relationship between Turkey and the United States had maintained.The fourth chapter mainly focuses on enlightenment of the "bargain" around Turkey and the United States about the opium poppy cultivation from 1965 to 1975,the U.S wanted to curb the drug problem from the drug producer,but it did not achieve the goal.Instead of it fuelled contemporary complicated drug smuggling network.from the drug problem to diplomacy,which reflects the asymmetry between Turkey and the United States in the diplomatic relations.The United States policy on drugs is always based on its interests during the cold war and serves its main diplomatic direction.