ABSTRACT
Meanwhile, the Turkish government, too, was taking stock of its position. Since the Democrat Party came into office in 1950, all the indications were that Turkey was becoming more and more determined to play a leading role in developing Western policies in the Middle East and in guiding the Arabs towards closer relations with the West in general and herself in particular. Obvious examples of this trend were her desire to become party to the Tripartite Declaration, her willingness to join the MEDO and her anxiety to bring the Arab states into the Turco-Pakistani Agreement. Turkey regarded herself not as belonging to the Middle East but as a Western country adjacent to it, with an important interest there in connection with the security of her own southern frontier.66 Moreover, when the Democrat Party came to office in 1950 it focused its attention on economic development, in which it, largely due to American assistance, had made impressive progress in four years. Yet this spectacular development was not without its drawbacks, the principal of which was high inflation, which gravely affected Turkey’s economic stability in 1954. Consequently, by the end of the year, the Democrat government found itself in need of new funds to meet its foreign and domestic commitments. It turned towards the United States for help, asking for a $300 million loan, in addition to all the regular economic aid received from Washington under the programme of mutual security or technical assistance. However, for the first time since 1947, Washington refused to give Turkey further economic assistance. Washington was critical of the overextension of the Turkish economy and resented Turkey’s disregard of the recommendations made by American experts assisting in Turkish development plans.67
