ABSTRACT
Most striking has been the reversal of Turkey’s economic fortunes. The major turning point for Turkey was the national election of November 6, 1983, which gave a strong popular vote and solid parliamentary majority to Turgut Ozal’s newly-founded Motherland Party. In the Turkish economy, there has been a concerted effort since the 1950s to expand the infrastructure of ports, roads, and power lines. Efforts to increase soil productivity through irrigation and fertilization have raised agricultural productivity during the 1970s by nearly 50%, almost double the rate of population growth. The emerging pattern of Turkish politics under President Evren and Prime Minister Ozal may be seen as a result of a similar convergence of domestic and foreign factors. Turkey’s recent foreign policy has preserved the country’s close ties with the United States and Western Europe while cultivating closer diplomatic and economic relations with regimes as diverse as Iraq, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the Soviet Union.
