Turkey's attempts to improve its reputation during the making of the post-war Turkish-American rapprochment (1945-1950)

Making use of archival material and newspapers, this article argues that Turkish concerns over reputation played a central role for Turkey in the making of the post-War Turkish-American rapprochement. Both government and opposition parties in Turkey as well as Turkish journalists, diplomats and students who were studying in the United States waged a campaign to make Turkey appear to be a reputable, modern, and civilized ally of the United States. Establishing an information bureau in New York, trying to prevent the exhibition of American movies that misrepresented Turkey and gladly hosting American journalists who visited Turkey, Turkish authorities tried to give the message that Turkey was under the Soviet threat and deserved to be included in the Marshall Plan.