Balkan Pact And Balkan Alliance Phase Summit Diplomacy In The Balkans (1952-1954)

Abstract

Diplomacy, which aims to resolve intergovernmental issues through peaceful means and methods, is not just an instrument of political, economic, military, and socio-cultural interaction between relevant states, but also the art of seeking, finding, and mitigating solutions to issues arising in foreign policy through negotiations. Summit diplomacy, one of the types of diplomacy, emerged as the ultimate destination in this art, particularly during the Cold War era when even the slightest move could upset political balances. It became a prominent venue for states to visit during this period, characterized by the division of the world into Eastern and Western blocs. Shaped mainly by visits at the level of heads of state or government and ministers, this diplomacy also manifested itself during the Cold War era, when the Soviet Union’s perceived influence and foreseeable hegemony in the Balkans were significant. The Soviet Union’s attempts to establish its sovereignty system in the region, which was not embraced by countries like Türkiye and Greece that did not adopt the said system, as well as countries like Yugoslavia that applied communism but did not want to be subjugated, caused considerable concern. Driven by this sense of insecurity, the relevant states sought regional cooperation and alliance agreements through diplomacy as a means of finding a compromise to maintain their existence. These initiatives, aimed at sending a deterrent message by acting together against the threatening state/states, were initiated through visits between the relevant states and eventually escalated to the highest level in the eyes of heads of state such as Greek King Paul I, Turkish President Celal Bayar, and President Tito of the Federal Democratic Republic of Yugoslavia, resulting in treaties such as the Balkan Pact and subsequently the Balkan Alliance.

In the study, which aims to emphasize the importance of high-level diplomacy by bringing to light more of these summit visits, which ended with the signing of the Balkan Pact and the Balkan Alliance, the Archives of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the Prime Ministry, newspapers covering the period and other relevant sources of literature were used.

There is no study that would require the approval of the Ethical Committee in this article.

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