The United States and Greek-Turkish Relations: The Guardian’s Dilemma

This book examines the role of the United States in Greek-Turkish relations and fills an important gap in alliance theory regarding the guardian’s dilemma.

The strategy of a great power involves not only tackling threats from enemies, but also dealing with problems that arise between allies. Every time Greece and Turkey threatened to go to war against each other, the United States had to effectively restrain its two strategic allies without straining relations with either one of them. This book explores how the United States responded to the guardian’s dilemma in six crises during the Cold War, pursuing a policy of dual restraint to prevent an intra-alliance conflict, mitigate the consequences of each crisis, and maintain effective control of the Rimland Bridge.

From a neoclassical-realist standpoint, the book examines how the United States responded to each Greek-Turkish crisis, for what reasons, and with what results. It will be of interest to scholars of foreign policy, security studies, geopolitics, and international relations.