Diplomacy Within the Security Framework in Turkey and Romania During the Interwar Period

Abstract

This article aims to highlight shifting diplomatic positions in Turkey and Romania and their stances towards the League of Nations collective security network during the interwar period. It takes a comparative approach to demonstrate the diplomatic activity and strategic decision-making mechanism employed by two strategically important Balkan and Black Sea countries vis-à-vis the fragile international system from the 1920s onwards. The rising threat of revisionism and declining belief in the League’s sanctioning power gradually led these countries to set their differences in foreign policy aside and strengthened the idea of joint regional action in the 1930s. Supported by primary sources from different archives, this comparative study proposes a new outlook, by demonstrating the contribution made by the notions of external threat and common aggressor to changing foreign policy perspectives in both countries.