Joshua W. Walker / The Spirit of the Truman Doctrine: 65 Years of Strategic Partnership between the United States and Turkey The fourth edition of the Turkey Policy Brief Series is authored by Joshua W. Walker, Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund Responsible for its Turkey Program.

"The Truman Doctrine of 1947 set the course for a proactive and progressive US foreign policy that was motivated by a vision of an America that led from a position of unwavering strength with strategic allies across the globe. Unlike empires of old that relied solely on military power, the United States would lead with a combination of hard and soft power that the Soviet Union could never replicate. Starting in Europe with the Marshall Plan, and quickly spreading to Asia and the Middle East, America chose to partner with key countries by empowering them to integrate into an American-led world order through a web of formal and informal alliances. Defeated enemies such as Germany and Japan became critical pillars in this new foreign policy vision that was anchored by President Truman’s announcement that Greece and the Republic of Turkey would also be included as key allies against communism..."