Turkey and Bulgaria in the post-Cold War Era : a success story

Abstract

This article attempts to analyze the Turkish-Bulgarian relations in the
post-Cold War period. The first part summarizes the historical background of
the bilateral relations between Turkey and Bulgaria. Then, the Bulgarian
policy towards the Turkish minority and its impact to the Turkish-Bulgarian
relations during the decade of the 1980s is discussed. The last part focuses in
the shifts and the new challenges for the Turkish and the Bulgarian foreign
policy since the end of the Cold War and analyzes the political and military
cooperation in the 1990s. This study concludes that the changes in the
international system have provided both Turkey and Bulgaria a conductive
environment in their political and security orientations and thus created a
necessary ground for the establishment of a more stable and long-lasting form
of relationship.