Abstract
The current paper aims to describe aspects of the debate regarding Turkey’s compatibility with how Europeanness is conceptualized. It is hereby questioned: How is Europe conceptualized? What’s the role of history towards such conceptualizations? Which are the parameters of Europeanness? And finally, is Turkey part of Europe? These questions are found at the core of the overall problematique concerning Turkey’s bid for access into the European Union (EU) and westernization process, in general. No matter how general they are, the questions refer to a certain philosophical debate which is extended to political and strategic aspects of the future of Europe as well as the future of Turkey in it. Ankara’s bid for EU membership and the ongoing negotiations are identified with this extension from philosophy to politics and strategy. On this line of thought, the current paper examines the concept of Europeanness in correlation with Turkish identity and ends to examine practical issues with regard to the EU-Turkey continuing dialogue. With reference to significant bibliography, the whole series of stakes is presented as well as the overall rhetoric legitimizing Turkey’s historical westernization inclinations. Therefore, the concluding remarks are related to all the practical aspects setting questions regarding Turkey’s access to the EU, keeping in mind that the EU nature is absolutely different to the strategic priorities of Ankara and its policy-making practices. For this reason, with one phrase, the conclusion could be ‘compatibility under conditions’ beyond any historical and philosophical references, since the anti-hegemonic nature of the EU structure is clearly incompatible to a grand strategy of economic projects manipulation for political purposes and treaties revision under an aggressive argumentation of Ottoman-like domination. As far as the EU value system is still valid and it is diffused into politics and the framework within European Great Powers are organized, hegemony matters and it is avoidable.
Highlights
The philosophical and theoretical background of the research refers to what Europe is
There are several domestic and foreign policy obstacles which Turkey has to overcome in order to achieve its accession goal and the Europeanization process to come into political and strategic domains
There are several debates with regard to Turkey’s functional response to European conditionality, its inclusion in the overall project of modernization or its westernization in the sense of “identity– configuration” [32], but the most crucial part is the adoption of the essence of the “European dream” as it is often called [33]
Summary
The philosophical and theoretical background of the research refers to what Europe is. Ankara’s hegemonic practices in a series of cases recently stand in contrast to the EU, which is an anti–hegemonic organization in the sense that inter–governmentalism characterizes its substance and balance of power coordinates the aims and interests of the participating actors Under this lens, the current paper focuses on aspects of Turkey’s compatibility with Europe and the EU in terms of territory and borders (geography), common past (history), cultural affinities (culture), Europeanization aspects (internal politics, civil and human rights), growth (economy) as well as international relations (foreign policy mainly towards the neighboring EU member–states of Greece and Cyprus). The latest parts of the paper are distanced from any philosophical aspects and deal more with institutional issues as well as the policy–making views of the debate
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