Geo‐strategic position as leverage in EU accession: the case of Turkish–EU negotiations on the Nabucco pipeline

Abstract

This article examines the Turkish–EU negotiations for the Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement and the Turkish–EU membership talks to problematize Turkish leaders’ tendency to establish linkages between their country’s geo‐strategic value and the EU accession process. It argues that Turkey’s ability to gain strategic leverage depends on the formation of a winning coalition inside the EU in favour of its membership, which among other things, depends on the presence of a joint strategic outlook on the specific issue area. In the case of Nabucco negotiations, short of such consensus, there emerged an anchor credibility dilemma which both prevented linkages between geopolitical position and the accession process, and stalled strategic cooperation in energy security.