The European Union agenda in Erdogan’s argumentative discourse: an analysis of the ideational sources and interactive functions of political reasoning

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents the findings of an in-depth analysis of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s position and argumentation regarding the European Union (EU). The study explores the ideational sources (cognitive and normative) and interactive functions (communicative and coordinative) of his foreign policy discourse. We argue that Erdogan instrumentalises and politicises foreign policy discourse for the coordinative function of political mobilisation. First, Erdogan’s dual approach is shaped by his leadership roles (president versus party chairperson), his target audience (national versus international), and timing (election versus non-election periods), with Euroscepticism and antagonistic argumentation featuring prominently in his discourse. Second, as party chairperson, Erdogan employs nationalist chauvinism, a normative source shared by relevant institutional actors, to fulfil a coordinative function. Third, cognitive dissonance stemming from his positional dichotomy, alongside misrepresenting actors and processes, allows him a blame strategy, framed by accusations of 1) double standards, 2) the EU’s miscalculation, 3) pacta sunt servanda, and 4) the actions of ‘certain’ member states.