Turkey in the EU?: How cultural and economic frames affect support for Turkish accession

Abstract

Turkey's bid to join the European Union (EU) is more contentious than any previous enlargement of the EU. With the prospect of a predominantly Muslim country joining the Union, religious differences are often argued to be at the heart of public opposition to Turkish membership, whereas economic reasoning seems to dominate arguments in favour. Yet, public opinion on this issue is also highly volatile. This raises the question of the extent to which elite framing of the debate on Turkish accession can shape public opinion. Using a survey-embedded experimental study, we examine the differences in support between people exposed to – positive and negative – cultural and economic arguments. Our results show that the economic frames are persuasive across the board, whereas cultural (religious) frames are strongly conditioned by individual predispositions on religious diversity.