Turkey's EU Membership Research Articles

Cross-Cultural Communication and the Perception of Europeanness Among University Youth in Turkey

Turkey's candidacy for the European Union began with its application to the European Economic Community on July 31, 1959. The fact that the negotiations between Turkey and the European Union have not been concluded in the intervening years has led Turkish society to question its perspective on the EU. What does Europe mean for Turkey? Can Turkey's EU membership be realized? If so, when? In this study, university students in Turkey were asked about their views on Europe and the European Union. The study provides clues on how Generation Z in Turkey views the European Union and whether the long-awaited EU membership of Turkish society can finally be realized. Since the young people who participated in this research will enter working life in a few years and take part in decision-making positions in the country's administration, the findings of this research will also project Turkey's perception of Europe in the future.

Reflection of the Accession Process of Turkey to European Union on Doctoral Theses Written About Foreign Language Education in Turkey 1987-2017

The European Union is the most important political and social integration of the 20th century. EU member countries have worked to develop common policies not only in the field of economy, but also in social, cultural, political and educational fields. In the European Union member countries, foreign language teaching is one of the most important topics in the field of education. European Union accepted Turkey as a candidate country in the enlargement process. With Turkey’s full EU membership process which started in 2005, importance of foreign language education increased in all educational institutions in Turkey. Ministry of National Education and Universities have carried out and implemented studies on pre-school language education, curriculum, language teaching methods, and foreign language teacher education within the scope of language education. Undoubtedly, academic studies on foreign language teaching play an active role for a successful language education. In this study, how Turkey's EU membership process is reflected in the doctoral theses on foreign language education published in 1987-2017 and how the research topics in doctoral theses changed with the start of the membership process were investigated. Document analysis technique was used in the research. Since the universe was used as a sample in the study, it is a study of complete inventory. 58 doctoral theses were examined. They were analyzed in terms of titles. Practical and concrete proposals related to foreign language teaching in Turkey were presented in accordance with the results obtained in the light of findings of the research. The study shows that with the effect of the Turkey’s accession process to European Union full membership, research topics in doctoral dissertations have changed and focal points in PhD theses were determined as foreign language teaching, Creative writing skills, Creative thinking skills, Understanding By Design, Mobile Multimedia Support,Web based Foreign Language Teaching,Detailing Theory, Intercultural Communication.

MIGRATION CRISIS AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR TURKEY

The article discusses some aspects of the relationship of the European Union and Turkey. Against the backdrop of the immigration crisis, that has gripped almost all countries in Europe, the EU states were forced to appeal to the Turkish Government for assistance. Europe requested to withhold part of the f refugees on the territory of Turkey. The EU promised financial support. The Government of RecepTayyip Erdogan linked problems with the issue of refugees entering the country in the EU. The author analyzes the possibility of positive promotion of the negotiation process on Turkey's EU membership. Focuses on the settlement of the Cyprus problem, as one of the three major political obstacles to Turkey in Europe. We are seeing a situation in which EU political circles are willing to exert pressure on the Cyprus conflict and to push for the signing of a formal treaty on the settlement of problem. Some progress in the negotiation process between the communities of Cyprus EU starts to participate in the negotiations on Cyprus, together with the United Nations. Creates good conditions for the settlement of the conflict. Such a way of resolving the long-standing territorial-community conflict creates much more new problems on the island. Obstacles to the integration of Turkey into the EU will become even more.

The Witness of Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch. Edited by William G.Rusch. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2013.

The Witness of Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch. Edited by William G.Rusch. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2013.

Turkey's membership bid to the European Union

This paper presents a brief overview of the EU accession process and Turkey's path to EU membership. The aim of the study is to provide a status report on Turkey's accession negotiations. The researcher here asks some questions to shed light on this case, which is still pending. We have looked into the significant reasons for Turkey to seek joining the European Union, the causes of the repeated refusal of the European Union, the internal Turkish reaction, the external alternatives that the Turkish side has resorted to and the future of Turkey's EU membership bid.

Turkish migration in Europe: EU accession and migration flows

This paper analyses the impact of Turkey's potential EU membership on emigration from Turkey to the European Union. We apply panel data estimators using the data on emigration from EU15 countries into Germany and the Netherlands in order to construct possible future scenarios of Turkish migration to the EU. Three scenarios of migration, pessimistic, realistic and optimistic (depending on the fears related to the expected impact of Turkish migration on the EU labour markets), are drawn and future migration from Turkey into Germany and the Netherlands during the next 25 years is discussed in detail. We conclude that Turkish EU accession, should it happen in the foreseeable future, will not have any serious consequences in terms of massive migration flows.

Focusing on Differences? Contextual Conditions and Anti-immigrant attitudes' Effects on Support for Turkey's EU Membership

A key predictor of support for Turkey’s EU membership is citizens’ attitudes toward immigrants. How anti-immigrant attitudes relate to support is not obvious and has remained unclear thus far. We argue that the presence of immigrants in a country reduces support for Turkey’s membership. Second, the stronger this presence, the stronger the effect of anti-immigrant attitudes on support. Third, the more salient immigration issues in a country, the stronger the effect of anti-immigrant attitudes on support. Using cross sectional survey data (N = 26,344) from 20 EU member states, we find support for these claims. Our findings provide a prime example of how politicians and media can influence citizens’ thinking about specific issues, and, in doing so, can influence public opinion.

Let's talk Turkey! US influence on EU–Turkey relations

Turkey is of paramount importance to the United States and to the European Union. The United States is not only the first and foremost partner of both the EU and Turkey. It is also amongst the most committed supporters of Turkey's European integration. In support of Turkey's EU membership bid, Washington has set forth a variety of arguments and has attempted to influence EU decisions at different points in time. US advocacy throughout the 1990s was key to kick-starting Turkey's accession process. By contrast, US influence on Turkey's EU accession decreased visibly in the twenty-first century. The style of US advocacy goes some way towards explaining why this has been the case. When American advocacy has prioritized quiet, behind-closed-doors diplomacy it has tended to be more effective. When instead US officials have relied on loud public diplomacy, European reactions have been generally negative. More importantly however, it is the content of American arguments that has affected their relative impact on European perceptions of Turkey. Depending on whether the US has spoken to the rights-, the interest- or the identity-based logic of enlargement, the influence of the United States on Turkey's EU membership prospects has varied. On the grounds of this analysis, this article concludes by outlining broad policy suggestions regarding how the United States could contribute more effectively to Turkey's European integration.

Turkey's Neighbourhood Policy and EU Membership

Across its neighbourhood and in policy areas as diverse as security, trade, energy, and migration, Turkish foreign policy has fundamentally transformed since the end of the Cold War. In some cases, such as Turkish policies in the Balkans or in the field of trade and migration, the change has been incremental. In other areas, such as in the Middle East and in the realm of security policy, the shift has been more abrupt and visible. But the transformation of Turkey's neighbourhood policies is undeniable. This article recounts the major transformations in Turkey's regional policies over the last decade, to Turkey's north and south, and across policy areas such as trade, visas, and security. It highlights the principal achievements as well as the pending challenges and flashpoints. The purpose of this account to assess European perceptions of, and reactions to, Turkey's neighbourhood policies, with an eye to drawing out the implications for Turkey's tortured accession path to the European Union.Turkey's strategic significance has traditionally been among the key determinants of its relationship with the EU. Over the decades, Turkey has been hailed in Europe, the US, and in Turkey itself as a bridge, a buffer, and a model state in its region. These perceptions have profoundly affected its relationship with the EU.1 In view of this, this article assesses how Turkey's regional activism in the 2ist century has been perceived in Europe and how such perceptions have affected Turkey's EU accession path.TURKErS REGIONAL POLICIES: SUCCESSES, FAILURES AND FLASHPOINTSExternal and internal drivers of Turkey's regional policiesThe transformation in Turkey's foreign policy can be read as a mix of external geopolitical as well as internal political, economic, and societal changes. Externally, the end of the Cold War, the ensuing 1990-91 Gulf War, the 2003 war in Iraq, and the 2011 Arab Spring have induced Turkey to engage more actively in its neighbourhood, both to the north and south.2 To the north, the end of the Cold War and the breakup of Yugoslavia immersed Turkey in the geopolitical dynamics of the Balkans, the Caucasus, and central Asia, largely in concert with the United States and Europe. Turkey's participation in NATO interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the repositioning of Turkey as an energy hub, manifested first by the US drive to realize the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and since then by Turkey's prominence in competing pipeline projects (from Nabucco to South Stream) are testimony to this fact.3 To the south, whereas the 1990-91 Gulf War triggered a renewed emphasis on Turkish-American strategic cooperation, it also ushered in Turkish assertiveness in the Middle East, which manifested itself through heightened tensions with Syria, Iraq, and Iran.4 The 2003 war in Iraq unleashed an opposing set of dynamics between Turkey and its southern neighbours, inducing greater cooperation between Turkey and the Arab Middle East as well as Iran.5Since then, and particularly in light of the Arab Spring in 2011, the nature of Turkey's cooperative ties with its southern neighbours has been partly revised. The Arab Spring has revealed the inherent tension between the normative and realpolitik dimensions of Turkish foreign policy. When norms have dovetailed with interests, Turkey has been forthright in its support for democracy. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was the first western leader to call for Hosni Mubarak's resignation in a televised speech on al Jazeera in February 2011, and President Abdullah GuI was the first head of state to meet with the Egyptian supreme council in Egypt soon thereafter. In Egypt and Tunisia, Turkey was unambiguously on the side of democracy. As the Arab Spring progressed, realpolitik came to the fore. In Libya, Turkey was initially opposed to NATO's intervention to enforce a no-fly zone, participated exclusively in the humanitarian dimension of the ensuing intervention, and continued to pursue diplomatic efforts to propose a negotiated ceasefire between Muammar Gaddafi and the rebels. …

Christian identity? European churches and the issue of Turkey's EU membership

The article considers the position of churches regarding Turkish EU membership in a number of current member states with some variation across key religious characteristics (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). The focus is especially on the positions of Protestant and Catholic churches. Starting from the observation that the EU in its origins has been considered a Christian-Democratic project, inspired by ideas of Social Catholicism, and reflecting the historical legacies of centuries-long confrontation between Catholicism and the Ottoman Empire, the expectation is that Catholic churches may be less welcoming of including Turkey in the EU than Protestant churches. Moreover, theological traditions (Protestant individualism versus Catholic integralism) may result in different rationales (rights-based versus identity-based) in the churches’ support for or rejection of Turkish accession. However, considering the role of national politics and the state-church regimes, inter-confessional differences may be less significant than inter-national differences on this issue. This will be discussed by analysing the development of official church position papers and public statements of church leaders in these countries, along with trends in government policies.

English

This study was carried out in order to evaluate the political and socio-economical views of students studying in the School of Physical Education and Sport in Gazi University, on Turkey’s membership to the European Union. The population consisted of 1453 students studying in the School of Physical Education and Sport and a questionnaire of 42 questions was applied to 338 students by random sampling method. Data obtained from the questionnaires were processed in SPSS 10.0 to determine whether the data is in proper distribution, then frequency (f), percentage (%) and questionnaire items were evaluated in political and socio-economical terms and independent sampling t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) values were checked. Also the averages of answers given by the participants to items relating to the European Union and Turkey were considered. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient was found 0,75 for the questionnaire. Based on the findings of the research, it can be seen that 51.5% of university population are male” (N=174) and 48.5% are female (N=164). It was determined that views on the socio-economical and political sub-dimensions of the approach that Turkey's EU membership will not be accepted do not vary by gender (p>0.05). Socio-economical levels of the students' view that Turkey' EU membership will not be accepted exhibit a significant difference by the age variable [F(2-335)= 4,97 ; p<0,05]. Political sub-dimensional levels of the participants' view that Turkey' EU membership will not be accepted exhibit a significant difference by the class variable [F(3-334)= 1.48 ; p<0,05]. In conclusion, it can be said, in political and socio-economical terms, that Turkey's EU membership will not be accepted. Key words: Turkey, EU membership, student, political, socio-economical.

The Republican People's Party and Turkey's EU Membership

As the founder of the Turkish secular state, the Republican People's Party (CHP) has defended the Westernisation of Turkish society, supported Turkey's acceptance to the EU as a full member, and played crucial roles in Turkey–EU relations. Nevertheless, the CHP's language towards the EU started to sound critical during the 2000s. This study argues that the CHP's seeming scepticism towards the EU is not an ideological U-turn, but a conditional situation. The CHP's Euroscepticism is an outcome of its distrust of the Justice and Development Party government's honesty and ability in implementing the required reforms for Turkey's EU membership.

Friends No More? The Rise of Anti-American Nationalism in Turkey

This article examines the rise of anti-American nationalism in Turkey. While Turkish public opinion has developed strong views against a set of foreign policies furthered by the United States, recent findings allude to the development of an emerging anti-US bias in large segments of Turkish society. The deterioration of the US image in Turkey could be considered a result of the recent US involvement in the Middle East, as well as socio-political shifts inherent to Turkey's democratization process. Since December 2004, when the European Council gave Turkey a date for the start of its EU accession negotiations, a significant rise in manifestations of nationalist feeling has been documented in Turkey. A slowdown in the democratization reform process, a sharp drop in public support for Turkey's EU membership, an increase in attacks against liberal intellectuals and minorities, and the striking commercial success of nationalist books and movies have attested to this nationalist upsurge. One of the most interesting facets of this phenomenon is that it is distinctly anti-American in character. While anti-Americanism has been a feature of several European and Middle Eastern nationalisms, until recently Turkey comprised an interesting exception. Yet recent global opinion surveys1 classified Turkey among the countries where the United States enjoyed the least favorability. This study sets out from the analytical framework provided by Peter Katzenstein and Robert Keohane in their edited volume Anti-Americanisms in World Politics to examine why anti-American nationalism recently has emerged in Turkey and to evaluate its features. Following their classification of anti-Americanisms into liberal, social, sovereign-nationalist, and radical types, it is argued that the Turkish version of anti-Americanism falls into the sovereign-nationalist type. The - until recently - absence of strong anti-Americanism could be attributed to a set of intrinsic features of the Turkish political system which no longer hold true.2 While Turkish public opinion has developed strong views against a set of foreign policies furthered by the United States, recent findings allude to the development of an emerging anti-US bias in large segments of Turkish society. This could presage the establishment of anti-Americanism as a permanent feature of Turkish political discourse. The deterioration of the US image in Turkey could be considered a result of the recent US political and military involvement in the Middle East and the perceived clash of US and Turkish national interests in the region. The rise of anti-Americanism also could be attributed to socio-political shifts inherent to Turkey's democratization process. While the United States has set support for democratization among its primary global strategic targets, it needs to be aware that democratization could complicate US relations with affected states, especially so long as the United States seems indifferent to the sharp decline of its global image. The election of Barack Obama has mitigated the trend but has not reversed it. Unless the Obama Administration delivers solutions on the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel/Palestine, the US image may suffer a new slump. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF US-TURKEY RELATIONS As Turkey had remained neutral until the very last days of the Second World War, it risked isolation as the post-war security map of Europe was drawn. The situation became more pressing when a victorious Soviet Union made explicit demands for territorial concessions, including joint military control of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits and recovery of the Kars and Ardahan provinces which were ceded by the Soviet Union to Turkey in 1921. Turkey had no option but to join the Western camp. The articulation of the Truman Doctrine in 1947, in which the United States stated that deterring Communist subversion in Greece and Turkey was a primary US strategic concern, was vital against Stalin's blunt invasion threats. …

A cosmopolitan Europe?

Cosmopolitan visions hold EU-Europe capable of recognizing diversity within limits set by universal principles. This view has gained currency in EU self-representations and among the liberal left as a counter to founding EU-Europe on civilizational unity. Proponents of a cosmopolitan Europe nevertheless partake in a culturalization of politics that enables and obscures processes of state transformation visible in Turkey's EU accession process. Debates on Turkey's EU membership construct a normative representation of EU-Europe that justifies EU accession measures as "normalization." Supporters of a cosmopolitan EU contribute to this political effect by adhering to a liberal distinction between "mere difference" to be tolerated and "disruptive difference" to be contained, which legitimizes an interventionist stance vis-à-vis Turkey. However, changes in state interventions and institutions supported by this normalizing project go beyond installing "unity in diversity" in cultural-political terms. They involve economic de- and reregulation that might entrench social and territorial inequalities.

Turkey's Europeanization

Turkey's presidential and parliamentary election processes in 2007 caused a debate over the nature of the country's Europeanization - its gradual adaptation to the EU's norms in domestic and foreign policy realms, as well as its secular modernization - in the course of the EU accession process. The debate revolves around the question of whether the Justice and Development party- led liberal-democratic reforms at home will result in Turkey's eventual membership in the EU - suggesting that Turkey's European identity would no longer be disputed at home or abroad - or whether Turkey will transform into a moderate Islamic country, where the increasing public salience of Islam will in the end erode the secular, unitary, and European character of the regime. This debate is currently unfolding at two levels, domestic and external. Domestically, the Justice and Development party (JDP) and its intellectual supporters have been confronting the traditional secular elites.1 Externally, contending blocks of politicians and intellectuals in the European Union have been trying to assess the degree of Turkey's commitment to, as well as its readiness for, EU membership.Recently, this debate intensified when Turkey's constitutional court agreed to hear the case filed against the JDP by the chief state judge. The judge wanted to ban the party, as well as its influential political members, on the grounds that they represented increasing threats to Turkey's secular character. High-level representatives ofthe European Union, including the head ofthe EU Commission and the commissioner in charge of enlargement process, have expressed their discomfort with this particular development and made it clear that European public opinion would find the idea of Turkey's governing party being closed down by the constitutional court odd (and indeed in the final verdict, the court argued it was the focal point of antisecular activity, but did not ban it). On numerous occasions they have emphasized that secularism in Turkey should never justify the banning of political parties or the suspension ofthe democratization process.2That said, this article argues that Turkey's decades -long Europeanization process might not be sustainable in the years to come, for two main reasons. First, the traditional supporters of this process in Turkey, mainly the secular elites, have recently adopted Euro- skeptic attitudes and become the champions of anti-EU sentiment. To the secular elites, JDP's support of Turkey's EU membership appears to be more tactical than strategic, in the sense that the continuation ofthe EU accession process has been considered by the JDP leadership to be vital for the party's ability to secure external and internal legitimacy in the eyes of its critics. This article underlines the point that absent the support ofthe secular elites for the Europeanization process, it is going to be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve Ataturk's goal to have Turkey become a part of contemporary civilization via inclusion in the EU. Second, the ongoing internal debate in Turkey seems to have weakened the hands of those in the EU who have thus far tried to justify Turkey's membership on the basis of normative grounds. Turkey's internal debate has been mirrored inside the EU in that a group of normative supporters of Turkey's accession, the so-called liberal cosmopolitanists, applauds Turkey's liberal democratization under the leadership of the JDP government, whereas the other group of normative supporters, the so-called traditionalists, shares the worries of Turkey's secular elites, yet at the same time fears the negative consequences of militarization in the name of protecting secularism.Against such a background, we first analyze the dynamics of the ongoing debate in Turkey by paying particular attention to the concerns of the traditional secular elites about the intentions of the JDP, particularly with regard to Turkey's Islamization. Then an attempt will be made to highlight the growing schism between Turkey's normative supporters inside the EU. …

Incompatibilities in Turkish and European Security Cultures Diminish Turkey's Prospects for EU Membership

Turkey's heavy involvement in Middle Eastern politics following the end of the Cold War eroded its Western image in the eyes of most Europeans and strengthened the hands of those who have traditionally argued against Turkey's EU membership by referring to the unbridgeable inherent differences between the parties in terms of cultural, historical, religious, and geographical considerations.

The Impact of the Support System of the EU's Cap on Trade Balance Free Trade in the Light of Turkey's EU Membership

The objective of this paper is to estimate parameters which are used to estimate the trade balance in the European Union's (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It is a fact, that the currently applied trade balance equation, which does not consider price support system (PSS) applied to producers in the EU's CAP, prevents correct estimation of the trade balance. In this paper, the currently used trade balance equation is first considered in calculating the trade balance for the EU producers. The mentioned equation, which is questioned and replaced with a new equation with new parameters adopted by the author, should be considered for a correct estimation of the trade balance. This new equation is used to estimate the trade balance for CAP products which are supported with tariff and non-tariff measures.

The Distribution Effect of Support System of the CAP on Producers in the Light of the Turkey's EU Membership

The objective of this study is to measure the level of the European Union's (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) price support system (PSS) applied to producers in the EU-15 and in Turkey. The producer subsidy estimate (PSE) method has been used to determine protection levels for selected cereal products from the beginning of the application of the PSE method in 1986 to 2004. The expected contribution of this study is to determine which support instruments, such as countervailing levies or direct payments (based on limited or unlimited area) against export subsidies, voluntary or compulsory set-aside measures and price interventions, are more appropriate for the CAP in reducing destabilizing effects on trade with selected products between the EU and Turkey with respect to distribution effects (how income is distributed between different groups involved in the production operation process). Does the current PSS of the CAP have positive effects on agricultural producers in Turkey as a non-member country? The major finding of this paper is the evaluation of benefits and costs of common agricultural policies of the EU on fair trade. The assessment of the PSE of the EU's CAP will be used to determine the impact of current support measures of the CAP reforms on fair trade and how the CAP measures can be reformed for the improvement of producer gain in accordance with fair trade.

Turkey and the European Union: internal dynamics and external challenges

Introduction: Turkey at the Threshold of the EU J.S.Joseph The Economic Dimension of Turkey's EU Membership: A Stock-taking Exercise at the Start of Accession Negotiations M.Ugur Between Fedora and Fez: Modern Turkey's Troubled Road to Democratic Consolidation and the Pluralizing Role of Erdogan's Pro-Islam Government S.Kotsovilis The EU Challenge: A View from the Turkish Grand National Assembly N.G.Loizides & E.Ersin Relations between the State and Civil Society in Turkey: Does the EU Make a Difference? W.Weber The Kurdish Problem in International Politics M.M.Gunter The Europeanization of Turkey's Kurdish Question N.Tocci The Greek Variable in EU-Turkish Relations A.Kazamias Turkey's Quest for EU Membership and the Cyprus Problem T.Bahcheli Security Implications of Turkey's March toward EU Membership M.Kibaroglu The US and Turkey's Quest for EU Membership O.Taspinar The Iraq War and the Troubled US-Turkish Alliance: Some Conclusions for Europe O.Kayhan & D.Lindley

Explaining Opposition to Turkish Membership of the EU

This article examines EU citizen attitudes to Turkey's bid to join the EU. The key theoretical constructs investigated to explain opposition to Turkey's EU membership are related to rational economic self-interest and group-level interests and concerns. The findings indicate that the former are irrelevant for distinguishing between opponents and supporters of Turkey's candidacy, while the latter do provide fairly powerful explanations for opposition to Turkish EU membership. However, because these factors do not completely explain overall levels of hostility to Turkey's candidacy, context is also introduced, particularly the threatening context provided by Turkish migration. The findings indicate that migration from Turkey to some of the EU member states has combined with feelings of group protectiveness to produce widespread animosity to Turkey's entry into the EU.