Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis paper introduces the two factors of temporality and interaction, which are not well-researched within the Turkey-EU relationship. I suggest that these two factors are important for understanding the process of Europeanization in Turkey and explaining the ups and downs in the long-lasting relationship. After briefly examining the two historical periods of the Turkey-EU relationship — that is, from 1959 to 1970 and from 1970 to 1999 — the paper mainly focuses on the more recent period following the Helsinki Summit of 1999 and shows how the factors of temporality and interaction operated differently between 1999 and 2004, and after 2004, turning from positive to negative. Having presented the historical evidence, the paper concludes by emphasizing the close interaction between the factors of temporality, interaction and the process of Europeanization in the Turkish context and suggesting that the analysis of these two factors opens up new possibilities for comparative research on other accession and candidate countries.

Questions of modernization have been closely related to issues of identity and therefore of internal order and foreign policy in Turkey ever since the nineteenth century. For Ottoman reformers and their successors in the Turkish Republic, modernization, in turn, has meant the fashioning of the polity along European lines or "westernization." This transformation of the land of the infidel from enemy to a societal blueprint to be emulated has brought in its wake serious problems regarding identity and appurtenance. Over a period of a hundred years, the polity has transformed itself from an eastern empire to a modern nation-state seeking inclusion within the institutional and cultural fold of the West. This makes Turkey an interesting case to look at, especially since, in many other countries outside the West, identity has largely been defined in terms of opposition to the West.

Aus türkischer Sicht

FEUTURE Online Paper No. 12 This paper presents an analysis of the political changes in Turkey since 1999, through a process-tracing exercise for four political drivers – namely democratisation, civil-military relations, the Kurdish question and foreign policy orientation- that unfold these changes under three periods of Turkey's political history (1999-2002; 2007-2013; 2013-present); and secondly presenting an assessment of which of the three FEUTURE scenarios for Turkey-EU relations—convergence, cooperation or conflict —is the most likely to obtain in the near future on the basis of these drivers. With the ever rising degrees of unpredictability in international relations to the side, the paper argues that the political changes in Turkey during the AKP reign are likely to escalate the already conflict-ridden relationship between Turkey and European Union, but also lays bare the perhaps more important questions of how and why this is likely to be the case. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 692976. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

FEUTURE Online Paper No. 28 This paper outlines how narratives on European Union (EU)-Turkey relations changed over time since the 1960s and until the present. Applying a narrative approach, the paper aims to deconstruct a debate, which has been characterized by a plurality or even cacophony of stories by different actors. It presents the most influential narratives of EU institutions and Turkish political actors and traces their change over time as well as the dynamics between them. Based on a qualitative coding of a vast set of official documents from EU and Turkey (ca. 280 documents), it draws the following main conclusions: Different in nature: Turkish and European narratives vary considerably in their nature. Turkish narratives all share the same goal of full membership, while they have changing plots and different lines of argumentation. EU narratives differ both in their plot and in terms of the "finalité" of EU-Turkey relations. Progressively divergent: Since the 1960s, the number of narratives in Turkey and the EU has gradually increased and the debates have become more divergent. Growingly conflictual: While the study confirms that conflictual rhetoric is rather a recurring pattern and not new to the debates on EU-Turkey relations, the level of escalation on both sides in the last years has been considerably higher. Overall, the research draws the conclusion that currently there is a combination of conflictual elements as well as arguments emphasizing the importance to cooperate with each other. Hence, the study's results are in line with the main conclusion drawn by the FEUTURE project, namely, that the most likely scenario for the future is "conflictual cooperation" ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 692976. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

FEUTURE Online Paper No. 32 This study aims to situate contemporary debates on the EU-Turkey relations in a broader historical context. It argues that understanding from where current narratives come and identifying their constituents, and particularly the narrators' mutual perceptions on each other, which have endured through decades or even centuries, contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship in critical ways. The paper is based on the results of two historically oriented studies carried out within the framework of the FEUTURE project -a narrative analysis as well as an analysis of identity representations since the 19thcentury- both of which adopted a comparative approach by analysing European and Turkish sources. Among others, the paper asserts that the EU and Turkey, both historically and in the present, have been important for each other in their identity construction. It argues that one of the most defining characteristics of the narratives and identities over time is their changing nature. The paper finds that narratives and identity construction processes also intertwined also with drivers at different levels, by the respective historical and political context. From a contemporary perspective, it finds that narratives on both sides have become more conflictual and that relations are likely to be dominated by conflictual elements also in the nearer future. This is, however, coupled with a constantly present conviction of the importance of Turkey for Europe and vice versa. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 692976. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

FEUTURE Working Paper This Working Paper aims to embed FEUTURE's analysis of drivers of EU-Turkey relations in a historical context. It does so by outlining and discussing several narratives which represent influential interpretations of EU-Turkey relations at different times in history. It is argued that narratives on EUTurkey relations became increasingly competitive in the course of time, both within EU and Turkey as well as between them. The paper maps these changes of narratives in light of different historical milestones and phases. The periodization also serves to outline trends of conflict, cooperation and convergence as manifested in the political discourse. Thereby, the paper also serves as starting point for the ensuing qualitative analysis of a vast set of sources, representing the debates in Turkey and the EU. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 692976. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Introduction/Atila Eralp, Çiğdem Üstün. - The ENP in the Mediterranean: Evaluating the Political and Strategic Dimensions/Roberto Aliboni. - The European Neighbourhood Policy: The Southern Dimensions/Roderick Pace. - The ENP's potential for reform in the Southern Mediterranean: A Cost/Benefit Analysis/Michele Comelli, Maria Cristina Paciello. - From EU Association Agreements to EU Neighbourhood Policy and Union for the Mediterranean: Does Egypt Need this Change in EU Regional Trade Policy?/Ahmed Farouk Ghoneim. - Energy supplier or political partner? Algeria's Marginalization and Opportunities in EU Policies/Amel Boubekeur. - Partnership without Membership: What the EU can Offer Israel Within the Framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy/Sharon Pardo. - Turkey-EU Relations: Creating New Synergies in the Middle East/Meliha Benli Altunışık. - Conclusions/Michele Comelli

The effect of the transatlantic connection on Turkey's regional affairs cannot be understood through a narrow perspective. It needs to be studied with reference to diverse elements such as the domestic interests, worldviews and ideas of the decision makers, on top of all the structural factors at the global political arena.