TURKEY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES OF A RESILIENT RELATIONSHIP

The accession of Turkey to the European Union is undoubtedly the most complex and throughout all processes of enlargement of the bloc. Turkey is the country that waited longer to enter the European Union, always threatening to quit, but never actually leaving. What is sought to explain here are not only the reasons for such complexity, but the reason for the persistence of this relationship that has lasted over 50 years.

TURKEY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES OF A RESILIENT RELATIONSHIP

The accession of Turkey to the European Union is undoubtedly the most complex and throughout all processes of enlargement of the bloc. Turkey is the country that waited longer to enter the European Union, always threatening to quit, but never actually leaving. What is sought to explain here are not only the reasons for such complexity, but the reason for the persistence of this relationship that has lasted over 50 years.

___

  • BILGIN, Pinar. Securing Turkey through Western-oriented foreign policy. New Perspectives on Turkey 40, p. 102-125, 2009.
  • BOZDAGLIOGLU, Yucel. Turkish Foreign Policy and Identity. A Constructivist Approach. London/New York: Routledge, 2003. DRORIAN, Sevgi. Turkey: security, state and society in troubled times. European Security 14 (2), p. 255-275, 2005.
  • ERDOGAN, Recep Tayyip. The Robust Man of Europe. Newsweek, 17.01.2011. Available on: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/01/17/the-robust-man-ofeurope.html (Data Accessed: 22 February 2015)
  • EUROPEAN COMISSION. Turkey 2007 Progress Report. Brussels. 06.11.2007. Available on: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2007/nov/turkey_progress_reports_en.pdf (Date Accessed: 14 May 2015)
  • EUROPEAN COMISSION. Turkey 2013 Progress Report. 2013. Available on: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2013/package/brochures/turkey_2013.pdf (Date Accessed: 24 May 2015)
  • INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON TURKEY. Turkey in Europe – The Imperative for Change.2014. Available on: http://www.independentcommissiononturkey.org/pdfs/2014_english.pdf (Date Accessed: 28 May 2015)
  • KARAOSMANOGLU, Ali. The Evolution of the National Security Culture and the Military in Turkey. Journal of International Affairs 54 (1), p. 199-216, 2000.
  • KINIKLIOGLU, Suat. Turkey’s neighborhood policy: reintegration into multiple regions. In:BECHEV, Dimitar (ed.). What Does Turkey Think. European Council on Foreign Relations, June 2011. Available on: http://www.ecfr.eu/page/- /ECFR35_TURKEYFINALFINAL.pdf (Date Accessed: 15 June 2015)
  • ROBINS, Philip. Suits and Uniforms – Turkish Foreign Policy since the Cold war. London: Hurst & Company, 2003.