The Political Implications of the European Integration of Turkey: Political Scenarios and Major Stumbling Blocks
European Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 47-80, 2011
34 Pages Posted: 20 May 2011
Date Written: April 1, 2011
Abstract
We present a study on the current and prospective political implications of the European integration of Turkey. Our analysis is focused on a qualitative scenario approach to elicit the political effects for both negotiation parties and we successfully frame the major political frictions in the form of Islamophobia and Turkophobia in Europe, the European contentions stemming from the recent neo-Ottoman foreign policy of Turkey, the unresolved Cyprus issue, the visa liberalization issue and rising Euroscepticism in Turkey. We provide a mutual mitigation strategy to overcome a possible deadlock in the negotiation process and give an outlook on the current and prospective political developments that have a potential to change the political landscape in Turkey. The emphasis of our argumentations centers on the recent Turkish foreign policy reorientation, as this manifests a paradigmatic change in the form of an unprecedented opening and increased mediating role of Turkey in global politics. In consequence, we offer an insight to the principles of the new Turkish foreign policy and to neo-Ottomanism.
Keywords: EU and Turkey, European integration of Turkey, Turkish politics, Turkish foreign policy
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