A Faustian Pact – Has the EU-Turkey Deal Undermined the Human Rights in Turkey and Threaten Its Own Security

Abstract

In March 2016, the European Union (EU) and Turkey reached an agreement aimed at preventing millions of people from seeking refuge in various European countries. Under the deal, the EU would resettle some Syrian refugees living in Turkey, while those seeking asylum after the date of the agreement would be sent back to Turkey. This paper argues that because the EU is more concerned with Turkey serving as a barrier to those seeking refuge in Europe, it is willing to permit the Erdoğan regime to continue to adopt and implement measures that undermine Turkish democracy. Such a myopic approach allows Erdoğan to continue to usurp more power, which would have dire consequences for European security as it means that Europe would a border a with a non-democratic state, which may lead to more as opposed to fewer asylum seekers. Additionally, as the EU would struggle to work with Ankara, Erdoğan would increasingly gravitate towards Russia and Iran, thus further undermining European security.

Keywords: EU, Turkey, EU-Turkey Agreement, Forced Migrants, Security