Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In this paper, I address the question of the EU ability to transform Turkey into its own image through the process of accession negotiations and the harmonization of Turkish practices to European norm. Methodologically, I use the case-study of the Turkish immigration policy and trace back the evolution of this policy under the influence of the EU.
From the analysis of the changes in the Turkish immigration policy, I argue that the EU ability to transform Turkey is dependent on the realization of certain material, ideational and behavioral conditions. A country like Turkey does not start from a blank sheet of paper: Turkey has developed, over the decades, policies and practices that are the direct outcome of its history and identity. The cost of harmonization is therefore very high. Consequently, the EU should provide Turkey with clear institutional and logistical help (material), should be able to prove the improvement that its model present (ideational) and, most importantly, should show understanding and fairness it its approach to candidate countries (behavioral). As such, conditionality for the accession to the EU does not only apply to candidate countries, but also to the EU itself.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Turkey?s unrelenting aspiration for membership in the European Union and the westernization policy it has pursued since its foundation in 1923 demonstrates Turkey?s desire to be considered as a European country. The emergence and growing influence of Islamist organizations and parties in the Turkish (and European) political arenas during the past decade, on the other hand, demonstrate many Turkish citizens? identification with and close ties to Middle Eastern religion and culture. This growing influence could be observed in the rise to power in 1996 of an Islamist political party in Turkey. The duality in the nature of Turkish society, encompassing both the push towards Europeanization and the increasing popularity of Islamic groups, makes Turkey excruciatingly difficult to comprehend, causing frequent misunderstandings and misperceptions of the country and its politics on the part of its European neighbors. These misperceptions from the outside, as well as the tensions between secularists and Islamists inside of Turkey, pose obstacles for Turkey?s membership into the European Union. It is this duality and the tensions it creates that will be the subject of this study.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Although an offshoot of a political party which is considered as ?Islamist? by many, the leader of the Justice and Development Party declared that rather than being Islamists the AKP members were ?Muslim Democrats?. Although the latter term is certainly open to debate, it is still significant in that in emphasizes the compatibility of a Muslim way of life with democracy. If one can call the present political system in Turkey as ?authoritarian democracy?characterized by the domination by the military as well as the Kemalist hegemony, the room for maneuver for real democrats is quite limited there. In my paper, I will argue that the AKP could have created a counter-hegemonic of discourse of ?Muslim democracy? in the face of the Kemalist hegemony, if it had embraced democracy properly. Falling short of that, the party has contributed to the persistence of the ?authoritarian? aspects of Turkish democracy.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Turkey?s unrelenting aspiration for membership in the European Union and the westernization policy it has pursued since its foundation in 1923 demonstrates Turkey?s desire to be considered as a European country. The emergence and growing influence of Islamist organizations and parties in the Turkish (and European) political arenas during the past decade, on the other hand, demonstrate many Turkish citizens? identification with and close ties to Middle Eastern religion and culture. This growing influence could be observed in the rise to power in 1996 of an Islamist political party in Turkey. The duality in the nature of Turkish society, encompassing both the push towards Europeanization and the increasing popularity of Islamic groups, makes Turkey excruciatingly difficult to comprehend, causing frequent misunderstandings and misperceptions of the country and its politics on the part of its European neighbors. These misperceptions from the outside, as well as the tensions between secularists and Islamists inside of Turkey, pose obstacles for Turkey?s membership into the European Union. It is this duality and the tensions it creates that will be the subject of this study.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The decision by the Turkish parliament on 1 March 2003 to reject a proposal to let thousands of U.S. ground troops already in the Mediterranean enter Iraq through Turkey was monumental. It gave the Turkish public, who had taken to the streets in protest of the government?s proposal, a sense of victory: democracy had prevailed over persistent US pressure and an aid package worth over $30 billion. Although Turkey eventually allowed the U.S. the use of its airspace, the event significantly strained the relations between the two long time allies. The decision was a major setback for U.S. military plans as access through Turkey would have enabled the military to place scores of troops in Northern Iraq as quickly as possible. The U.S. in this case faced an interesting paradox, not unlike the difficult position it has found itself in when dealing with many countries in the Middle East since the onset of its war against Iraq?pressuring governments to support the war it has waged in the name of democracy, when that support would come only in the face of strong counter public sentiments and would require the ruthless repression of public dissent in some cases.This is a decision-forcing case that focuses on this critical decision by the Turkish parliament. Students are exposed to a common dilemma faced by elected representatives all around the world, particularly in countries that rely heavily on foreign patronage?respond to the wishes of the citizens who will hold you accountable when the next elections come around or to the demands of the patron(s), whose continued financial support might hold the key to a sustainable economy. This teaching case study can be used in upper-level undergraduate courses on the comparative politics of democratizing or developing countries, Middle East politics, and foreign policy. It should also be of substantive interest to scholars of both US and comparative foreign policy due to its use of primary source materials not readily available in the US.