Rhetorical Entrapment in EU–Turkey Relations

This chapter describes and applies the rhetorical action approach to EU–Turkey relations. Generally, rhetorical entrapment denotes the mechanism by which actors are compelled to act in conformance with their prior argumentative commitments. In the context of EU enlargement, member states have committed themselves to enlargement norms and promises in line with the fundamental purpose and values of the EU (such as pan-European community building, liberal democracy and supranationalism). Rhetorical entrapment played an important role in bringing about Eastern enlargement when the Eastern European countries faced significant resistance among the old member states. Finally, the chapter analyzes the rhetorical entrapment mechanism in the accession process of Turkey, which had an even more unfavorable starting position. As long as Turkey progressed on meeting the official political criteria for EU membership, however, the opponents of Turkish membership were bound by their normative commitment and felt compelled to decide in favor of accession negotiations. The rhetorical entrapment mechanism also elucidates why accession negotiations began to stall soon after their start. The opponents of Turkish membership were released from the rhetorical trap when Turkey failed to heed its own promises and honor its own obligations as a candidate state.

The EU as an Anchor for Turkey’s Macroeconomic and Trade Policy

EU–Turkey relations have been subject to manifold ups and downs for decades. The EU’s role in Turkey’s domestic transformation has long been a matter of interest to the academic community. This chapter examines to what extent and under what conditions the EU has served as an anchor for the Turkish economy during the last two decades, focusing on the effects of the EU anchor on Turkey’s macroeconomic and trade policy. It finds that maintaining a European anchor after the Helsinki European Council helped Turkey realize much-desired comprehensive macroeconomic reforms, especially during times when the EU anchor was combined with another multilateral anchor. Nevertheless, the EU’s anchor-providing role has not been consistent and amidst changing political circumstances it is no longer considered an ‘elixir’ for the Turkish economy. The establishment of the Customs Union (CU) is revealed to have been a significant driver of the transformation of Turkey’s trade policy. While the trade partnership remains one of the few well-functioning aspects of the volatile bilateral dialogue between the EU and Turkey, the EU’s role in the trade policy arena is diminishing, and the upgrading of the CU remains vital to achieve further momentum and enhance mutual gains.

Differentiated Integration: An Alternative Conceptualization of EU–Turkey Relations

This chapter introduces the concept of differentiated integration and discusses its explanatory value in view of the EU–Turkey relationship. The major aim is to elaborate whether variable geometries as a form of differentiation constituting different and sometimes even overlapping forms of association and integration with different member and non-member states can provide a soft-landing from the fallout of Turkey’s EU accession process. The chapter sets out the many faces of differentiation and examines how the conceptual approach is perceived in the European and Turkish debates. The analysis also provides a concise overview on how differentiated integration is embedded in the logics of the main European integration theories. This conceptual discussion is complemented by a detailed outline of the variable geometries that already exist in EU–Turkey relations resulting from the three distinct forms of bilateral dialogue: accession process, functional cooperation, and cooperation in international organizations. The chapter concludes by linking the empirical findings back to the conceptual analysis, thereby discussing the limits of the explanatory value of the concept as well as highlighting the modernization of the Customs Union as a potential starting point for a differentiated future of EU–Turkey relations.

EU–Turkey Energy Dialogue: Moving Beyond the Accession Negotiations Framework

Energy has long been perceived as a policy field where mutual strategic interests could lead to progressive policy convergence and enhanced cooperation between the EU and Turkey. This chapter evaluates the evolution of energy relations between the EU and Turkey, starting from early 2000s, paying specific attention to the key energy policies and the main bilateral dynamics in place in the energy domain. It analyzes the energy profiles and interests of Brussels and Ankara in order to evaluate whether or not the EU and Turkey have adopted mutually beneficial initiatives that foster convergence between the parties. Despite Ankara’s attempt to link energy cooperation primarily to the accession negotiations process, the EU has been able to keep the two tracks separated through the launch of parallel institutional initiatives which led to progressive policy alignment as long as the bilateral political conditions allowed it to maintain a structured dialogue. In recent years, the stalemate in accession negotiations and the rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean brought EU–Turkey energy dialogue to its historical low. Bottom-up technical and regulatory collaboration represents the most effective way to progress in bilateral energy cooperation, by decoupling energy dialogue from the formal accession negotiation process and underplaying the effects of high level political conflicts.

From Convergence to Divergence: The Compatibility of Turkish and EU Foreign Policy

This chapter assesses the compatibility of Turkish and EU foreign policies between 1959 and 2020. Based on the analysis of key international developments and Turkey’s alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the chapter identifies four periods that were characterized by different degrees of convergence and divergence. In the period between 1959 and 1998 compatibility was relatively high as Turkish foreign policy was guided by the goal of remaining part of the Western community of states throughout the Cold War and its immediate aftermath. Between 1999 and 2002, Turkish foreign policy became regionally more active, in a similar way to that of the EU, but produced few results. The period between 2003 and 2010, up to the Arab Spring, is identified as the ‘golden age’ of compatibility between Turkish and EU foreign policies. Turkey’s prevailing ethos of this period, i.e., relying on soft power and cooperation with neighbors, was generally in line with the EU’s foreign policy approach. Since 2011, divergences between the EU and Turkey have increased, in particular with regard to Syria, Cyprus, and the Eastern Mediterranean. As Turkey defined its norms and interests differently from the EU, its rate of alignment with the EU’s CFSP decreased remarkably. The chapter concludes by looking to the future, arguing that cooperation between the EU and Turkey is likely to focus on issues where there is strong compatibility in selected areas only, such as pandemics, counterterrorism, migration, and energy, and will be primarily based on ad hoc mechanisms.

Turkey as a Special and (Almost) Dead Case of EU Enlargement Policy

This chapter analyzes the relationship between the EU and Turkey from the perspective of the EU’s enlargement policy. It sets out to explain the extent to which Turkey represents a special and difficult case for EU enlargement policy and addresses the following aspects of the relationship. First, the overall concepts, motives, and criteria of EU enlargement are introduced. The second section deals with critical questions that Turkey poses for the EU in this respect. The third section outlines how specific features of the EU–Turkey relationship have played out from the onset and during accession negotiations. While no full or detailed account of the history of relations is given, the focus is on those issues that make Turkey a special and (almost) dead case of EU enlargement policy. Finally, a brief outlook on the future of bilateral relations is presented which shows the persistent ambivalences that characterize Brussels’ relationship with Ankara.

The European Commission’s Role in EU–Turkey Relations

Based on a review of the relations between the European Commission (EC) and Turkey across a selection of policy areas, this chapter illustrates two aspects of EC influence in EU–Turkey relations. First, as a defender of the rules of the (enlargement) game, the Commission has rebuffed attempts by some member states to undermine Turkey’s membership prospects. The EC’s influence in the debate on the most appropriate approach to Turkey underlines its autonomous role within the EU system and the relevance of its norm-based argumentation. However, due to Turkey’s current alienation from the EU’s normative standards, norm-based arguments in favor of Turkey’s membership have lost much of their weight even within the Commission. Second, the EC has been an important ‘agent of change’ in Turkish domestic politics, even in times of deteriorating political relations with the EU. Because of its contributions to regular interactions, in particular, in the framework of projects financed by the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the EC has continued to increase administrative capacity and policy learning processes within Turkey’s bureaucracy, which, in turn, contributed to Ankara’s continued harmonization with the EU acquis in some sectors, despite the waning relevance of the EU’s conditionality strategy.

Europeanization and De-Europeanization of Turkish Asylum and Migration Policies

This chapter discusses Turkey’s efforts to align and then de-align its migration and asylum policies and laws with the European Union. It argues that the Europeanization of migration and asylum policies and laws corresponds to the internalization of a rights-based approach by state and societal actors in Turkey up until the beginning of the civil war in Syria. The period of the war corresponds to the ascent of the process of de-Europeanization of Turkey that has resulted in the framing of migration and asylum policies at the national and local levels in cultural and religious terms. The chapter argues that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has successfully accommodated the Syrian refugees on the basis of a religious rhetoric called ‘Ansar spirit’.

Historical Institutionalism and EU–Turkey Relations: Path Dependence and Critical Junctures in the Accession Process

This chapter employs the perspective of historical institutionalism to analyze and explain why Turkey’s EU accession process endures even though it has not significantly progressed since it began. It argues that its temporal approach, the concepts of critical junctures and path dependence help explain the processes of stasis and change inherent within it. The chapter starts with an outline of historical institutionalism and contextualizes its conceptual and theoretical value for the analysis of EU–Turkey relations, arguing that an underlying path dependence in the accession process is the result of security considerations. The chapter continues by identifying several critical junctures which have intervened, and both expedited and hampered the process. The opposition of member states, the Arab Spring, and authoritarian drift within Turkey are important factors in this context. On this basis, the analysis shows how progress achieved has typically been countered by opposition, often related to human rights concerns. As a result, the accession process has stagnated but has endured at the same time as security interests and human rights concerns have balanced each other over time.

Neoliberalism, Liberal Intergovernmentalism and EU–Turkey Relations

This chapter investigates and explains EU–Turkey relations from the perspective of Liberal Intergovernmentalism (LI). After setting out the main premises of neoliberalism in International Relations (IR) and the three-step approach to integration espoused by LI, the chapter focuses on EU–Turkey relations over time, and by the use of concrete forms of cooperation, ranging from the Customs Union to Turkey’s membership application and the EU–Turkey Statement on migration. Based on this analysis, I argue that the transactional, issue-specific character EU–Turkey relations have assumed are unlikely to go away any time soon. Neither Turkey’s full EU accession nor a complete breakdown of relations is likely to happen, given the set of powerful economic interests binding the two sides, as well as the diversity of member states’ preferences regarding Turkey’s EU vocation.