EU-Turkey Relations in the 21st Century

The possibility of Turkey’s accession to the European Union has been problematic. Initially, the EU’s pursuit of regional economic integration and enlargement of membership, at the exclusion of Turkey, strained relations between the two. It was not until 1999, and under pressure from the US, that Turkey was considered as a potential candidate for membership.

This book seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment of the fluctuating relations between the EU and Turkey in the twenty-first century. Applying complementary theoretical models to evaluate prospects for Turkey’s membership, analysis includes; Turkey’s report card on the Copenhagen criteria, public opinion in Europe and Turkey, and benefits and challenges based on projection estimates. The results show that whilst both sides stand to make significant gains from Turkey’s membership, the current state of affairs point in the direction of a failure.

Examining complex issues surrounding EU-Turkey relations and addressing the critical question of what will happen if Turkey is rejected by the EU, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, Turkey and the wider Middle East.

Birol A. Yesilada is professor of Political Science and International Studies and is the holder of the endowed chair in Contemporary Turkish Studies in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government. He is also director of Center for Turkish Studies at PSU. Previously, he was Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the principal investigator for the World Values Survey project in Cyprus and has served a Co-editor-in-Chief of International Studies Perspectives and Associate Editor of The Middle East Studies Bulletin. His books include: Islamization of Turkey Under AKP Rule (co-ed with Barry Rubin), Comparative Political Parties and Party Elites: Essays in Honor of Samuel J. Eldersveld, and The Emerging European Union (with David M. Wood).