Imprimatur of Europe: Turkey, Europeanization, and the European Union

摘要

The present study examines Turkey's efforts to fulfill one of its key nationalinterests--Europeanization. Europeanization, for the Turks, implies Europe's acceptance and recognition of Turkey's self-professed European identity. Turkey seeks Europe's imprimatur through a number of strategies, but chiefly through its diplomatic efforts to join the European Union (EU) and its associated defense arm, the Western European Union (WEU). This paper examines other Turkish national interests in the 1990s as they impact on Turkey's Europeanization goal, and discusses the two main factors which has shaped Turkish diplomacy-state tradition and ideology. It concludes with a review of significant barriers to Turkey's admission to the EU, the EU's position on Turkey's accession, bilateral views of key EU members, and assessment of the likelihood of Turkey's admission in the coming decade.