Differentiated Integration: An Alternative Conceptualization of EU–Turkey Relations

This chapter presents the rationale, objectives, and structure of this volume and introduces the reader to the new complexities that epitomize EU–Turkey relations. To this end, it provides a set of guiding questions for the volume, offers a systematic overview of the major milestones in the EU–Turkey relationship, and classifies the key determinants of these developments under three categories: multilateral frameworks and external crises, internal EU and Turkish domestic developments, and EU–Turkey bilateral processes. The chapter then introduces the three-dimensional approach of the volume that brings together the analytical lenses of (1) theories and concepts, (2) institutions, and (3) policies based on a comprehensive survey of both key primary sources and academic literature dealing with the relationship. In a final step, the chapter presents the ensuing fifteen contributions to the volume.

Unpacking the New Complexities of EU–Turkey Relations: Merging Theories, Institutions, and Policies

Turhan

Reiners

2021

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

Lippert

2021

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.

Europeanization and De-Europeanization of Turkish Asylum and Migration Policies

Kaya

2021

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’.