Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Worsening Eu-Turkey Relations, Birol A. Yeşilada

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent years, two developments have challenged Turkey's national and cultural identity--a growing Islamist movement at home and the European Union's (EU) orientation toward Turkey. While the Turkish government and the military continue to pursue a pro-NATO foreign policy orientation, an increasing number of Turks have begun to question whether the country could not be better served by reducing their ties to the EU. The apparent dissatisfaction with the West stems, to a significant extent, from the EU's decision to exclude Turkey from the next wave of EU membership expansion. At the Luxembourg summit in December 1997, the European leaders …