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This article traces the Turkish voting preferences in the UN General Assembly during the AK Party era between 2002 and 2020. It seeks to understand as to whether there is a congruence between Turkey's critical view of international society as epitomized by Tayyip Erdoğan's motto, 'The World is Bigger Than Five', and the way Turkish representatives voted during the same period in the UN General Assembly on questions such as nuclear disarmament, self-determination, search for a new international order, and human rights. Based on primary materials, this paper concludes that there exists an undisputable contradiction between Turkey's anti-establishment posture and behavioural attitude towards the outside world since 2002 on the one hand and it's voting orientation in the UN General Assembly on the other. The latter is largely the outcome of the 'Europeanization' of Turkish foreign policy based on Turkey's candidacy for EU membership and its NATO commitments. Hence, during the period under investigation, Turkey was broadly allied to the European position in the context of its voting pattern in the UN General Assembly which was conspicuous with its aloofness towards calls for substantial changes intended to bring about a more just and peaceful international order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact the European Union (EU) accession process has had on Turkish political parties—the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP)—as far as their internal structures and intra-party distribution of power are concerned. The paper contends that political parties in Turkey have not only been immune to any organizational adaptation that may have resulted from the accession process, but in the past decade, they have become increasingly de-Europeanized. This insularity from Europeanization impulses can be attributed to Turkey’s personalized political system and the ineffectiveness of the parliamentary institutions responsible for EU policy, especially the EU Harmonization Committee. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper probes into the underlying factors for the exceptionally slow progress of mass privatizations in Turkey until the first decade of the 21st century. Challenging the mainstream political economy perspectives which often interpret Turkish ‘exceptionalism’ by focusing either on rationally motivated actors articulating their interests or on flaws in the institutional infrastructure as decisive impediments, the paper emphasizes the role of ideology, and particularly of national developmentalism, as a long-term, deep-rooted structural dynamic shaping the fate of privatization attempts in the 1980s and 1990s. While they clearly triggered a strong nationalist backlash, large-scale privatizations could still be realized at a particular historical juncture when the confluence of three deep-seated social fault lines—Turkey’s integration into the global economy, the accession process to the European Union and the rise of a new bourgeoisie—prevailed over a strong ideological mindset that prevented for decades the institutionalization of a market economy in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on the Turkish political parties’ attitudes towards the country’s European Union (EU) membership. It intends to analyse the concerns and demands of the political parties as the parliamentary debates shape government policies. The paper considers the parties’ positions in the parliamentary power matrix (incumbency or opposition), their ideological tendencies and electoral concerns; and their relations with the social classes, all of which influence the party strategies and policies. It begins with outlining the politicized social cleavages and the characteristics of the party system. Next, it discusses the foreign policy orientation of the parties, their perceptions on Europe and the EU, the preferred type of integration with the EU and the ways they interpret the policies of the EU towards Turkey’s membership. The paper finds that the secular social democratic parties have been the strongest supporters of membership mostly due to their historical pro-Western tendencies and their relations with republican big business. Their economic policies have been modelled on the European welfare state provisions. The nationalist parties have been consistently sceptical for cultural and nationalist reasons. The most interesting case emerges as the pro-Islamists, whose ideological reserve and scepticism disappear only temporarily and for practical reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the credibility of the European Union (EU) conditionality for Turkey has significantly weakened after 2005, compliance with the EU requirements has become less likely. However, we observe continuing reforms in the fight against corruption and minority rights, which is rather puzzling. Given the limited impact of the EU incentives, this paper brings back the ‘domestic’ into the analysis by exploring the role of various domestic actors, such as Turkish state elites, civil society and the media. Yet, as the empirical evidence suggests, policy change in the fight against corruption and minority rights has been driven by the domestic agenda of the governing party, the Justice and Development Party, and its political preferences based on strategic calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the 1990s, there has been a global proliferation of transnational organized crime (TOC). Turkey, as a transit site between the East and the West, has been one of the routes through which organized crime groups transport illicit goods in collaboration with other networks of crime. This paper investigates TOC in Turkey and maps out Turkey's role as a transit country in smuggling and trafficking. The paper also deals with Turkey's contribution to international efforts in combating TOC in light of its EU membership process. The European Commission's annual reports on Turkey's progress towards EU membership that highlight the achievements as well as the shortcomings of Turkey in combating TOC are presented. The paper argues that Turkey has introduced successful reforms and expanded its institutional capacities due to the progress it has achieved in the specific area of combating TOC, as evidenced by the EU progress reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debating Turkey's membership around the question of whether Turkey would become a member or not—form of integration—is a non-debate given the history of relations that is characterized by 'ups and downs' in the last five decades. Embarking on Gramscian historical materialism, this research debates socio-economic content of ongoing integration. It questions whether there is a hegemonic pro-EU membership and whether there are any alternatives. The analyses rely on interviews conducted at two critical junctures in 2010 and 2017. I shall argue that pro-membership is hegemonic which is contested by two rival class strategies: Ha-vet and neo-mercantilism, none of which stands as an overall alternative. The future trajectory is uncertain. Despite negative tone of the political discourses especially in the post-15th July coup attempt, pro-membership is still hegemonic. Yet, it is becoming more difficult for capital groups to lead through 'moral and intellectual leadership' for an integration model relying on market liberalization (negative integration) without a perspective of membership—without a clear social dimension (positive integration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the process of Turkey's European Union (EU) accession, the EU aims to strengthen Turkey's democratization through various programmes focusing on the role of civil society. By funding non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the EU intends to empower NGOs to take on a self-responsible role in Turkey's democratization process. In this article, I argue that the EU indeed aims to support a liberal narrative through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) yet by the means of neo-liberal governmental power. Through this it renders the NGOs rather technical instead of political and thus misses the chance of strengthening a liberal narrative that could pose an alternative to the reoccurring hegemonic struggle between a Kemalist and a pro-Islam narrative in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents an examination into the issues of irregular migration, immigration policy, and the European Union (EU) accession process of Turkey since the mid-1990s. Analysis is offered seeking to identify and explain discrepancies within the EU's efforts to regulate immigration and migration through the region. Turkey's migration policies during its accession bid are then discussed within this context, focusing particularly in the impact of Europeanization on the nation and also Turkey's policy changes in favor of entry to the EU.

An article discussing the future of Turkey's goal of membership in the European Union (EU) is presented. The author describes the history of accession talks regarding Turkey's admission to the EU, noting the sometimes adversarial relationship between Turkey and the EU. Examining the possible outcomes of the admission process Turkey must follow to become an EU member state, the author cites cultural and socioeconomic factors and political aggressiveness, as hurting Turkey's chances for membership. The relationship between Turkey and the European Economic Community international organization is also addressed.

The article discusses local government in Europe and Turkey, the European Union (EU) pattern of decentralization in government, and Turkey's halting moves to mimic that as a precursor to EU membership. Topics discussed include: Europeanization, the process whereby EU candidates adapt their institutions and administrative cultures to more closely resemble those of EU member states; the historic association in Europe of decentralized government with greater democracy; the history in Turkey of a unitary central government, and the consequent resistance to decentralization among some political elites.

The article discusses democracy as a criterion for membership in the European Union, focusing on the importance of public support for democracy. It is noted that functioning democratic civilizations require the support of the general public. Information from surveys of public opinion in the countries of Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey is presented. These data illustrate trends in national attitudes and beliefs which are relevant to democratization. These include national pride, confidence in the police, and confidence in the national government.