Turkey as ‘a positive other’: a theoretical discussion to comprehend the British media’s view on Turkey–EU relations

Abstract:

No country has waited at the front door of the EU as long as Turkey. In addition to Turkey’s different status compared to the EU membership candidacy processes of other countries, there is also an awkward relationship between the EU and the UK, and inevitably the British media. Therefore, this article seeks to present an analytical framework which draws on the notion of ‘a positive Other’ while explaining the representation of Turkey’s EU bid in the British media. The research discusses the inadequacy of Orientalism and the Self/Other nexus to understand the context in the British coverage and highlights the ‘essentialist’ and ‘functionalist’ approaches in its attempt to explain the differences within the EU in exploring the fundamentals of the EU and the view on Turkish membership.