A Long and Narrow Road Turkey’s Europeanization Process

Abstract:

This article analyzes the challenging Europeanization process of Turkey through its European Union (EU) accession process. Europeanization stands for the political, legal/institutional and societal transformation a candidate country is going through during the course of accession by adopting EU policies, structures and practices. The article examines the internal and external factors dominating Turkey’s legal/institutional Europeanization and societal Europeanization. Accordingly, domestic change in Turkey, the conditionality of the EU in this process, diffuse of European values and norms through the transformation are discussed. Turkish case indicates that the legal/ institutional Europeanization which had been effective in the 1999-2005 period has been impaired after the opening of the negotiations by the declining conditionality and credibility of the EU, while societal Europeanization has been weak as the diffuse of European values and norms to the society has been limited.