Negotiating Europe: EU-Turkey Relations from an Identity Perspective

Abstract: This article analyzes the identity dimension of EU-Turkey relations from the constructivist perspective in international relations theory. It contends that in EU-Turkey relations, European and Turkish identities are undergoing a continuous process of reconstruction and negotiation. In this process, Turkey’s representational practices assume importance in reshaping European identity. In response to the arguments of those who oppose Turkey’s EU membership on the identity ground this article claims that a constructivist perspective foresees the possibility that European and Turkish identities can be reconstructed in such a way as to make the justification of Turkish membership possible and desirable from an identity viewpoint.