This thesis examines the extent to which and the conditions under which Turkish foreign policy is Europeanised. In doing so, it analyses the formal, behavioural and discursive dimensions of Europeanisation in Turkish foreign policy since 1987 to assess the extent to which the European Union (EU) foreign policy principles and norms are institutionalised. The empirical puzzle is derived from the focus of the literature on the Europeanisation of non-members that has concentrated on Central and European Countries (CEECs) before their accession to the EU. Foreign policy is a policy area that remains under-examined within the context of non-member state Europeanisation. This thesis addresses this gap, focusing on the case of Turkey. At the theoretical level, it applies the insights of rational choice and constructivist approaches that inspire two broad models, the External Incentives Model (ElM) and the Social Learning Model (SLM), to the study of 'foreign policy change'. The thesis examines normative and substantive areas of foreign policy and distinguishes a formal, behavioural and discursive dimension of Europeanisation. In the normative area, it analyses the formal dimension of Europeanisation over Turkey's adherence to good neighbourly relations and the behavioural dimension of Turkey's peace-making initiatives through mediation and Official Development Assistance (ODA). In the substantive area, it analyses the formal dimension of Turkey's alignment with the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the behavioural dimension of the geographical direction of high profile official visits. Finally, the discursive dimension of foreign policy statements is analysed with reference to both the normative and the substantive areas. The empirical analysis of the five areas shows that EU rules were initially not institutionalised in Turkish foreign policy. The analysis reveals that Europeanisation in all five areas started in 1987; rather than in 1999 as is commonly believed. Yet Europeanisation before 1999 came in the form of policy adjustment, while the transformation of foreign policy only occurred after 1999 in the substantive areas and after 2002 in the normative areas. Moreover, the thesis finds that in four areas covered, with the notable exception of the behavioural dimension of Europeanisation covered by peace-making initiatives, policy retrenchment occurred after 2005. Furthermore, the thesis argues that different degrees and directions of Europeanisation are better captured by the ElM than the SLM. In particular, the analysis reveals that the Europeanisation of foreign policy in Turkey is triggered by domestic factors. Among them, the degree of compatibility of the position of the governing parties with EU foreign policy principles and norms and the degree of domestic capacity best explain different degrees and directions of Europeanisation. Before 1999, and particularly before 2002, domestic capacity was low and did not allow a transformation type of Europeanisation to occur even at times when the governing parties pursued a strong pro-EU orientation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:580378 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Süleymanoğlu-Kürüm, Rahime |
| Publisher | University of Nottingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14374/ |
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