EU's democracy promotion in Turkey

The European Union, as a regional actor and an example of stability and

well-being, has embraced a set of principles it has stood for and which constitute

its own identity. The diffusion of these values among third countries

is one of the objectives of EU’s External Policy. Democracy can be found

among those principles that are sought to be exported through comprehensive

and complex strategies within different frameworks, such as neighbourhood

relations, trade partnerships and the accession process. Focusing on

the latter, candidates are object of an intensive process of Europeanisation

that operates through different mechanisms, like socialisation and conditionality.

Turkey, on the other side, has decided to apply for full membership several

decades ago and, ever since, it has been object of pressure to Europeanise,

which includes improving its unstable democracy. This case, however, is

different from all other previous enlargements; for its special socio-cultural

and civilisational features, Turkey constitutes a more complex novelty for the

European Union.

Therefore, this work aims study the influence of the European Union

on the democratisation process of Turkey, focusing on the period ranging

between 1999, the year the European Council recognised Turkey’s candidacy

status, and 2009 that marks the 10-year period of that condition. It is the

intention of this project to assess the impact of the European Union at

that level through the study of the democratic evolution of the country and

its co-relation with some independent variables related to the presence or

pressure of the EU.

As this is a challenging objective, in order to achieve it, it will require a

deep reflection upon the central concepts like democracy and democratic

consolidation and a diversified use of methodological techniques, such as

statistical analysis and mathematical co-relations, historical analysis, literature

review, content analysis and in-depth interviews. This study will privilege a

Constructivist approach, emphasising the social construction of reality and

the role of the ideational aspects – identity, perceptions.