Turkey and Europe: the Crucial Transition of the 1970s Cover Image

Turkey and Europe: the Crucial Transition of the 1970s
Turkey and Europe: the Crucial Transition of the 1970s

Author(s): Carola Cerami
Subject(s): Politics, Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Present Times (2010 - today), EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Geopolitics
Published by: Mednarodni inštitut za bližnjevzhodne in balkanske študije IFIMES
Keywords: European integration; Turkey; Enlargement; History; European Union; EC;

Summary/Abstract: The main aim of this paper is to examine the historical process of Turkey-EC/ EU relations, and to underline the extent to which the changes that occurred in the 70s contributed to the genesis and evolution of some of the great “unresolved questions” that characterise Turkish-European relations today. In particular the questions of “identity and evolution”, “geopolitics and strategy”, “religion” and finally “mutual perception”. The paper is a first attempt towards a new historical reconstruction of Turkish-European relations that identifies the 70s as an important moment of evolution and change, rather than of crisis and, as such as the key to interpretation of both the historical and current relations. Accordingly, the paper’s analysis of the 50 year history of the complex relations between Turkey and Europe underlines the importance of rethinking the 70s historiographically. In this context, the 70s are of extraordinary interest, for it is in these years that the seeds of some of the principal transformations that have progressively changed the relations between Turkey and the EC/EU were sown.

  • Issue Year: 3/2011
  • Issue No: 2 (5)
  • Page Range: 13-32
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: English
Toggle Accessibility Mode