Making Sense of Turkish-EU Relations in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring Cover Image

Making Sense of Turkish-EU Relations in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring
Making Sense of Turkish-EU Relations in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring

Author(s): Bülent Aras
Subject(s): International relations/trade, Security and defense
Published by: Atatürk Stratejik Araştırmalar Enstitüsü
Keywords: Arab Spring, Turkey and EU
Summary/Abstract: Both the EU’s recognition of the importance of its value system and Turkey’s rediscovery of its European component in its foreign policy identity have occurred during a period of radical transformation in the Mediterranean region. e Arab Spring has resulted in a process of renegotiation over territory, identity and governance which has eventually fostered the idea of a new regional political community. The EU is in an advantageous position now if it truly wants to build a political community eastwards and southwards. One logical move would be a renegotiation in the EU over Turkey’s role in a new vision for the future of the EU. Turkey’s European identity and policy style will continue to shape its own neighbourhood policy as it is at the centre of a new geopolitical thinking. Ankara sees itself as having an order-instituting role in its changing neighbourhood and is in a process of recalibrating its policies in this direction. The Turkish and EU models complement each other, and there is no possibility for any other model to compete with these perspectives in the foreseeable future.

  • Page Count: 18
  • Publication Year: 2013
  • Language: English