THE GREAT DEBATE. Germany, Turkey and the Turks. Part I: Intellectuals
THE GREAT DEBATE. Germany, Turkey and the Turks. Part I: Intellectuals

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Inter-Ethnic Relations, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: ESI – European Stability Initiative
Keywords: GErman-Turkish relations; Turkish EU accession; Hans-Ulrich Wehler; Heinrich August Winkler;
Summary/Abstract: Germany matters and so does Turkey, which turns this national debate into one of European importance. The quality of this debate and, most importantly, the policy responses it generates, will leave a defining mark on German domestic politics and the future shape of Europe. || In 2004 a paperback appeared in German with the title „Turkey and Europe – the positions“. The book described the German debate on Turkish accession to the European Union. In the introduction, Claus Leggewie, the book's editor, outlined three big issues at the centre of this debate: the state of Turkish democracy; the relative backwardness of the Turkish economy; and geopolitics, including the question whether the EU would want to share a border with Iraq. || This Great Debate derives its energy from fears and hopes; from the real sense that Germany (like other European societies) is changing rapidly and that Turkish EU accession would change it further; from the real challenge of an aging society faced with a youthful migrant population; from the need to integrate a new religion into a largely secularised society; from an avalanche of serious new research; and from an enormous reservoir of old prejudices.

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