Abstract
This chapter examines how Turkey has selectively transformed its environmental policy as part of its Europeanization process since the late 1990s. An analysis of official documents has revealed that out of three areas -public participation in environmental governance, environmental impact assessment, and the mitigation of climate change- Turkey has recently preferred “selective Europeanization” only in the area of climate change. After holding off for five years, Turkey ratified the Paris Climate Agreement in 2021, prepared the Green Deal Action Plan, and declared its commitment for a carbon-neutral economy by 2053. Building on the Europeanization literature, this study attributes Turkey’s recent decision to harmonize its climate change policy with that of the EU to the cost/benefit calculations of the ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi—AKP), which has finally acknowledged the link between the implementation of green policies and the access to global financial resources. Focusing on the role of material calculations, this study points to domestic politico-economic dynamics to explain the selective-Europeanization of Turkey’s environmental policy.
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Şahin, S.B., Bodur-Ün, M. (2023). Transformation of Turkey’s Environmental Policy: A Case of Selective Europeanization?. In: Arıkan, H., Alemdar, Z. (eds) Turkey’s Challenges and Transformation. Reform and Transition in the Mediterranean. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25799-5_11
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