Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is searching for answers to the almost enthusiastic support of the Portuguese State for Turkey’s accession to the European Union. The diplomatic position of Portugal is intriguing since both states are historically unfamiliar one to another—not only for their geography (Portugal is an Atlantic country and Turkey a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern one) but, despite NATO, for their little political or economic interaction. To enquire into this subject, a neorealist approach and a qualitative methodology were chosen. The concept and theory of small states and group thinking are also part of the analytical framework. Thus, an analysis of foreign policy and diplomatic documents, both of the Portuguese State and the Turkish State, were made, as well as public declarations of their rulers. Additionally, a review of the scarce literature about the subject was carried out. The analysis focused mainly in the last twenty years, when Turkey became candidate for accession to the European Union and negotiations were opened.
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Notes
American foreign policy requires its own analysis which is outside the scope of this research.
As explained in introduction of this paper, for an analysis of the consequences of group thinking in foreign policy of the USA, see Walt (2018).
See The editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020), “Balkan Wars”, Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Balkan-Wars.
See Traité de paix entre les Puissances alliées et associées et la Turquie (Sèvres, 10 août 1920). Available at: https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/traites/1920sevres.htm.
It was only in 1957 that Portugal's diplomatic mission in Ankara was elevated to the category of embassy.
See North Atlantic Treaty Organization (2012), NATO Archives presents ‘NATO’s First Enlargement’, 18 June 2012. Available at: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_89245.htm.
The twelve founding States of NATO in 1949 were as follows: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK and the USA.
Turkey was represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuat Köprülü.
See also Human Rights Watch (2020), Turkey. Events of 2019. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/turkey.
“Portugal na linha da frente do apoio”, Jornal de Notícias, 3 October 2005. Available at: https://www.jn.pt/arquivo/2005/portugal-na-linha-da-frente-do-apoio-515502.html.
“Jorge Sampaio reitera apoio à adesão da Turquia à União Europeia”, Público, 15 September 2003, https://www.publico.pt/2003/09/15/politica/noticia/jorge-sampaio-reitera-apoio-a-adesao-da-turquia-a-uniao-europeia-1166352.
“Amado considera ‘inaceitável’ interrupção brusca na adesão da Turquia”, RTP Notícias / Lusa, November 2007. Available at: https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/mundo/amado-considera-inaceitavel-interrupcao-brusca-na-adesao-da-turquia_n141885.
Statement by Ahmet Davutoğlu during the joint press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, at the end of the 1st Portugal-Turkey Intergovernmental Summit in March 2015. See “Portugal é o país da UE que ‘melhor entende’ a Turquia no processo de adesão”, RTP Notícias / Lusa, 4 March 2015. Available at: https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/pais/portugal-e-o-pais-da-ue-que-melhor-entende-a-turquia-no-processo-de-adesao_n809225.
See Eurostat, GDP per capita, consumption per capita and price level indices (2018). Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/GDP_per_capita,_consumption_per_capita_and_price_level_indices.
See article 49º of the Treaty of the European Union: “Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. The European Parliament and national Parliaments shall be notified of this application. The applicant State shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the consent of the European Parliament, which shall act by a majority of its component members […].” Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A12016M049.
See “Migrações: Santos Silva acusa Turquia de usar refugiados como “arma de arremesso”, Lusa, 3 March 2020. Available at: https://www.lusa.pt/article/FlV6SybQZe~KNqTKone6LTMSZM5iuSI1/migrações-santos-silva-acusa-turquia-de-usar-refugiados-como-arma-de-arremesso.
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Fernandes, J.P.T. Small states, great expectations: Portuguese foreign policy toward Turkish accession to the European Union. Int Polit 59, 707–724 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-021-00329-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-021-00329-w