From Vision to Reality: A Socio-cultural Critique of Turkey’s Accession Process

Abstract

Turkey’s accession to the EU will be a long and complex political process in which economic and socio-cultural problems will have to be addressed as well as possible solutions found. This process will undoubtedly be a challenge for both Turkey and the EU, since both will have to adapt themselves to a relatively new environment — that is, of ‘living together’ and ‘sharing certain values’. This chapter focuses on what has been, and still is, almost always overlooked about the sociocultural aspects of a prospective Turkish full membership of the EU through the medium of a conceptual framework, and a corresponding evolutionary approach. The perspective presented here is also an attempt to go beyond well-known debates in this context using an imagological analysis throughout. Consequently, the chapter provides a discussion on the socio-cultural aspects of the accession process of Turkey to the EU and, by looking at previous experiences, the first section highlights socio-cultural constraints that people in Turkey and in the EU will have to face during the process as well as the potential cultural conflicts. Subsequent sections elaborate on present sociocultural issues with an evolutionary approach, and present suggestions on potential areas of co-operation that will be beneficial for both sides, thus facilitating the accession process.