Problems and prospects of Turkey's membership in European Union

AKKAS, Deniz, Prof. Dr. Budi Winarno

2008 | Tesis | S2 Ilmu Politik

The fall of Ottoman Empire in 1918 has great influences to Turkey that they see Europe as a political and economic model of modernization. Since the creation of Turkish republic in 1923, under the government of Kemal Ataturk. This Thesis analyzes the simple complexity of Turkey’s EU membership issue, the burden of history, and the role of Greece. Obviously, on the one hand, the hostile past between Europe and Turkey may still reflect negative point of view throughout Turkey’s integration process as some circles want to see the EU as a Christian club and, therefore, want to exclude it from the EU enlargement. Turkey’s EU candidacy can be possible only after these circles have begun to loose their dominant power in the EU. Further, notwithstanding the positive role of Greece, Turkey must endeavor to resolve the outstanding problems, including Cyprus that it has with Greece. As a means of overcoming these two obstacles, Turkey must improve its image as a democratic state worthy of participating fully in the European integration process. This study aims to find the answers to the questions above with a historical and comparative approach and puts forward the findings and analysis on such a basis. Therefore, both inside and outside factors will be analyzed with regard to the geopolitical and Geo-strategic situation of Turkey.

Kata Kunci : Turkey,Europe,Demokrasi,Cyprus,Modernisasi,Domestik,Foreign factor, Turkey, Europe, Democracy, Cyprus, Modernization, Greece, Candidacy, Domestic and Foreign factor