Abstract
Our globalizing world is presently in a state of global turmoil. While felt everywhere in the world, it is the Middle East in general, and Syria and Iraq in particular, where the meaning and the implications of the global turmoil have recently coalesced. As a regional hegemon bordering Syria and Iraq, Turkey is situated at the heart of these challenges. Despite the existing stalemate in Turkey–EU relations, Turkey can deal with these challenges more effectively if Turkey and the EU work together to develop common responses to them on the basis of humanitarian principles and values. In line with the ‘EU Global Strategy,’ Turkey and the EU could work together to provide humanitarian and effective responses to significant security risks they face and play an important role in post-conflict reconstruction and mediation. There is a need to revitalize Turkey–EU relations in a way trust and collaboration replaces skepticism and instrumentalism.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
For a more detailed account for the failed state, see Iqbal and Starr (2016).
Within a month following the coup attempt, between 17 July and 17 September, reportedly around 93 thousand public officers were suspended from various state departments mainly being education, health and the judiciary; almost 60 thousand public officers were dismissed; around 3500 soldiers were dismissed from the army; over 4000 institutions were either shut down or taken over by the state, including schools, student dorms, medical establishments, foundations, universities, unions, media outlets, and also businesses with ties to the Gulenist movement. The government also appointed trustees to 26 municipalities allegedly with links to the PKK in the southeastern Turkey. These policies were implemented as a part of the government’s ‘determined fight against terror,’ which include the PKK, FETÖ, and ISIL.
References
Adam, L.B. 2016. The refugee card in EU-Turkey relations: A necessary but uncertain deal. Working paper 14. http://www.iai.it/sites/default/files/gte_wp_14.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Agence France-Presse. 2016. Erdogan criticises delay in EU funds for refugees. http://tribune.com.pk/story/1192761/erdogan-criticises-delay-eu-funds-refugees/. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Aydın-Düzgit, S. 2016. De-Europeanisaion through discourse: A critical discourse analysis of AKP’s election speeches. South European Society and Politics 21 (1): 45–58.
Brandt, J. 2016. Turkey’s failed coup could have disastrous consequences for Europe’s Migrant Crisis. Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2016/07/29/turkeys-failed-coup-could-have-disastrous-consequences-for-europes-migrant-crisis/. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Brzezinski, Z. 2012. Strategic vision. New York: Basic Books.
Carrel, P. 2016. Turkey says to back away from EU migrant deal if no visa-free travel. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-eu-travel-idUSKCN10B0SK. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Collett, E. (2016). The paradox of the EU-Turkey refugee deal. Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/paradox-eu-turkey-refugee-deal.
Dinçşahin, Ş. 2012. A systematic analysis of the justice and development party’s populism in Turkey. Government and Opposition 47: 618–640.
European Commission. 2016a. Turkey: Refugee crisis. http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/turkey_syrian_crisis_en.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
European Commission. 2016b. Sixth report on relocation and resettlement. https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/proposal-implementation-package/docs/20160928/sixth_report_on_relocation_and_resettlement_en.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
European Commission. 2016c. Implementing the EU–Turkey statement—Questions and answers. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-1664_en.htm. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
European Commission. 2016d. Managing the refugee crisis: The facility for refugees in Turkey. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/background-information/docs/20161004/factsheet_frit_factsheet_en.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
European Parliament. 2015. Resolution of 15 January 2015 on freedom of expression in Turkey: Recent arrests of journalists, media executives and systematic pressure against media. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2015-0014+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
European Union Global Strategy. 2016. Shared vision, common action: A stronger Europe. https://eeas.europa.eu/top_stories/pdf/eugs_review_web.pdf, accessed 16 December 2016.
Filiz, B. 2014. ‘How can EU overcome its structural problems? An effective model. Research Turkey. http://researchturkey.org/tr/how-can-eu-overcome-its-structural-problems-an-effective-model/. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Grabbe H., and S. Lehne. 2016. Can the EU survive populism? Carnegie Europe. http://carnegieeurope.eu/2016/06/14/can-eu-survive-populism-pub-63804. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Human Rights Watch. 2016. Russia: Failing to do fair share to help syrian refugees. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/09/14/russia-failing-do-fair-share-help-syrian-refugees. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Iqbal, Z., and H. Starr. 2016. State failure in the modern world. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Keyman F. and S. Aydın-Düzgit. 2012. EU–Turkey relations and the stagnation of Turkish democracy. Global Turkey in Europe Series, Working Paper (2), Essen/Istanbul/Rome.
Keyman, E.F. 2016. Turkey at the heart of the refugee and ISIL crises: Can the buffer state be a solution? Third World Quarterly 12 (1): 5–12.
Obordo, R. 2016. “The question was stupid”: Hungarians on the refugee referendum. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/04/the-question-was-stupid-hungarians-on-the-refugee-referendum. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Roubini, N. 2016. ‘Can Europe survive its crises?’ World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/12/can-europe-survive-its-crises/. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Syrian Refugees. 2016. A snapshot of the crisis—In the Middle East and Europe. http://syrianrefugees.eu/asylum/. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
The New York Times/Park, H., and R. Omri. 2016. U.S. reaches goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees. Here’s where they went’. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/30/us/syrian-refugees-in-the-united-states.html?_r=0. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Tocci, N. 2014. Turkey and the European Union: A journey into the unknown. Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings: Turkey Project Policy Paper No. 5. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Turkey-and-the-European-Union.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
U.S. Department of State. 2014. ‘The Global Coalition to Counter ISIL’. https://www.state.gov/s/seci/. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Ulusoy, O. 2016 ‘Turkey as a safe third country?’ Oxford University Faculty of Law Blogs. https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2016/03/turkey-safe-third. Accessed 1 Dec 2016.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
In writing this paper, I have benefited from my interviews with decision makers and governing elites in Ankara, Berlin, and Brussels, which were conducted in 2015 and after the failed coup attempt in 2016. The interviews were made within the context of the two projects in which I am involved at the Istanbul Policy Center at Sabancı University: (a) “Turkey in 2023 (2015–2017)”, and (b) “Polarization, Consensus and Democracy in Turkey after the July 15th Failed Coup Attempt (2016–2017)”. Of course, for the argument and the explanations that the paper puts forward, the whole responsibility is mine.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keyman, E.F. Turkey’s choice: responding to security challenges through humanitarian norms with a revitalized EU anchor. Int Polit 54, 453–467 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-017-0042-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-017-0042-z