Abstract
Relations between Turkey and the EU are taking place in a rapidly changing global context. An outlook that goes beyond political dynamics in Ankara and Brussels is therefore absolutely necessary. A broader analysis of Turkey-EU relations needs to take into consideration not only the transatlantic context but also tensions between the Islamic world and the West. This larger framework is particularly important for the United States, a main actor in both realms. Washington has been a staunch supporter of Turkey’s European aspiration from very early on. Yet, in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks, the US stake in Turkey’s EU membership has become even higher for three main reasons.
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Notes
At the heart of the transatlantic rift, as Robert Kagan famously argued, may be the’ strategic culture’ between Europe and United States. In that sense, the transatlantic rift can be seen as structural rather than contextual. Syria and Iran could potentially turn into new cases for testing this hypothesis, especially if Washington insists on keeping military options open while Europe exclusively focuses on diplomatic negotiations and economic sanctions. See Robert Kagan, Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order (New York: Random House, 2003).
For the statements of Condoleeza Rice and President George W. Bush, see ‘The Pentagon Talks Turkey’, American Prospect 13 (2002), 16: 9–10.
See Ziya Onis and Suhnaz Yilmaz, ‘The EU-U.S.-Turkey Triangle in Perspective: Transformation or Continuity?’, Middle East Journal 59 (2005), 2: 265–84
See ‘Overview of GMF Transatlantic Trends 2005’, at 13. One can hardly forget the words uttered by Prime Minister Ismet Inonu in 1964 (in reaction to President Johnson’s letter warning that Turkey should not count on NATO support against the Soviet Union if it invaded Cyprus): ‘If conditions change and events make a new order necessary, Turkey will certainly find its place in this new world order;’ see Suha Bolukbasi, ‘The Johnson Letter Revisited: Turkey’s Policy toward Cyprus and Lyndon Johson’s 1964 Letter to the Turkish Government’, Middle Eastern Studies 29 (1993), 3: 505–25.
Orkun Uçar and Burak Turna, Metal Firtina (Metal Storm) (Istanbul: TimasYaymevi, 2004).
The Sèvres treaty of 1920 partitioned the defeated Ottoman Empire among victors of World War I and created an independent Kurdistan and Armenia in eastern Anatolia. For the poll numbers, see Ari Movement’s ‘Turkish Public Opinion about the USA and Americans’, at 16. For a detailed study, see Omer Taspinar, Kurdish Nationalism and Political Islam in Turkey: Kemalist Identity in Transition (New York: Routledge, 2005).
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© 2006 Omer Taspinar
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Taspinar, O. (2006). The US and Turkey’s Quest for EU Membership. In: Joseph, J.S. (eds) Turkey and the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230598584_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230598584_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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