Trials of Europeanization

This book examines the impact of improving EU-Turkey relations on Turkish political culture since Turkey became a candidate for EU membership in 1999. While a multi-party political system was introduced in Turkey in 1946, political liberalism was the missing part of Turkey’s democratic consolidation. Turkish political culture valued submissiveness toward state authority and did not favor citizen participation. This study evaluates the impact that Turkey’s EU-motivated political reform had on civil society, state-society relations, the role of religion in politics and national identity. This leads to an assessment of whether Turkish political culture has become more participant and democratic.