Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off?: Turkey-EU Relations in Turbulent Times

Turkey started membership talks with the EU in 2005. Decade and a half later, negotiations are at an impasse. Europe has long lost appetite for enlargement. Turkey has shifted from a dysfunctional democracy to authoritarianism. Calls for the suspension of the accession talks in order to sanction President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are gathering strength. Many in Brussels and national capitals view Turkey as a strategic and ideological adversary. The perception is reinforced by Erdoğan’s embrace of Vladimir Putin along with other autocrats.

At the same time, economic and societal ties between the EU and Turkey have proven surprisingly resilient. Support for membership is rising, amidst a crisis looming over the Turkish economy. Since winning the presidential and legislative elections in 2018, Erdoğan has softened his rhetoric against Western governments.

The talk will explore the dynamics at play between Turkey and EU and argue that mutual interdependence precludes a radical rupture. Still, relations are and will likely remain purely transactional rather than rooted in shared norms and values.

Speaker: Dimitar Bechev. Research Fellow, The Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Chair: Elaine Papoulias Executive Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Co-Chair, European Election Monitor Series, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University.

Sponsors: RCC; Contemporary Europe Study Group; Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; EU Law and Government Study Group, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Southeastern Europe Study Group, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Özyeğin Forum on Modern Turkey, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University.