Discourse, Identity and the Question of Turkish Accession to the EU: Through the Looking Glass

Discourse, Identity and the Question of Turkish Accession to the EU: Through the Looking Glass provides an invaluable analysis of the issues of Turkish accession to the EU. The focus on elite discourse provides a new and engaging approach to this contentious topic and offers a unique understanding of the competing arguments within the EU regarding the question of Turkey’s accession and the differing visions for the European Union that underlie them. Utilising the Habermasian Theory of Communicative Action Catherine MacMillan focuses on how political elites from the member states and EU institutions engage with the issue, analyses the different attitudes to the Turkish candidacy to the EU and explores the wider implications and competing visions of the EU the differences highlight. By closely examining the different ways that EU elites view and react to this issue vital lessons about the potential wider enlargement of the union to central and eastern Europe can be drawn.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1 The Construction of Self and Other: A Conceptual Framework; Chapter 2 Images of the Turk in Europe: A Historical Overview; Chapter 3 Constitutional Patriots or Inhabitants of ‘Fortress Europe’? Public Attitudes to Europe, the EU and Turkish Accession; Chapter 4 A Deliberative Approach to EU Enlargement: The Case of Turkish Accession; Chapter 5 The Application of Foreign Policy Discourse Analysis to British, French and Turkish Discourse on Turkish Accession to the EU; Conclusion;

About the Author :
Dr Catherine Macmillan is an Assistant Professor at Yeditepe University, Istanbul. Her main area of interest is Turkey-EU relations, European integration and Europeanisation.

Review :
’Well-equipped with the necessary theoretical apparatus, MacMillan discerns some critical patterns in the nebulous medium of identity in the context of EU-Turkey relations in her looking glass. The divergences she identifies between the public and elite discourses in Europe on Turkey, and the parallels she sees between the Turkish and British discourses on the EU are among her interesting findings.’ ArmaÄŸan Emre Çakır, Marmara University, Turkey ’In her detailed study on the discourses of identity in EU-Turkey relations, Catherine MacMillan takes up the issue of identity construction with respect to engagement with the others in both the EU and in Turkey through the discussions on Turkey’s accession to the EU. A very valuable and theoretically rich contribution to the literature on the mutual processes of identity construction in EU-Turkey relations.’ Senem Aydın-Düzgit, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey