Europeanization in Turkey: Trigger or Anchor for Reform?

Abstract Since late 2001, successive Turkish governments have pursued an ongoing and unprecedented process of domestic political reform. Given the correlation between political reforms and relations with the EU, this process of change has been associated with Turkey's Europeanization. This article analyzes the link between Turkey's reform process and its path to EU accession. Did the accession process trigger the reforms as an external force driving internal change; or has domestic change been spearheaded by domestic actors that have used and been strengthened by the external EU anchor? What appears to be in the making is a process of change largely driven by endogenous factors, whose precise form and timing is intricately linked with the launch of Turkey's accession process. Keywords: TurkeyEuropeanizationDemocratizationHuman RightsAccession Process Notes 1 Law No. 4709 Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasasının Bazı Maddelerinin Değistirilmesi Hakkında Kanun Law on the Amendment of Certain Provisions of Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, 3 October, 2001, published in Official Gazette No. 24556, 17 October, 2001. 2 These reform packages, called a variation of Çeşitli (bazı) Kanunlarda Değişiklik Yapılmasına İlişkin (dair) Kanun Law on (Regarding) the Amendment of Various (Certain) Laws had the following numbers and were adopted by Parliament on the following dates: (1) Law No. 4744 on 6 February, 2002; (2) Law No. 4748 on 26 March 2002; (3) Law No. 4771 on 3 August 2002; (4) Law No. 4778 on 2 January 2003; (5) Law No. 4793 on 23 January 2003; (6) Law No. 4928 on 19 June and 15 July 2003; and (7) Law No. 4963 on 30 July 2003. 3 The May 2004 package provided for amendments to articles 10, 15, 17, 30, 38, 87, 90, 131, 143 and 160 of the Constitution. 4 Turkey has received Reports since 1998, although it was only recognized as a candidate in December 1999. 5 On the costs of compliance, see Schimmelfennig, Engert and Knobel (2002 Schimmelfennig F Engert S Knobel H 2002 Costs, Commitment and Compliance EUI Working Paper Series May 2002 Florence Google Scholar). 6 Keynote speech by Minister of the Economy Ali Babacan at an informal EU–Turkey Brainstorming meeting organized by the European University Institute and Sabanci University, Florence, 6–7 May 2004.