Germany and Rule of Law Support in Turkey: A Status Quo Power?

This article sheds light on how Germany exercises its power in the EU and the wider European neighbourhood, and on the type of actor that it is evolving into. To that end, drawing on semi-structured interviews with German officials and policymakers as well as on official statements, documents, and media reports, it offers a longitudinal (2016–2023) analysis of Germany’s rule of law and fundamental rights support in Turkey, an official EU candidate and a strategic partner for Germany and the EU. In relation to the different ways in which Germany’s power in Europe has been theorised so far, the article argues that Germany’s reaction to Turkey’s democratic track record lends strong support to the conceptualisation of Germany as a ‘status quo power’ in Europe. Being cognizant of various issue-specific asymmetrical interdependencies between the EU/Germany and Turkey in favour of the latter, Germany has been inclined to adopt a politically cautious and reluctant approach toward rule of law and fundamental rights support in Turkey. As such, successive German governments only took concrete measures in responding to Turkey’s actions in those cases where they perceived a tangible and substantial threat to German and/or European orders.