Unpacking the compliance puzzle: the case of Turkey's AKP under EU conditionality

Abstract: What explains the EU compliance of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)? Since it came to power in 2002, AKP has launched legislative reforms in order to meet the European Union’s political membership criteria (i.e., democracy, rule of law, human rights and minority rights). These reforms are puzzling since they happened in the absence of the two conditions of compliance argued in the literature: (1) credible EU political conditionality, (2) liberal ruling parties in EU candidate states. I argue that AKP’s pro-EU reform agenda is explained by neither a belief in the possibility of membership via democratization (credible conditionality) nor liberal political identity. Rather, democratic measures under AKP are instrumentally induced. Two broad political motivations have guided AKP’s reform commitment: (1) the electoral incentive to please Turkey’s pro-EU membership electorate as well as AKP’s conservative/religious constituency eager to see freedom of religion expande

Object Details

• Alternative title: Das Puzzle der Rechtsvorschriften auspacken: der Fall der türkischen AKP unter EU-Konditionalität
• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource, 30 S.
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Veröffentlichungsversion ; begutachtet (peer reviewed)

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: KFG Working Paper Series ; Bd. 14

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Politik
• Keyword: Europäische Union ; Parteipolitik ; Erweiterung ; Beitritt ; Mitgliedschaft ; Türkei

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Berlin
• (when): 2010
• Creator: Saatçioğlu, Beken
• Contributor: Freie Universität Berlin, FB Politik- und Sozialwissenschaften, Otto-Suhr-Institut für Politikwissenschaft Kolleg-Forschergruppe "The Transformative Power of Europe"

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-370319
• Rights: Open Access unbekannt; Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 25.03.2025, 1:42 PM CET