Tuesday, October 05, 2004
A Test for Europe and Turkey
Tomorrow, the EU is poised to announce that talks to allow Turkish membership in the bloc are to begin. This development will likely get scant attention in the U.S., but I believe that it is an historic opportunity. The negotiations that will commence between the Turkish government and the major European powers will provide a real test for both. In Turkey claims made by the AKP that it shares the European values of democracy, human rights, and free market economics will be put under the microscope. There will be no bullshitting their way through this process. Either they will enact the necessary reforms and these reforms will stick, or they will be denied. For Europe, the test it whether the Copenhagen Criteria is really all that is required for membership in EU. If Turkey fulfills this criteria, and Europe still refuses them membership, it will be pretty obvious that the only reason for this is that they are a Muslim country. This will be disastrous as it will reenforce the existing belief among many Muslims that it is their religion that is odious to the West, and not the political and social repression that pervades so many Muslim societies. So will Turkey and Europe both live up to the demands made by this process on which they have embarked? I believe so. The political momentum in Turkey for these reforms is enormous, and in Europe the outspoken naysayers remain in the political margins. If the collective effort begun by the Europeans and the Turks are successful, it could mean much more for the reform of Muslim societies around the world than any neo-con efforts of reform brought by military intervention.
Comments:
Curtis, I agree that this will be a hard test for the EU and turkey. However, I wonder how compliance with the copenhagen criteria will be judged. If I remember correctly, they contain wobbly phrasing like "compliance with human rights" and "respect for minorities". If have, since I moved to the US eight years ago, not followed Turkey politics as I used to. But I wonder if you feel that by now they are in compliance and could be compared to countries like Poland, Portugal or The Netherlands on human rights.
Hrun's Blog.
Hrun's Blog.
Hrun,
No, not yet. But they have made enormous progress over that last 18 months. Much more than any other developing nation. Progress has been made in Kurdish rights, civilian control of the military, abolition of the death penalty, and the Cyprus issue. They deserve these talks. And in ten or fifteen years, it's very likely that they will compare to Spain and Portugal at the time of their admittance.
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No, not yet. But they have made enormous progress over that last 18 months. Much more than any other developing nation. Progress has been made in Kurdish rights, civilian control of the military, abolition of the death penalty, and the Cyprus issue. They deserve these talks. And in ten or fifteen years, it's very likely that they will compare to Spain and Portugal at the time of their admittance.
