The impacts of Turkey's response to proliferation threats in the Middle East on its integration with Europe
Author(s)
Advisor
Kibaroğlu, MustafaDate
2003Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
130
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Abstract
After the declaration of its candidacy in 1999, Turkey’s relations with the
European Union (EU) assumed a new course, which requires undertaking certain reforms
to fulfill the EU accession criteria in order to start accession talks. Now that Turkey’s
primary task is meeting these criteria, there is a high expectation that Turkey should do
its best to start these talks as early as possible. However, the issues that started to occupy
Turkey’s external security agenda in the post-Cold War period are likely to constitute
important stumbling blocks in Turkey’s integration with the EU. Turkey is under a real
threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems
from its neighbors in the Middle East. Turkey’s initial response to the proliferation was to
consider involvement in missile defense systems, and to produce its own capability that
addressed the threat directly. Experts foresee that these two processes pull Turkish
policymaking in different directions and result in a paradox. This thesis is an attempt to
find a way to get out of this paradox by addressing needs and interests and to lead Turkey
to converge towards satisfying the EU while at the same time upholding its own security
interests. To that end, the thesis basically proposes a national nonproliferation strategy
that involves all the interested actors of Turkish security and foreign policy making and
relevant institutions. It argues that viable strategic political decisions can be a way out of
the paradox between Turkey’s security policy and its relations with Europe.