The European Union and Human Rights Support to Turkey

: A Question of Legitimacy

Abstract

Scholars have regularly presented the EU as a ‘normative power’ that promotes human rights as a legitimate standard of international behaviour. Yet, the legitimacy of EU normative power within enlargement has not been well-defined or investigated. The overarching issue that this thesis aims to address concerns the legitimacy of EU human rights promotion to Turkey. It aims to provide an answer to a politically and intellectually challenging question: How should the European Union promote human rights to Turkey, if the country’s human rights progress is to be understood not simply as a result of domestic dynamics, but as dependent on the legitimacy of EU human rights promotion? The central aim of the thesis is to explore ideas and practices that contribute to improving the EU policy of human rights towards its non-European partners. The theoretical focus offers a fresh perspective to the study of Turkey-EU relations that relates to ‘normative power Europe’ and the legitimacy of human rights promotion. The empirical focus of the thesis explores legitimacy as being a highly significant issue which affects the long-term success or failure of EU human rights policies. It assesses the prospects and implications of EU policy and determines what is required in terms of external incitements for optimal outcomes. The original contribution of the thesis lies in its argument that EU normative power within enlargement is not intrinsic to the EU, but ought to be recognised as such through its interaction with non-European ‘others’.

Date of Award	30 Oct 2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Aberystwyth University
Supervisor	Ayla Gol (Supervisor) & Roger Michael Scully (Supervisor)