Die Politik der Grenze

The article deals with processes of demarcation as part of the process of Europeanization. It starts with a concept of borders and border control as central function of political systems and raises the question to which extent the European integration brings about a redrawing of territorial boundaries. First, it will be shown that the European integration is associated with a de-institutionalization of borders between the member states. Subsequently, it is argued that the removal of boundaries between the member states necessarily increases the importance of the external borders of the EU. The article describes and documents the role of the European Union in organising and coordinating a new emerging border regime. The last part discusses whether the macro-territorial borders of the EU resemble the borders of nation states. It is suggested that despite the tendencies to ?harden“ the external borders of the EU, these borders remain fuzzy and changeable, because the EU has developed a large number of forms of association and cooperation with neighbouring countries of the EU. In addition, due to the ?moving borders“ of the EU it seems rather unlikely that the EU-borders will ever become as rigid as nation state borders. The conclusion discusses the issue whether Europe can be seen as a forerunner of a new relationship between territory, demarcation and political order.     

Hide and seek? Israeli–Turkish relations and the Baghdad pact

The aim of this article is to address the impact of the Baghdad Pact and the Anglo-American defense system and its collapse on the Turkish–Israeli relationship from 1954 to 1958, a discussion that is absent from scholarly studies. The article will highlight the different approaches and views of the two parties and their impact on the cold war alliances and the Arab–Israeli conflict. Examining this from the perspectives of both Ankara and Jerusalem will contribute to a comprehensive study of the bilateral relations during the 1950s. Some of the main questions to be addressed are: to what extent, if at all, did the Baghdad Pact change bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel? What were Israel's main concerns? Were its suspicions of Turkey's changing policy founded? How much was Turkey influenced by Iraq's membership of the Pact and its hostile attitude toward Israel? Was Turkey's attempt to maintain reasonable relations with both Israel and Iraq a realistic aim? All these will be assessed against regional upheavals and the cold war politics with current implications.     

“欧洲化”进程与中东欧国家的政党政治变迁

随着欧盟因素的介入,中东欧各国在政治经济和社会生活方面发生了许多重要变化,即出现了学界所称的欧洲化现象,中东欧国家政党也不可避免地受到了欧洲化进程的影响。作为一种超越国家层面的政治社会化过程,欧洲化促使中东欧国家的政党做出调整和改变,以适应新的定位和功能。同时,在欧洲化深入的过程中,中东欧国家的政党政治也面临着巨大的困难和挑战。     

《里斯本条约》与欧盟成员国国际投资保护协定的欧洲化

欧盟成员国各自签订了大量的国际投资保护协定,这些协定与欧盟法之间存在冲突,欧盟一直致力于解决该冲突,使这些协定和欧盟法逐渐统一。《里斯本条约》的通过和生效将极大地促进欧盟成员国国际投资保护协定的欧洲化。为此,欧盟一边努力将其成员国现有双边投资保护协定是否继续有效、成员国是否有权和第三国谈判签订新的双边投资保护协定的问题都纳入自己的控制范围,一边积极行使自己的新权能与第三国进行双边投资条约的谈判。     

The strategic depth doctrine of Turkish foreign policy

Turkey's heavy involvement in Middle Eastern politics following the end of the Cold War eroded its Western image in the eyes of most Europeans and strengthened the hands of those who have traditionally argued against Turkey's EU membership by referring to the unbridgeable inherent differences between the parties in terms of cultural, historical, religious, and geographical considerations.     

Publisher's Comment

The extent to which post-communist European and Eurasian countries have instituted democratic politics varies widely. The countries possessing the generally accepted attributes of a democratic polity are without exception members of the European Union and most of the countries that have moved in that direction in recent years are prospective members. This article examines the association between membership in the EU and the development of a democratic polity. It suggests the aspiration to membership and awareness of the EU's political condition for membership contributed, along with attributes related to spatial location, political antecedents, transitional politics, and economic ties, to the development of a democratic polity.     

The ‘Europeanization’ of the Religious Cleavage in Turkey: The Case of the Alevis

The EU accession process reveals a series of paradoxes, which are not merely indicative of the complexity of Turkey's state–religion relations in general but also point to how the Justice and Development Party (JDP) government portrays controversies such as the Sunni–Alevi divide. The religious cleavages in Turkey have become Europeanized and found expression in the European political and legal structures. The Alevis have been one of the groups most affected by this issue partly because of their heterodox and transnational religious identity and partly as a result of their links with secularist political sectors. The paper underlines a dilemma of current Turkish politics. The case of the Alevis shows that the regime's current transformation undermines its basis through exclusion. The JDP's political strategy, focusing on the effective control of the mainstream Sunni base, does not willingly accept or tolerate the autonomy of some civil society groups, including the Alevis.     

Gaining Greater Access to Western European Decision‐Makers: a Motive for Australian Membership of the OECD

In weighing Britain's decision to seek membership of the European Economic Community Australian scholars have focussed attention on its adverse impact on Anglo‐Australian and EU‐Australian relations, and the emphasis that Australia thereafter placed upon economic relations with Asia. This article identifies a consequence of Britain's decision which has largely escaped attention: the part it played in stimulating Australia's successful 1969 application for membership of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Although Australia's interest in the increased access to West European decision‐makers that the OECD would provide dates to the latter 1940s and 1950s, the British application for membership of the EEC added particular weight to those arguing that Australia should seek OECD membership. It led to an extension of Australian activities in Western Europe which was not extinguished by the growing emphasis on relations with the Asian region.     

The Prospects and Pitfalls of the Religious Nationalist Movement in Turkey: The Case of the Gülen Movement

This article examines the interplay of religion and nationalism in Turkey in the post-1990 period and discusses the prospects and pitfalls of religious nationalist movement by focusing on Gülen's Turkish Muslimhood. It is believed that the instrumental relationship between Islam and nationalism in Turkey as exemplified in the modernist religious nationalism of Gülen will help reveal that Islam has always been an indispensable element of the discourse of nationalism in Turkey and will force us to rethink the role or religion in Turkish society and politics.     

Rules of Procedure as a Cause of Legislative Paralysis: The Case of Costa Rica, 2002–2012

Research on executive‐legislative relations in Latin America has focused on the impact of minority presidents and multiparty legislatures on legislative productivity. But an additional deadlock scenario, the blocking of a majority president by a minority through filibustering, has been understudied. This article analyzes filibustering in Costa Rica and explains the legislative paralysis in the wake of the nation's transition to a multiparty system in 2002. Legislative paralysis is seen as a product of the interaction between increased legislative fragmentation and polarization and the legislature's preexisting rules of procedure, which enable legislators easily to block bills they oppose, even when those bills are supported by supermajorities. This argument is tested through a comparison of major economic reforms in the 2000s to the reforms tackled in the 1990s. The role of filibustering, well acknowledged in U.S. politics, should also be studied in comparative politics.     

Women prisoners in Turkey

Historically, the closure of a party is a common phenomenon in Turkish politics. While the recent case against the governing Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AKP) was reminiscent of this trend, the decision of the Constitutional Court demonstrated that there are changes in the dynamics of the Turkish political structure. Although the literature cites the so-called ‘28 February Process’, the impact of EU accession, and the learning effects of democratization as explanations for the distinction of the AKP from its predecessors, this article argues that the AKP is different due to its extended business network and newly defined conservative base. The decision of the court in the recent closure case against the AKP reflects this structural political change within the foundation of Islamic parties in Turkey. While the court acknowledged the political legitimacy of the party by taking a decision against its closure, it has revealed the general discontent regarding AKP's non-adjusted conservative/pro-Islamic policies by cutting down its financial means.     

Europe à la Carte? Swiss Convergence towards European Policy Models in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training

In the last decade, European education has experienced far‐reaching transformation through the international initiatives of the Bologna process in higher education (HE) and the Copenhagen process in vocational education and training (VET) for enhancing European cooperation. This study investigates the mostly underresearched effects of these initiatives on Switzerland to discern whether Swiss HE and VET policies have converged towards European models, and which mechanisms were influential. It combines research on Europeanization and convergence and uses process‐tracing based on expert interviews and document analysis. Results reveal that Swiss HE policy strongly converged towards the Bologna model, while the development of a partial convergence of VET policy towards the model of the Copenhagen process can be observed. The study demonstrates the impact of domestic politics on shaping Europeanization effects and reconstructs the processes through which the initiatives took effect through transnational communication.     

Nationalist Mobilization and State–Society Relations: The People's Houses' Campaign for Turkish in Izmir,June–July 1934

This article studies the campaign against the use of non-Turkish languages that was organized by local forces in Izmir in 1934. In contextualizing the campaign within domestic politics and state–society relation, the article attempts to study domestic politics through a local perspective and explore the impact that similar events in the periphery had in the centre's policies, which the literature is usually inclined to comprehend solely with reference to state ‘high politics’. The article argues that cases of autonomous mobilization from below, such as the 1934 Izmir campaign, contributed to the evolution of the Turkish political regime in the 1930s by turning the centre towards decisions that would redesign the relationship between the state and the ruling party, and have an impact on state–society relations.     

Europeanisation and De-Europeanisation Dynamics in Turkey: The Case of Environmental Organisations

Abstract

While Europeanisation of civil society in Turkey has received considerable attention, there has been much less interest in how environmental organisations, as key civil society actors, have been affected by Europeanisation/de-Europeanisation dynamics. Interviews with civil society representatives and European Union (EU) and Turkish policy-makers indicate that the EU impact on environmental organisations has been ambivalent, and that Europeanisation dynamics are intertwined with the adverse consequences of these processes. While Turkey’s EU candidacy has empowered civil society through both EU-isation and Europeanisation, there has also been a remarkable rise of scepticism towards the EU’s civil society strategy and the EU has lost its attractiveness as a normative context in environmental debates.     

De-Europeanisation or Counter-Conduct? Turkey’s Democratisation and the EU

Abstract

Many Turkish and European scholars have been (re)producing texts that praise the normative impact of the European Union (EU) which has helped the political transformation of Turkey. Nevertheless, the recent deterioration of democracy in the country indicates that the EU has been losing its transformative influence on Turkey. This might be regarded as de-Europeanisation. However, this article argues that the conceptual framework of de-Europeanisation can only partially explain the current situation in Turkey and the EU’s impact, and that an analysis based on counter-conduct, as produced by EU governmentality, may provide insight into a subtler dynamic at work in the country.     

Winners and Losers in the Postcommunist Transition: New Evidence from Estonia

An American specialist on Russian politics and federalism examines the democratizing effects, intended and unintended, of President Vladimir Putin's federative reforms. Focus is on the "harmonization" of regional constitutions and legislation with federal laws and the RF Constitution in the name of the "reintegration of Russia's legal space." On the basis of detailed analysis of changes in regional constitutions and laws ensuing from the harmonization policy, the author assesses the impact of this aspect of the reforms on democratization in Russia's regions. Regional issues examined include the separation and balance of power between the executive and legislative branches, political and civil rights, the level of demand for democratic laws and independent judicial review, and the emergence of stakeholders of these reforms within civil society.     

Between national and European foreign policy: the role of Latvia and Romania in the EU’s policy towards Central Asia

This article explores whether and to what extent new member states of the European Union (EU) seek to pursue their national foreign policy goals towards Central Asia through the EU rather than bilaterally. To do so, it focuses on Latvia and Romania. While the article finds evidence of Romanian attempts to project its interests in the region onto the EU level, Latvia appears to rely more extensively on the EU level to pursue its goals towards Central Asia. Using insights from the literature on Europeanization of national foreign policy, the article explains this finding with reference to four variables that determine whether a member state will seek to upload its national foreign policy preferences onto the EU level, namely the perceived salience of the policy goals, the extent to which member states can carve out a niche, their perceived capabilities and the level of Europeanization of their national foreign policies.     

Europeanization as a Democratization Tool? The Case of Morocco

This paper applies the Europeanization ‘toolkit’ to EU democratization policies in Morocco within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) framework. To this aim, the bottom-up and top-down dimensions of EU?Morocco relations are analysed diachronically both before and after the Arab Spring. The analysis shows that the Moroccan ruling elite has used the anchor to the EU as a survival strategy and that the EU has merely responded to Moroccan political liberalization rather than having influenced it. Therefore, the paper debates the extent to which the very notion of Europeanization might be used with respect to democratization policies in Morocco, and it shows an overturning of the sender?receiver relationship proving that Europeanization has been used instrumentally rather than having any autonomous supportive effect on democratization.     

Hype,disillusionment and capacity problems: Turkish Cypriot media and the European Union

Since the failed 2004 Annan Plan referendum, a special relationship between the Turkish Cypriot community and the EU institutions has been established. Increased unofficial contacts have paved the way for a reinforced role of sub-state actors, including Turkish Cypriot media. The role of the Turkish Cypriot media in shaping public opinion towards the EU has been largely correlated with the course of the Cyprus negotiations. Weak institutionalisation has negatively affected the influence of the local media on advancing the sui generis relationship between the Turkish Cypriot community and the European Union, as well as Europeanisation in the northern part of Cyprus. This article applies the theoretical framework of horizontal and vertical Europeanisation to explore the impact of local media on the relations between the European Union and the Turkish Cypriot community.     

Τhe energy parameters of the Russian–Ukrainian–EU impasse: dependencies,sanctions and the rise of ‘Turkish Stream’

The overwhelming dependency of Ukraine on Russian energy and the lack of any short-to-medium term diversification of European Union (EU) oil and gas supplies away from Moscow dictate a cooperative approach vis-à-vis Russia in dealing with the Ukrainian crisis. The EU is unable to impose any more severe sanctions on Russia’s energy industry without provoking a major negative impact on its own troubled economy. The continuation of the current confrontational friction in EU–Russian energy relations will most likely consolidate Russia’s decision to seek the elimination of its gas transit dependence on Ukraine after 2020. Such a target will be very difficult to attain by the end of this decade, even if Russia will be able to partly replace the now abandoned South Stream project with Turkish Stream.