Turkey and the European Union

This book by two leading experts provides a comprehensive analysis of Turkey's relationship with the European Union, set in its regional and international context. It provides three analytical lenses through which the relationship might be understood – Turkey as an enlargement country, as an EU neighbour and as a global partner – and unpacks the implications of each.

Turkey and the European Union focuses on the five pillars that help define the relationship: economics, migration, security, democracy and human rights, and culture and identity. It shows how the differing perspectives on Turkey's role can influence events and developments in these areas, and it traces the profound fluctuations in relations, from the Association Agreement of 1963, to the candidacy for full membership of 1999, to the limbo of today.

Turkey continues to be a critically important country for the European Union. The relationship has consequences that are both ideational, embedded in history, politics, identity and culture, and material, relating to economics, energy and security. In examining this complex relationship, this book addresses a key issue for Europe's future, and does so in a fashion that is both sophisticated and accessible.

Senem Aydin-Duzgit is an Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair in International Relations at Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey. She is the author of Constructions of European Identity: Debates and Discourses on Turkey and the EU (Palgrave, 2012).

Nathalie Tocci is Deputy Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Italy, and Advisor on International Strategies to the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs. She is also Editor of The International Spectator. She held previous research posts at the Transatlantic Academy, USA, the European University Institute, Italy, and the Centre for European Policy Studies, Belgium.