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Rethinking Conditionality: T urkey's E uropean U nion Accession and the K urdish Question
Author(s) -
Cengiz Firat,
Hoffmann Lars
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/jcms.12010
Subject(s) - conditionality , veto , democracy , incentive , political science , accession , politics , international economics , economics , law and economics , political economy , microeconomics , european union , law
This article assesses the recent developments in the T urkish democratic reform processes, particularly those affecting the K urdish minority, induced by T urkey's ambition to accede to the E uropean U nion ( EU ). The analysis is rooted in the E uropeanization literature, specifically the external incentives model. In addition to providing a systematic review of recent political developments in this area, the analysis leads us to question some of the model's basic premises. Most notably, it is found that credible EU commitment, rather than low adoption costs and weak veto players, has constituted a necessary and sufficient condition for the reform process. Likewise, there is a dynamic relationship between EU ‐induced democratic reforms and adoption costs that is largely overlooked in the existing literature.