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From Containment to Realpolitik and Back Again: A Realist Constructivist Analysis of Turkey–EU Relations and the Migration Issue
Author(s) -
Martin Natalie
Publication year - 2019
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.12947
Subject(s) - realpolitik , accession , political science , constructivism (international relations) , european union , political economy , democracy , state (computer science) , international relations , sociology , international trade , politics , economics , law , computer science , algorithm
The EU's reaction to the migration crisis of 2015–16 was to shower the Turkish government with gifts to secure their cooperation on the Aegean crossing. This led to accusations of realpolitik after Brussels made concessions to Turkey despite Ankara's liberal democratic deficit. This article examines EU policy before, during and after the migration crisis to argue that the situation is more nuanced than this suggests. Turkey–EU accession had been in a state of containment for nearly a decade before the migration issue. Brussels' reaction to it raised questions about the EU's liberal identity but Brussels backtracked quickly once the extent of illiberality following the attempted coup d'état emerged. Turkey–EU relations then returned to a pre‐migration state of containment whereby Turkey remains a candidate but progress towards accession depends on their liberal progress. Using realist constructivism, it concludes the EU's liberal democratic standards remain , but the liberal bar is pliable according to circumstances.