Past Is Not Prologue: Why Turkey's EU Candidacy Won't Be Resurrected

Past is not Prologue: Why Turkey's EU Candidacy Won't Be Resurrected

The standard interpretation of Turkey's on-again, off-again quest for EU membership links its fate to changes in Turkey's domestic affairs. But by overlooking changes over time in how EU elites define their political community, this interpretation seriously over-states the likelihood that some some quantity of domestic reforms will ensure Ankara's acceptance by the bloc. Only by theorising and documenting the 'limits of Europe' as they have been understood by EU elites over time, and how they have changed, can we understand why military rule in Turkey was at one time not considered an obstacle to closer ties, and why the extensive democratization undertaken by the current government will not be enough to ensure membership. This argument is supported by extensive evidence of EU decision-making on enlargement drawn from multiple European and national archives.