First Name:
Rebecca
Last Name:
Waddell
Major Department:
History
Thesis Director:
Rennie Brantz
Date of Thesis:
May 2012
The issue of Turkey’s accession to the European Union has been a highly controversial one for the past fifty years for a number of reasons. Though first submitting its application to the European Union for associate membership in 1957 and for full membership in 1987, Turkey has been continually tossed aside and pushed to the back of the EU agenda over the past few decades. While the European Union has tiptoed around the issue to avoid major conflict between the two parties, the Union nevertheless has a laundry list of reservations regarding Turkey’s consideration for membership. Starting with Turkey’s troubled history with the rest of continental Europe and historical alignment with the East, issues such as reluctance to admit involvement in the Armenian Massacres or to acknowledge the member nation of Cyprus have temporarily blocked Turkey’s membership. Obstacles go on to include unethical treatment of the Kurdish minority, geographic location outside of continental Europe, large population statistics, the possibility of financial burden, and the overall cultural and religious differences between Islamic Turkey and the Christian orientation of other European Union member states. Though the issue is far from resolved, Turkey and the EU continue to work towards compromise, and projections suggest membership may finally be granted in the next decade.