European Integration and Democratic Consolidation: Spain, Poland and Turkey in Comparative Perspective Engin I
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-9-2011 European Integration and Democratic Consolidation: Spain, Poland and Turkey in Comparative Perspective Engin I. Erdem Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI11120509 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Erdem, Engin I., "European Integration and Democratic Consolidation: Spain, Poland and Turkey in Comparative Perspective" (2011). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 486. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/486 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION: SPAIN, POLAND AND TURKEY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in POLITICAL SCIENCE by Engin Ibrahim Erdem 2011 To: Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Sciences choose the name of dean of your college/school choose the name of your college/school This dissertation, written by Engin Ibrahim Erdem, and entitled European Integration and Democratic Consolidation: Spain, Poland and Turkey in Comparative Perspective, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Ronald Cox _______________________________________ Dario Moreno _______________________________________ Barry Levitt _______________________________________ Cem Karayalcin _______________________________________ Tatiana Kostadinova, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 9, 2011 The dissertation of Engin Ibrahim Erdem is approved. ______________________________________ Dean Kenneth G. Furton College of Arts and Sciences _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2011 ii © Copyright 2011 by Engin Ibrahim Erdem All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION I dedicate the dissertation to my family; to my Mom and Dad, elder sister, two elder brothers, maternal grandparents, and the memory of my paternal grandparents. Without their love and unconditional support, this dissertation could not have been written. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my thanks to the Committee members. Dr. Tatiana Kostadinova, my major professor, has provided continuous support and invaluable feedback throughout the study. Dr. Ronald Cox’s critical remarks have helped me in sharpening the theoretical framework. In addition, Professors Kostadinova and Cox, as the graduate directors of Political Science program, contributed to the presence of an excellent academic environment during my graduate years at FIU. Dr. Barry Levitt’s comments on the methodology and the case studies have been very helpful. Dr. Dario Moreno and Dr. Cem Karayalcin have been very generous with their feedback and timely support. Moreover, I would like to thank FIU’s Graduate School and the Miami-Florida European Union Center for their financial support to undertake field studies in Spain, Poland, and Turkey. The University Graduate School’s Dissertation Evidence Acquisition Fellowship and the EU Center’s graduate student research grant enabled me to gather primary data for this study. Finally, I thank all interviewees whom I talked to in the three countries. Their opinions and insights have been most useful in examining the power and the limits of the EU’s democratizing impact in Spain, Poland, and Turkey. v ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION: SPAIN, POLAND AND TURKEY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE by Engin Ibrahim Erdem Florida International University, 2011 Miami, Florida Professor Tatiana Kostadinova, Major Professor The study explored when, under what conditions, and to what extent did European integration, particularly the European Union’s requirement for democratic conditionality, contribute to democratic consolidation in Spain, Poland, and Turkey? On the basis of a four-part definition, the dissertation examined the democratizing impact of European integration process on each of the following four components of consolidation: (i) holding of fair, free and competitive elections, (ii) protection of fundamental rights, including human and minority rights, (iii) high prospects of regime survival and civilian control of the military, and (iv) legitimacy, elite consensus, and stateness. To assess the relative significance of EU’s democratizing leverage, the thesis also examined domestic and non-EU international dynamics of democratic consolidation in the three countries. By employing two qualitative methods (case study and process-tracing), the study focused on three specific time frames: 1977-1986 for Spain, 1994-2004 for Poland, and 1999-present for Turkey. In addition to official documents, newspapers, and secondary sources, face-to-face interviews made with politicians, academics, experts, bureaucrats, and journalists in the three countries were utilized. vi The thesis generated several conclusions. First of all, the EU’s democratizing impact is not uniform across different components of democratic consolidation. Moreover, the EU’s democratizing leverage in Spain, Poland, and Turkey involved variations over time for three major reasons: (i) the changing nature of EU’s democratic conditionality over time (ii) varying levels of the EU’s credible commitment to the candidate country’s prospect for membership, and (iii) domestic dynamics in the candidate countries. Furthermore, the European integration process favors democratic consolidation but its magnitude is shaped by the candidate country’s prospect for EU membership and domestic factors in the candidate country. Finally, the study involves a major policy implication for the European Union: unless the EU provides a clear prospect for membership, its democratizing leverage will be limited in the candidate countries. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Literature Review.................................................................................................................4 Research Design .................................................................................................................15 Methodology ......................................................................................................................21 Data ....................................................................................................................................25 Outline of the Chapters ......................................................................................................26 CHAPTER II INTERNATIONAL DYNAMICS, EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND DEMOCRATIZATION .....................................................................................................27 International Dynamics of Democratization ......................................................................27 European Integration and Democracy Promotion ..............................................................36 The EU and Democracy Promotion ...................................................................................37 The EU’s Democratizing Impact in the Southern and the CEE Enlargements ..................40 Historical Evolution of the EU’s Democratic Conditionality ............................................44 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................52 CHAPTER III EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION: THE CASE OF POST-FRANCO SPAIN .............................................................................................54 The Spanish Transition to Democracy: A Nuanced and Eclectic Approach .....................56 The Consolidation Process and the Democratic Impact of European Integration .............66 Free, fair, and competitive elections ..................................................................................68 Protection of fundamental rights and liberties ..................................................................71 High prospects of regime survival and civilian control of the military .............................74 Legitimacy, anti-system parties, stateness .........................................................................83 Public Legitimacy ..............................................................................................................85 Elite Consensus and Anti-System Parties ..........................................................................87 Stateness .............................................................................................................................90 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................102 CHAPTER IV EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION: THE CASE OF POST-COMMUNIST POLAND ...............................................................................104 The