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Minority Rights in Turkey: Analysis of the Impact of Europeanization Ak, Ceren Zeynep

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Minority Rights in Turkey: Analysis of the Impact of Europeanization Ak, Ceren Zeynep Minority Rights in Turkey: Analysis of the Impact of Europeanization Ak, Ceren Zeynep The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author For additional information about this publication click this link. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/12524 Information about this research object was correct at the time of download; we occasionally make corrections to records, please therefore check the published record when citing. For more information contact [email protected] Queen Mary, University of London Minority Rights in Turkey Analysis of the Impact of Europeanization Ceren Zeynep Ak A thesis submitted to the School of Politics and International Relations in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University of London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2015 Declaration of Authorship I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of Queen Mary University of London is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. 2 Abstract This research tries to identify how, and to what extent, engagement with the European Union (EU) changes the political behavior of civil society actors and minority groups in Turkey. It is argued that the EU assistance changes the availability of political and financial resources for minority civil society organizations in Turkey, which is a critical component of Europeanization and constitutes a significant test for the EU’s enlargement strategy. The key objective is to identify how, and to what extent, engagement with the EU changes the political behavior of civil society actors and minority groups in Turkey. It examines the fluctuations in the level of civil society activism in Turkey among minority organizations and consider the extent to which the interaction with the EU explains the variation in their political efficacy through the availability of different financial, political and human resources. In a broader context, this thesis will contribute to the general research on Europeanization by elaborating on the transformative impact of the EU on civil society activism. To achieve this, this research employed a mixed methodology. Surveys were conducted with civil society organizations representing twenty-three different ethnic, linguistic and religious minority groups. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with different actors representing the minority groups in question. In conclusion the results showed that the Europeanization process allowed EU actors to promote EU ideas, norms and standards in their interactions with civil society organizations causing a differential empowerment of these organizations. It also demonstrated that empowering civil society organizations through capacity-building mechanisms and political dialogue triggered the mobilization of civil society organizations in Turkey, however their empowerment is still contingent upon a number of other factors. While situating itself within the existing literature that tries to explain the effects of international institutions and norms on civil society organizations, this thesis shows that unlike other external actors, the EU strengthened the civil society activism in Turkey particularly in a contentious area such as 3 minority rights and in the presence of resistant political elites. In return, these actors were able to represent themselves in other national and international platforms, which yielded increased political efficacy. 4 CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………………………. 1 ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………… 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………………........... 8 LIST OF ACRONYMS ………………………………………………………………….. 9 ILLUSTRATIONS ………………………………………………………………............ 12 TABLES FIGURES 1 INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………….. 14 1.1 THE BROADER LITERATURE: EUROPEANIZATION ………………….. 20 1.2 EU-TURKEY RELATIONS: LITERATURE REVIEW …………………….. 30 1.3 IDENTIFYING RESEARCH QUESTIONS …………………......................... 38 1.4 RESEARCH METHODS ……………………………………………………... 41 1.5 THESIS OUTLINE …………………………………………………................. 45 1.6 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………... 49 2 CIVIL SOCIETY AND EUROPEANIZATION .......................................................... 51 2.1 EMERGENCE OF CIVIL SOCIETY ………………………………………….…. 54 2.2 CONTEMPORARY DEBATES ON EUROPEAN CIVIL SOCIETY …………… 61 2.3 EUROPEAN CIVIL SOCIETY POLICY AND ENLARGEMENT …..………….. 68 2.4 EUROPEAN UNION CIVIL SOCIETY POLICY IN THE TURKISH CONTEXT …………………………………………………………………………………….... 71 2.5 CIVIL SOCIETY IN TURKEY …………………………………………...………. 78 2.6 CIVIL SOCIETY: POST-HELSINKI PERIOD …………………………………... 83 2.7 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………….……….. 115 3 MINORITY RIGHTS IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN TURKEY ………….... 116 5 3.1 MINORITY RIGHTS: GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS …………………..……. 118 3.2 MINORITY PROTECTION IN EUROPE …………………………………….. 130 3.3 EU MINORITY POLICY: CHALLENGES AND SHORTCOMINGS ……..... 137 3.4 MINORITY RIGHTS IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN TURKEY ………... 138 3.5 TURKISH STATE POLICIES TOWARDS THE MINORITIES …………..…. 140 3.6 MINORITY GROUPS IN TURKEY ………………………………………...… 150 3.6.1 ETHNIC AND LINGUISTIC MINORITIES IN TURKEY ………….……… 157 3.6.2 RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN TURKEY …………………………………… 177 3.7 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND MINORITY PROTECTION …… 185 3.8 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………...………….. 190 4 DEVELOPMENT OF EU CONDITIONALITY TOWARDS TURKEY ………... 191 4.1 CRITICAL JUNCTURES IN EU-TURKEY RELATIONS ……….…………. 193 4.2 MILITARY COUPS D’ETAT …………………………...……………………. 196 4.3 ELECTION OF OZAL GOVERNMENT …………………...……………...…. 208 4.4 CYPRUS CONFLICT …………………………………………………………. 214 4.5 CUSTOMS UNION AGREEMENT ………………………………………..…. 216 4.6 1999 HELSINKI SUMMIT ……………………………………………………. 219 4.7 TURKISH LEGISLATION: POLITICAL REFORMS AFTER HELSINKI …. 225 4.8 CONCLUSION …………………………………………...………………….... 232 5 MINORITY RIGHTS AND EUROPEANIZATION IN TURKEY …………..…... 235 5.1 RESEARCH LOCATIONS ……………………………………………..…….. 235 5.2 MINORITY PRESENCE WITHIN CIVIL SOCIETY …………………...…... 240 5.3 MINORITY CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS ………………………...... 242 5.4 PATTERNS OF ORGANIZATION OF MINORITY GROUPS ……………... 263 5.5 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………..…………………. 266 6 6 CIVIL SOCIETY MOBILIZATION: POSITION ON THE GROUND ………... 267 6.1 MINORITY CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND EUROPEANIZATION …………………………………………………………………………………….. 269 6.2 RESEARCH FINDINGS …………………………….……………………….. 271 6.3 ANALYSIS: PATTERNS OF MOBILIZATION OF MINORITY ORGANIZATIONS ……………………………………………………………… 290 6.4 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………. 309 7 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………... 310 7.1 SUMMARIZING THE RESEARCH FINDINGS …………………………... 312 7.2 EUROPEANIZATION: THE CASE OF TURKEY ………………………… 317 7.3 IMPLICATIONS …………………………………………………………….. 319 7.4 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………...……..... 321 APPENDIX 1: MAPS OF TURKEY ……………………………………………...… 323 APPENDIX 2: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES / SURVEY PARTICIPANTS …….... 324 APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................................... 328 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………….… 333 7 Acknowledgements My first debt of gratitude must go to my principal supervisor, Professor Adam Fagan. He has been a tremendous mentor for me and patiently provided the vision, encouragement, motivation, critical insight, scholarly inputs, guidance and advice at every stage of this research. I consider it a great opportunity to complete this thesis under his guidance. I would also like to thank my second supervisor Dr. Brendan O’Duffy for his comments and suggestions. I would also like to acknowledge the financial and academic support of Queen Mary University of London, particularly in the award of the Postgraduate Research Fund that provided the necessary financial support for this research. I am eternally grateful to the numerous civil society representatives, employees, activists and minority representatives who provided me with invaluable data and submitted to requests for interviews and completed the surveys. I was fortunate to obtain considerable help from all of the minority groups I have included within this thesis. Şoreş thank you for your unconditional love, patience, faith, constant encouragement, understanding, commitment and unfailing support for the last six years. Without you, this study would not have been. Finally, I am in no doubt that this thesis would not have been written or researched without the love, patience and both financial and intellectual support of my mother Engin Ak and my father Öcal Ak, for which my mere expression of thanks does not suffice. It is to you that this thesis is dedicated. 8 List of Acronyms ABF Alevi Bektasi Federation AKAD Alevi Cultural Research Association AKD Alevi Culture Association AKP Justice and Development Party ANAP Motherland Party ARAP-DER Arab Solidarity and Culture Association ASALA Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia AVF Alevi Foundations Federation BDP Peace and Democracy Party BP Solidarity Party CEE Central and Eastern Europe CFCU Central Finance and Contracts Unit CHP Republican People’s Party CoE Council of Europe CSCE Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe
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