EURO-TURKS A BRIDGE OR A BREACH BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GERMAN-TURKS AND FRENCH-TURKS AYHAN KAYA FERHAT KENTEL JANUARY 2005 The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound policy research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe. This independent report is being published in the framework of the CEPS programme on EU-Turkey relations (as CEPS EU-Turkey Working Paper No. 14). The findings of the survey were presented by the authors at a CEPS lunchtime meeting on 22 April 2004, and are being published simultaneously in Turkish, French and German. Assoc. Prof. Dr Ayhan Kaya is with the Istanbul Bilgi University, Centre for Migration Research, Department of International Relations, Inonu Cad. No. 28, Şişli, Istanbul, tel. (+90 212) 311 61 82, fax (+90 212) 216 84 76, e-mail: [email protected]. Assist. Prof. Dr Ferhat Kentel is with the Istanbul Bilgi University, Centre for Migration Research, Department of Sociology, Inonu Cad. No. 28, Şişli, Istanbul, tel. (+90 212) 311 61 31, fax (+90 212) 216 84 76, e-mail: [email protected]. Advisors on this study are Assist. Prof. Dr Bianca Kaiser, Istanbul Kültür University, Department of International Relations, Istanbul, tel. (+90 212) 639 30 24 (ext. 3315), e-mail: [email protected] and Dr Martin Greve, Berlin, tel. 030.854 56 88, e-mail: [email protected]. This study has been sponsored by Open Society Institute Heinrich Böll Foundation Istanbul Bilgi University The Promotion Fund of the Turkish Prime Ministry EU Communication Group in Ankara (ABIG) Cover design by Deniz Erbaş ISBN 92-9079-541-7 © Copyright 2005, Ayhan Kaya and Ferhat Kentel All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the Centre for European Policy Studies. Centre for European Policy Studies Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels Tel: 32(0)2 229.39.11 Fax: 32(0)2 219.41.51 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.ceps.be Euro-Turks A Bridge or a Breach between Turkey and the European Union? A Comparative Study of German-Turks and French-Turks Ayhan Kaya and Ferhat Kentel Abstract Migrants of Turkish origin and their descendants constitute a rather heterogeneous group of persons in Europe with respect to their recent economic, political, cultural, ethnic and religious dispositions. In an attempt to challenge the stereotypical representation of these ‘Euro-Turks’ in their homeland and countries of settlement, extensive qualitative and quantitative research was carried out in Germany and France by the Centre for Migration Research during late 2003 and early 2004. One of the premises of the work is that Euro-Turks would provide both strong support and an impediment to Turkey’s EU membership. Thus the research has aimed at investigating whether Euro- Turks living in Germany and France could become a driving force or vanguard for Turkey in the process of integration into the European Union. It identifies the social, political and cultural discourses of the Turkish diaspora concerning Turkish-EU relations. By gauging public opinion among the Turkish groups in Western Europe, it also seeks to determine whether these communities could provide new opportunities and prospects for the formation of a more open and democratic society in Turkey. At this stage, the research reveals that there are three major groups of Euro-Turks emerging in the migratory process: bridging groups (who are affiliated with both the homeland and ‘host-land’) breaching groups (who still have a strong orientation to the homeland) and assimilated groups. Based on a survey of the literature and structured interviews, this report reveals how Euro-Turks demonstrate the fact that Europeanness is not a prescribed identity, but an ongoing process of being and becoming. Contents Preface..................................................................................................................................................... i Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 European Union: A peace project for Turkey ..................................................................................... 1 Aims of the research ........................................................................................................................... 2 Rationale of the project....................................................................................................................... 3 Fieldwork and methodology ............................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1 The Migratory Process in Germany and France.............................................................. 7 The migratory process in Germany..................................................................................................... 7 Towards a limited, hyphenated citizenship: German-Turks ............................................................... 9 The migratory process in France....................................................................................................... 13 Acquisition of citizenship and the rise of anti-immigrant nationalist discourse in France ............... 14 Towards European citizenship? ........................................................................................................ 17 Chapter 2 Profile of the Sample......................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3 Euro-Turks and Social Classes ........................................................................................ 27 Chapter 4 Homeland vs. ‘Host-land’................................................................................................. 32 Perceptions of Turkey ....................................................................................................................... 32 Perceptions of Germany/France........................................................................................................ 36 Images in comparison: Homeland and ‘host-land’ ........................................................................... 42 Policies of citizenship: Integration/assimilation ............................................................................... 44 ‘Unity-in-diversity’ or ‘unity-over-diversity’? ................................................................................. 46 Habitats of meaning for Euro-Turks ................................................................................................. 46 Chapter 5 Europe and the European Union ..................................................................................... 49 Alternative projects of Europe: A holistic Europe or a syncretic Europe? ....................................... 49 Euro-Turks’ perspectives on the EU................................................................................................. 50 EU membership and migration prospects for Turks ......................................................................... 55 Chapter 6 Building New Identities..................................................................................................... 57 ‘European’: A constant process of being and becoming................................................................... 57 Euro-Islam: Symbolic religiosity ...................................................................................................... 59 Religion vs. secularism: A safe haven on earth! ............................................................................... 63 Multiculturalism and interculturalism............................................................................................... 65 ‘Imported’ brides and bridegrooms from Turkey ............................................................................. 67 Chapter 7 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 69 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 72 Annex.................................................................................................................................................... 76 List of Tables Table I.1 Sampling distribution.......................................................................................................... 6 Table 1.1 Germany’s non-German population and Turkish minority................................................. 8 Table 1.2 Naturalisation of the German-Turkish population............................................................ 10 Table 1.3 Naturalisation of foreigners between 1980 and 2003 ....................................................... 11 Table 1.4 National origins of the Muslim population....................................................................... 14 Table 1.5 Naturalisation in France.................................................................................................... 16 Table 2.1 Sampling distribution........................................................................................................ 20 Table 4.1 With which political