The other side of the coin: the growing opposition in turkey against to the european union accession

MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SOCIAL STUDIES

Department of International Relations and European Studies

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN:

THE GROWING OPPOSITION IN TURKEY AGAINST TO

THE EUROPEAN UNION ACCESSION
Master Thesis

Bc. Yasemin Sukatar

Supervisor: Mgr. Hubert Smekal, M.A., Ph.D.

UČO: 390402

Study Field: PL - EUP

Czech Republic

Brno, 2014

I hereby declare that this thesis I submit for assessment is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work.

Date: 16.12.2013 Signature:

Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Mgr. Hubert Smekal, M.A., Ph.D., for his valuable assistance and guidance. I also would like to express my profound thanks to my teachers, who are experts in their fields, for teaching their valuable knowledge and giving answers to all of my questions without finding them meaningless. It was a pleasure to be one of their students.
No words can be enough to express my thanks to my family. However, I would like to specify my most sincere gratitude to them for being next to me in my every step of my life in spite of the some distances. Finally, a special thanks goes to a very special person for me, to whom I will start a family. This thesis could not be existed without their support and encouragement.

ABSTRACT
Throughout 54 years, the most important and unchanging agenda of Turkish foreign policy has been the full membership of the European Union (EU). The relations between the EU and Turkey have witnessed numerous ups and downs, but nothing has not been deterred Turkey from its desire to become a member of the Union. However, the wind began to blow from the opposite direction during last a few years and the opposition against to the EU accession started to grow in Turkey that has almost doubled in 2012, compare to 2004.
By focusing on the declining support in Turkey to the EU accession, the aim of this master thesis is to analyse the arguments of the opposition which come together under the same roof. In this context, two main factors are pointed out to achieve this aim. The first one is the economical ties between the EU and Turkey by highlighting the Customs Union. The second one gives special emphasis on the opinion of “the EU accession is against the sovereignty and integrity of Turkey”. In accordance with this opinion the connotation of the Treaty of Sèvres, minorities issues and Cyprus are examined by taking into consideration the similarities of the arguments.

Key words: Republic of Turkey, European Union, Turkey and the European Union, EU Enlargement, Opposition against to the EU, Interest Level, Customs Union, Cyprus