Turkey Past_Present and Future

							Distorted Picture
    of Turkey
Meet the Turk….
           Meet the Turk…

• That were too cruel even for a Turk.
                           Dutch saying


• Where the Turk's horse once treads, the
  grass never grows again.
                         English saying
Meet the Turk….
A large part of the
opposition to the
Turkish membership
in the EU is caused
by historical
perceptions and
general lack of
knowledge about
Turkey.
  Turkey: Past, Present and Future, IKV, p.8
We have a vicious circle
at the moment, so that
negative public opinion in
Europe has an impact on
political leaders, [...] that
in turn erodes the
credibility of the
accession perspective in
the eyes of the Turks and
has a negative impact on
the reform process.
                Oli Rehn
•   Historical Perspectives and Images
•   Religion and Securalism
•   Rights and Freedoms
•   Democracy and Civil Society
•   Political Participation
•   Education
•   Europeanness
•   Good Neighbourly Relations
•   Practical Concerns
Sisyphus´ Debate on EU-Turkey?

  Three words and images,
  namely, the headscarf,
  generals, and the
  European Union (EU)
  are used to stereotype
  the perception of Turkey.
      Kevin Marsh, BBC College of Journalism
Reality?
     • Turkish people do not
       percieve secularism
       to be under threat and
       do not think that there
       is a real possiblity of a
       Shari´ah- based
       religious reigme in
       Turkey.
       Turkey: Past, Present and Future, IKV, p.18
         Changing of Paradigm?
My constituents say:
'We didn't need the
EU in order to triple
our national income
as we have done. So
why bother?'
Egemen Bagis, Guardian, 28th October 2010
Practical Concerns or Concerns
       on Europeaness?
Negotiations began in
1964. We are in 2007.
The time has rather come
to tell the Turks whether
we want them or if we
don’t want them. It is to
say that it’s Asia, it is not
Europe.

 Nicolas Sarkozy,Televised debate with
 Segolene Royal, May 2, 2007
Issues for the future:

-   Freedom of expression
-   Development of political parties and
    civil society.
-   Turkey as the role model for Arab
    renaissaince
-   Turkey – EU relations with real added
    value?
Turks are heroes. They never
hurt     their   friends.    This
honourable nation will not let
their friends alone at the times
of hardship. Whoever becomes
friends with this amazing
nation, will have on his side a
priceless power to manage
through any hardship.

    Comenius, Orbis Pictus, 1655