FUTURE OF TÜRKİYE-EU RELATIONS: COOPERATION, COMPETITION AND COOPETITION

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 23 Sayı: 56, 1121 - 1142, 19.03.2025

Kadri Kaan Renda

https://doi.org/10.35408/comuybd.1610934

Öz

Türkiye’s relationship with the European Union (EU) has a long history, dating back to the Ankara Agreement signed in 1963. Despite the decades-long relationship, the full membership envisioned by the Ankara Agreement has yet to materialize. Political and technical obstacles, including frozen negotiation chapters and shifts in foreign policy priorities, have recently strained relations. While Türkiye has been drifting away from the EU, the transformative impact of the EU on Turkish politics and society have declined for the last decade. Thus, recent research on Türkiye-EU relations has focused on the processes of de-Europeanization in Turkish politics, rising contestation, and political divergence between Türkiye and the EU. Borrowed from the discipline of business administration, the concept of coopetition offers a different perspective on how cooperation and competition can co-exist together between Türkiye and the EU. By focusing on progressive cooperation rather than a stagnant partnership, and on constructive competition rather than destructive rivalry, both parties can sustain a more balanced and productive relationship. This study re-evaluates Türkiye-EU relations in light of global transformations, technological advancements, and regional conflicts, proposing the concept of coopetition as a framework for the management of simultaneous cooperation and competition between the two. Focusing on the green economy, digital transformation, and geopolitical/geo-economic areas and in line with the perspective of coopetition model, the study argues that Türkiye-EU relations can be revitalized if only both sides acknowledge that cooperation for research and development, maintaining peace in their vicinity will provide mutual gains while contestation for normative order and competition for geo-economic benefits will persist.

Anahtar Kelimeler

European Union, Türkiye, coopetition, digital transformation, green economy

Etik Beyan

Etik Kurullar ve Komisyonlarının Yönergelerini inceledim ve bunlara göre çalışmamın yürütülebilmesi için herhangi bir Etik Kurul/Komisyon’dan izin alınmasına gerek olmadığını; aksi durumda doğabilecek her türlü hukuki sorumluluğu kabul ettiğimi ve vermiş olduğum bilgilerin doğru olduğunu beyan ederim.

TÜRKİYE-AB İLİŞKİLERİNİN GELECEĞİ: İŞ BİRLİĞİ, REKABET VE REKABERLİK

Öz

Türkiye’nin Avrupa Birliği (AB) ile ilişkisi, 1963 yılında imzalanan Ankara Anlaşması’na kadar uzanan uzun bir geçmişe sahiptir. On yıllardır süren bu ilişkiye rağmen, Ankara Anlaşması’nda öngörülen tam üyelik gerçekleşmemiştir. Dondurulmuş müzakere fasılları ve dış politika önceliklerindeki değişimler gibi siyasi ve teknik engeller son dönemde ilişkileri germiştir. Son on yıldır, Türkiye, AB’den uzaklaşırken, AB’nin Türk siyaseti ve toplumu üzerindeki dönüştürücü etkileri de azalmıştır. Bu nedenle, Türkiye-AB ilişkileri üzerine yapılan son araştırmalar, Türk siyasetindeki Avrupasızlaşma sürecine, artan çekişmelere ve Türkiye ile AB arasındaki siyasi ayrışmaya odaklanmıştır. İşletme disiplininden ödünç alınan rekaberlik kavramı, Türkiye ve AB arasında işbirliği ve rekabetin nasıl bir arada var olabileceğine dair farklı bir bakış açısı sunmaktadır. Durağan bir ortaklık yerine ilerici bir işbirliğine ve yıkıcı bir rekabet yerine yapıcı bir rekabete odaklanarak her iki tarafın da daha dengeli ve verimli bir ilişki sürdürebileceği iddia edilmektedir. Bu çalışma, Türkiye-AB ilişkilerini küresel değişimler, teknolojik ilerlemeler ve bölgesel çatışmalar ışığında yeniden değerlendirmekte ve iki taraf arasındaki iş birliği ve rekabetin aynı anda yönetilmesi için bir çerçeve olarak rekaberlik kavramını önermektedir. Yeşil ekonomi, dijital dönüşüm ve jeopolitik/jeoekonomik alanlara odaklanan bu çalışma, rekaberlik modeline uygun olarak, Türkiye-AB ilişkilerinin ancak her iki tarafın da araştırma ve geliştirme için işbirliği yapmalarının, çevrelerinde barışı korumanın karşılıklı kazanımlar sağlayacağını, ancak normatif düzen için çekişmenin ve jeoekonomik faydalar için rekabetin devam edeceğini kabul etmeleri halinde yeniden canlandırılabileceğini savunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Avrupa Birliği, dijital dönüşüm, rekaberlik, yeşil ekonomi, Türkiye

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