Turkey's Otherness In The Identity Discourses Of European Parliament

Year 2019, Volume: 19 Issue: 3, 359 - 372, 30.07.2019

Hülya Ağcasulu , Ringo Ossewaarde

https://doi.org/10.21121/eab.464110

Abstract

 This study aims to analyze discursive constructions of the Turkey’s
otherness with its relation to European identity in the European Parliament
(EP). The social constructivist approach is employed in the study and European
identity is proposed as a contested, hybrid and relatively exclusivist concept,
which primarily shaped within the self/other nexus particularly in the
enlargement process. The focus of the paper is the identification of hegemonic
referential strategies and related metaphors emphasizing otherness of Turkey, without
denying the inclusive discourses in the EP. In that sense, the research data consists
of 1999-2012 EP plenary debates. The major findings are a) the tendency to
present acquired characteristics as the innate differences alongside with the inherent
differences; b) the majority of exclusive discourses possessed the right-wing
MEPs and c) the exclusivist debates peaked 2004-09 term, the time of the launch
of negotiations. 

Keywords

discourse, identity, European Parliament, enlargement, Turkey

Avrupa Parlamentosu’nun Kimlik Söylemlerinde Türkiye’nin Ötekileştirilmesi

Abstract

Bu çalışma Avrupa Parlamentosu’nda (AP) Avrupa kimliği ile bağlantılı olarak Türkiye’nin ötekileştirilmesinin söylemsel yapılanmalarını analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmada inşacı yaklaşım benimsenerek Avrupa kimliği, özellikle genişleme sürecinde öncelikli olarak ben/öteki bağlantısında şekillenen, tartışmaya açık, hibrit yapıda ve nispeten dışlayıcı bir kavram olarak ele alınmaktadır. Çalışmanın odak noktası, AP’deki kapsayıcı söylemleri inkâr etmeden, Türkiye’nin ötekiliğine vurgu yapan hegemonik referans stratejileri ve ilgili metaforları tespit etmektir. Çalışmanın araştırma verisi 1999-2012 yılları arasındaki AP genel tartışmalarından oluşmaktadır. Araştırmanın en önemli bulguları arasında a) kazanılan özelliklerin de içkin farklılıklarmış gibi sunma eğilimi; b) dışlayıcı söylemlerin çoğunluğunun sağ-kanat AP üyelerine ait olması ve c) üyelik müzakerelerinin başlangıcına denk gelen 2004-09 döneminde dışlayıcı söylemlerin en üst seviyeye ulaşmasıdır

Keywords

söylem, kimlik, Avrupa Parlamentosu, AB genişlemesi, Türkiye, ötekileştirme

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