Araştırma Makalesi

From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025)

Cilt: 25 Sayı: 4 29 Ekim 2026
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From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025)

Öz

This article examines the transformation of the European Union’s efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Turkey from the 1999 Helsinki Summit to mid-2025. The study analyzes the instruments implemented by the EU, reform periods, and democratic setbacks, and examines the internal and external factors that shape these processes. A qualitative and historical-institutionalist method is adopted; EU Progress Reports, Turkey’s legal reform documents, and important political developments are evaluated using discourse analysis and process monitoring techniques. In the early 2000s, EU conditionality implemented within the framework of membership negotiations, reform roadmaps, and pre-accession financial assistance provided concrete gains in democratic reforms. However, this effect gradually diminished in the following years. Enlargement fatigue in Brussels, the authoritarian process that Turkey has experienced, especially after the 2016 coup attempt, and migration-security-based interests have transformed EU-Turkey relations into a more instrumental and short-term structure. This study reveals how the EU's democratic influence on Turkey has weakened over time and argues that for lasting democratic resilience, it is necessary to go beyond short-term geopolitical calculations.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kaynakça

  1. Aydın-Düzgit, S. (2016). De-Europeanisation through discourse: A critical discourse analysis of AKP’s election speeches. South European Society and Politics, 21(1), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2016.1155282
  2. Aydın-Düzgit, S., & Keyman, E. F. (2014). EU–Türkiye relations and the stagnation of Turkish democracy. Global Türkiye in Europe, 8, 1–9.
  3. Aydın-Düzgit, S., & Keyman, E. F. (2020). EU–Türkiye relations and the challenge ofdemocracy. Global Affairs, 6(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/23340460.2020.1722756
  4. Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (2020). Effective governance under conditions of limited statehood: The EU and other international institutions. Contemporary Politics, 26(5), 573–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569775.2020.1818231
  5. Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (2021). Reconsidering Europeanization in the EU’s post conditionality era. Journal of European Public Policy, 28(3), 431–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1878270
  6. Börzel, T. A., & Soyaltın, D. (2012). Europeanization in Türkiye: Stretching a concept to its limits? European Political Science, 11(2), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2011.49
  7. Börzel, T. A., & Soyaltın, D. (2020). The EU and domestic change in Türkiye: From Europeanization to de-Europeanization. Journal of European Integration, 42(1), 77–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2019.1708336
  8. Carrera, S., Radescu, R., & Guild, E. (2017). EU-Türkiye cooperation on readmission, borders and visas: A comparative analysis. CEPS Paper in Liberty and Security in Europe, No. 94.

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

Politika ve Yönetim (Diğer), Uluslararası İlişkiler (Diğer)

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yayımlanma Tarihi

29 Ekim 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

9 Temmuz 2025

Kabul Tarihi

13 Ekim 2026

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Cilt: 25 Sayı: 4

Kaynak Göster

APA
Neslinebi, S. (2026). From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025). Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 25(4), 585-601. https://doi.org/10.17755/esosder.1738496
AMA
1.Neslinebi S. From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025). esosder. 2026;25(4):585-601. doi:10.17755/esosder.1738496
Chicago
Neslinebi, Seyfeddin. 2026. “From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025)”. Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 25 (4): 585-601. https://doi.org/10.17755/esosder.1738496.
EndNote
Neslinebi S (01 Ekim 2026) From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025). Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 25 4 585–601.
IEEE
[1]S. Neslinebi, “From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025)”, esosder, c. 25, sy 4, ss. 585–601, Eki. 2026, doi: 10.17755/esosder.1738496.
ISNAD
Neslinebi, Seyfeddin. “From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025)”. Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 25/4 (01 Ekim 2026): 585-601. https://doi.org/10.17755/esosder.1738496.
JAMA
1.Neslinebi S. From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025). esosder. 2026;25:585–601.
MLA
Neslinebi, Seyfeddin. “From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025)”. Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, c. 25, sy 4, Ekim 2026, ss. 585-01, doi:10.17755/esosder.1738496.
Vancouver
1.Seyfeddin Neslinebi. From Accession Conditionality to Strategic Ambiguity: Evaluating the EU’s Influence on Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey (1999–2025). esosder. 01 Ekim 2026;25(4):585-601. doi:10.17755/esosder.1738496

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Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (Electronic Journal of Social Sciences), Creative Commons Atıf-GayriTicari 4.0 Uluslararası Lisansı ile lisanslanmıştır.

ESBD Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (Electronic Journal of Social Sciences), Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu tarafından tescil edilmiştir. Marka No:2011/119849.