AN ANALYSIS OF THE EU’S SOFT POWER AND THE EU – TURKEY RELATIONS THROUGH METAPHORS

Öz

The major high and low tides characterize EU-Turkey relations. On the one hand, democratic reforms in Turkey within the last decades have been largely credited to the EU. On the other hand, the “never-ending” accession process, the accusations against the Turkish government of blackmailing the Union with the refugees, the full membership of Greek Cypriots as the full representative of the whole island have created havoc in the relations. Hence, this study aims at finding out how these variations affect the soft power of the EU. Accordingly, based on a review of the literature, the paper gives a detailed account of the recent issues and challenges in the relations. Besides, a case study was conducted at a foundation university in the Black Sea region of Turkey to give a glimpse of the perceptions of university students about the EU-Turkey relations through metaphors. The study concludes that Turkey should retain its democratic gains, whereas the EU should fix the inconsistencies in its policies not to repeat the missteps of the past to reinstate its soft power.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• European Union
• Soft Power
• Turkish Accession
• University Students

AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ’NİN YUMUŞAK GÜCÜNÜN VE AB-TÜRKİYE İLİŞKİLERİNİN METAFORLAR ARACILIĞIYLA ANALİZİ

Öz

AB - Türkiye ilişkilerini büyük gelgitler şekillendirmektedir. Bir taraftan, Türkiye'deki demokratik reformlarda AB'nin rolüne büyük önem atfedilirken, diğer taraftan Türkiye'nin hiç bitmeyen AB'ye katılım süreci, göçmenler konusunda Türk hükümetine AB tarafından yapılan şantaj suçlamaları, Kıbrıs Rumlarının BM planını reddeden taraf olmalarına karşın tüm adayı temsilen AB'ye kabul edilmesi ilişkilere hasar vermektedir. Bu çalışma, bu keskin değişimlerin AB'nin yumuşak gücü üzerindeki etkisini incelemektedir. Buna uygun olarak, ilgili literatür üzerinden, ilişkiler üzerindeki zorluklar ve açmazların detaylı bir incelemesi yapılmıştır. Buna ilaveten, Karadeniz'deki bir vakıf üniversitesinin öğrencileriyle yapılan vaka çalışmasıyla metaforlar üzerinden üniversite öğrencilerinin ilişkilere yönelik algıları ortaya konmuştur. Çalışmada, Türkiye'nin demokratik kazanımlarını koruması, AB'nin ise yumuşak gücünü koruyabilmek adına geçmişteki hatalarını tekrarlamadan daha tutarlı politikalar üretmesi gerektiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Avrupa Birliği
• Yumuşak Güç
• Türkiye’nin Üyeliği
• Üniversite Öğrencileri

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