Research Interest

National identity is a difficult concept on the basis of which to analyse foreign policy initiatives, but in the case of Europe and Turkey, it offers an insightful and interesting route to explore. With respect to Europe’s relations with Turkey, the problem of national identity has inhibited Europe’s changing form, with resultant hardships, and it has contributed to an identity shift which has affected its perception of itself and its relations with Turkey.

My research looks at the identity shift and its spin-offs: nationalism, racially- and culturally-oriented policies, a European identity crisis, and the changing perception of Turkey as a consequence of these factors. The relationship between the EU’s national identity and Turkish accession deserves analysis in the conclusion

The European integration created by these political changes needs to be examined by situating them within a theoretical and ideological framework, that is to say in relation to the variety of discourses produced by institutions, groups, and actors (dominators) on culture and identity. The political structuring of cultural identity is a fruitful way to examine the nature and content. Two processes will be at the core of the discussion: the idea of European identity as a top-down process, and the bottom-up manifestations of both political and cultural identities in the European Union, be they cultural, ethnic, professional, or political in nature. However, while the economic and political processes at the core of this construction have often been endorsed, cultural processes and especially the question of the regional and ethnic identity and cultures have been downplayed or ignored. Yet recent studies have emphasised the dual processes of national construction versus global identity at the centre of the establishment of Turkish nations.