Problems of National Identity in an Era of Globalization: Turkeys Bid to Join the European Union

Abstract

This paper examines Turkish national identity as the critical element in Turkeys exclusion from the

European Union (EU). My central contention is that the main obstacle to Turkeys membership in the

EU may not be the reason that European officials formally cite, that is to say, problems related to

democracy, economics, and human rights, but rather, perceptions of Turkey and Turkish national

identity as alien and others. As Europe reinvents itself along ethnic and to a certain extent, racial

lines with the emergence of the EU, a powerful regional block pursuing a different kind of superpower

whose main domain is the soft power, European perceptions of the Turk constitute serious obstacles to

Turkeys integration into Europe. Therefore, Turkeys hopes for full membership in the EU are far

from being materialized at this point due to questions regarding Turkeys national identity.