Emulating the Turkish Experience through European Neighborhood Policy—Prospects for Democratization in the Arab and Muslim World Considered

Abstract

A widespread consensus among scholars on the Turkey-EU accession talks in recent years is their overall positive impact on the Turkish democracy. Can the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) have a similar effect on other neighboring target Muslim countries? This paper seeks to answer the question by overviewing some of the main democratization efforts in Turkey since the 1990s. The following section then compares the Turkish experience with other Muslim countries (those with a Muslim-majority population) that are ENP partners, by stressing the differences. The final section concludes by discussing the prospects of democratization in the latter based on these findings, and the potential roles that the ENP can play to further promote the ongoing process. (115 words)