from PART II - INDEPENDENCE AND REVIVAL C. 1919 TO THE PRESENT
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2011
Introduction
On 17 December 2004, after several days of meetings in Brussels, when the representatives of the current and future members of the European Union (EU) lined up for their customary photograph to mark the conclusion of a successful convention, the group included a representative from Turkey. In those two days the EU had agreed to start negotiations with Turkey that could result in her full membership. It is well known that European public opinion has been strongly opposed to Turkey’s accession to candidate status. Many believe that inclusion of a country whose population is overwhelmingly Muslim and poor will undermine the coherence of the EU.
In Turkey too, however, there are people who find the inclusion of Turkey’s prime minister, Tayyip Erdoǧan, in the EU’s group photograph somewhat unsettling. This relatively small but highly influential group includes some members of the civilian and military elite and intellectuals. Even though Westernisation has been the central ambition of the modern Turkish Republic since its foundation in 1923, and even though Turkey is closer than ever to these ideals today, this elite is unhappy that the country has been brought to this stage by a party and a politician with deep roots in Islamist politics.
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