Turkey's changing position in European security: ESDP and Turkey

This thesis is prepared to analyse Turkey?s position and importance in EuropeanSecurity and Defence Identity and Policy which European Union tries to developfor some time. In this study, the relations between the European Union andTurkey are discussed in the framework of ?security community? concept of KarlDeutsch. It is also examined within this context in which type of structure therelations have developed from past to present. The fundamental reason forchoosing this subject is to analyse the reasons for the worsening of the securityrelations after the Cold War, despite the improving political and economicrelations between the European Community -European Union- and Turkey. In thiscontext, it is examined why the security relations between the two parties becameproblematic and in which processes and through which factors EU and Turkeywere able or not able to establish a security community. This study has two mainarguments: firstly, because of the common threat factor -the USSR- in the ColdWar period, even it was in an instrumental dimension, a security community wasdeveloped between NATO and Turkey. Secondly, with the effects of differingsecurity perceptions and cultures between the EU and Turkey after the Cold War,maintaining the security community became impossible. Moreover, the studyexamines new security conceptions developed as a result of the changing globalconditions, for example the end of the Cold War era and attacks of 9/11.