Kemalizim Kopenhag kriteleriyle buluşuyor: Neo-Kemalizmin doğuşu

ABSTRACTKEMALISM MEETS THE COPENHAGEN CRITERIA: THE EMERGENCE OFNEO-KEMALISMGünay, DefneM.A., Department of International RelationsSupervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Ali TekinSeptember 2005Turkey?s long-drawn-out journey came to another turning point aftergetting 3 October 2005 as a date for the launch of accession talks with the EuropeanUnion. This decision made by the Union on 17 December 2004 was an upshot ofhuge steps taken by subsequent Turkish governments in terms of transforming itsdemocracy so as to comply with the Copenhagen criteria. This wave ofdemocratization inevitably has raised questions about the fate of Kemalism, whichhas been largely penetrated by these reforms. When these reforms are coupled withsome allegations both from the EU and from within Turkey as being a barrier toTurkey?s EU membership, it became inevitable to put Kemalism and its fate intointerrogation. This thesis aims to answer the question of how and why prevalentinterpretation of Kemalism is being strained by the EU conditionality that permeatesfundamentals of Kemalism.Keywords: Kemalism, Turkey and the European Union, the Copenhagen Criteria.