Greek minorities in the context of Turkish - European Union relations

The issue of minority rights has shown itself in Turkish political life with the initiation of Turkey?s attempts to become a full member of the European Union. Concerning the Greek minorities as part of the Non-Muslim minorities, in spite of the critics and demands that are stated in the European Commission?s Progress Reports on Turkey, Turkish governments have shown very little progress. Moreover, in some areas they have not even demonstrated any positive developments. Among these issues, the situation of the Clergy School on Heybeliada (Halki seminary), issues related to the property rights of Greek minorities, problems concerning the opening of new places of worship and restoration of the current places of worship can be included. This thesis in an attempt to find an answer to the question of why Turkey has not progressed much in establishing reforms concerning Greek minorities will bring a cultural explanation (one of the main approaches of comparative politics) to the question. The thesis will concentrate on `Turkish nationalism? and `Sevres syndrome? as the main elements that shape the Turkish political culture which at the same time have had a negative impact on the progress of reforms concerning Greek minorities.