Yunanistan ve Türkiye'nin Avrupalılaşması sürecinin mukayeseli analizi: İş örgütleri ve sivil toplum kuruluşlarının etkisi

M.A. Thesis Abstract FormName of the Student : İzzet NASProgram of Study : International RelationsThesis Title : Europeanization of Greece and Turkey in ComparativePerspective: The Role of Business Associations andCivil Society OrganizationsAbstractEuropeanization has been a widely contested concept which is increasingly being studied toexplain the processes of adaptation, convergence and reform at the domestic as well as at theregional level. While Europeanization from above sends signals to the national politics, polityand policies to cope with European norms, rules and regulations, it also receives impulses by thepressures from below which are eventually illustrated in the policy discourses and debates at theEU level. Thus, the circularity of mutual influences of Europeanization is instrumental in findingout the linkages that are inducing change and reform at the national level. Hence, the study ofEuropeanization is utilized to draw the framework in my attempt to explore the transformation ofGreece and Turkey in general, and Greek-Turkish relations in particular. While a significantemphasis will be put on the Europeanization from above in comparative perspective thatreinforced the transformation at the political level, the thesis aims to tackle with a relatively lessaddressed question: The role of business associations and civil society organizations inEuropeanization of Greece and Turkey. In contrast to many contemporary studies of Greek-Turkish relations whose focus were given on the security-related, conflict-resolution basedissues, the objective of my thesis is to assess the role actors of low politics on the transformationof the states towards European acquis within the Europeanization framework. The findings of thestudy are quite astonishing. Greek-Turkish relations entered into a new orbit of rapprochementgiven the set of incentives provided by the EU, the civil diplomacy in the aftermath of the twinearthquakes in 1999, and soaring business interests at both sides of the Aegean. In this respect,the role of the EU has been instrumental in catalyzing social and business rapprochement asidethe political rapprochement. Finally, the trajectory of social and business rapprochement stronglyindicate that Greek-Turkish relations have reached such a momentum that a sharp return of therelations in the forthcoming future is barely conceivable.Keywords: Europeanization, Greek-Turkish relations, civil society, business associations,rapprochementAdvisor: Prof. Dr. Ziya Öniş Date:Director: Prof. Dr. Ziya Öniş Date: