Turkey and the Dilemma of Eu Accession: When Religion Meets Politics

Hardback jacket blurb: _x000D__x000D_The question of Turkeys membership of the EU has raised several controversial issues, including not only the borders of the EU and its geographical limits, but critical questions of European identity, Islam's place in Europe and its role in European society. Enlargement of the EU to include Turkey is bringing back to the fore a significant issue which has, in recent times, been on the periphery of European politics and society: the relationship...
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Hardback jacket blurb: _x000D__x000D_The question of Turkeys membership of the EU has raised several controversial issues, including not only the borders of the EU and its geographical limits, but critical questions of European identity, Islam's place in Europe and its role in European society. Enlargement of the EU to include Turkey is bringing back to the fore a significant issue which has, in recent times, been on the periphery of European politics and society: the relationship between religion and politics. Several controversial questions have been raised as a result of Turkeys pursuit of EU membership - will including such a large Muslim country, however secular, change the basic identity of the EU? Will it hinder the process of European integration? What impact do culture, religion and identity issues have on Turkeys chances of joining the EU? Are religious and cultural factors per se the primary obstacle to Turkish accession, or is it their interaction with other factors that is prolonging and complicating Turkeys progress towards EU membership? _x000D__x000D_These are some of the questions that this book tries to answer. Mirela Bogdani identifies and analyses the complex range of factors that are influencing Turkey's long and bumpy journey towards EU membership, arguing that it is not solely due to technical issues that Turkeys accession to the EU has been so long and fraught, but also due to issues of culture and religion. She also assesses the contemporary debate on Turkeys candidacy from the European angle, by examining four categories of actors in the integration process: European citizens, EU institutions, EU member-states and European leaders. She investigates the reasons for opposition to Turkeys accession and identifies five potential factors, including issues of multiculturalism and the integration of Muslim communities in Europe, issues of Political Islam and Islamic fundamentalism and its recent revival in Turkey. The book also analyses the tricky issue of the compatibility of Islam with Western values and Islams ability to accommodate democracy and secularisation. _x000D__x000D_This book will be an appealing resource for those who are interested in EU politics, EU enlargement policy, Turkeys process of EU accession, the relationship between religion and politics, identity politics, political Islam, multiculturalism and supranational .integration._x000D__x000D_Paperback cover blurb: _x000D__x000D_What impact do issues of culture, religion and identity have on Turkeys chances of joining the EU? Are religious and cultural factors per se the primary obstacle to Turkish accession, or is it their interaction with other factors that is prolonging and complicating Turkeys progress towards EU membership? _x000D__x000D_Mirela Bogdani here analyses the complex range of factors that are influencing the process of Turkeys accession to the EU, assesses the positions of different European actors towards Turkeys pursuit of EU membership and identifies the reasons for the European opposition. She also analyses the issues of political Islam, multiculturalism and the compatibility of Islam with democracy. _x000D__x000D_This book will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in EU politics, EU enlargement policy, EU-Turkey relations, the relationship between religion and politics, political Islam, multiculturalism and supranational integration._x000