Abstract
Since the credibility of the European Union (EU) conditionality for Turkey has significantly weakened after 2005, compliance with the EU requirements has become less likely. However, we observe continuing reforms in the fight against corruption and minority rights, which is rather puzzling. Given the limited impact of the EU incentives, this paper brings back the ‘domestic’ into the analysis by exploring the role of various domestic actors, such as Turkish state elites, civil society and the media. Yet, as the empirical evidence suggests, policy change in the fight against corruption and minority rights has been driven by the domestic agenda of the governing party, the Justice and Development Party, and its political preferences based on strategic calculations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 11-29 |
| Journal | Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank Thomas Diez, Tanja Börzel and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.