Turkey Thread

[Pannonian]

He said it is in part the eu's fault, which is hard to argue.

The moment the EU showed its willful concessions, support for the EU in Turkey increased. According to one poll 62% of Turks want to join the EU, up from 42% in last year. About 7/10 believe Turkey will never be allowed in (http://www.economist.com/news/europe...ky-deal-turkey). Whether Turkey fits into this "value community" or not, you could argue that Turkey has been backing these values in an international scale for decades and by right deserve to have their allies search for a middle ground as they are now.

Don't pretend that Turkey's aggressive diplomacy and bullying of low profile countries isn't shared by a handful of EU states.

Wow, how one-dimensional is it that you granted the Arab Gulf visa-free travel before your own neighbor, who is closer to your own "values," doesn't sabotage your interests as much, and pulls out its ambassadors from you the same way?

Kemal would have said that these values are worth attaining, in and of themselves, without needing validation by others.

[Gilrandir]

if turkey has turned away from western liberal democracy then it is in part the eu's fault.

Internal policy of a country doesn't and shouldn't depend on what someone thinks. If a country favors dictatorship, it is its own prefrence/fault.

1) Why would 40 years of being a military ally alone qualify a country to join what some also call a "value community" if their values are completely different in many dimensions?

Being a military ally presupposes intense cooperation and adapting to common standards at least in some sphere(s). Which promotes mutual understanding and makes it easier to cooperate on in other fields.