ИСТИНА

Despite the downward dynamics of the political relations between Turkey and the EU together with the extremely low level of public support to the “European project”, modernization and liberalization process in Turkey, which had Turkey’s EU accession as an ultimate goal, did not stop. It continues in the form of selective reforms in the spheres where it coincides with the current interests of the ruling regime. At the same time the liberalization of other spheres such as human rights and freedom of speech is decreasing. Furthermore the recent developments in Turkey evidence not only growing fragmentation of modernization/democratization but an increasing process of de-Westernization. Analyzing the data from Turkish NGOs, business associations and main media sources the paper addresses the question of changing balance between external and internal factors of democratization in Turkey in the 21st century. On the one hand, Turkey is a country, which has a long-lasting and positive experience of active membership in such European structures as NATO, European Council, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, etc. On the other hand, Turkey is a country with a protracted and negative story of negotiations for the EU full membership. The very same states with whom Turkey cooperates closely in various world organizations (Germany, France, Austria, etc.) alienate Turkey from deeper engagement in the “European project”. Methodologically the paper utilizes international socialization theory and theories of global civil society, which have proven that international institutions potentially may have a socializing effect on the nation states, driving them to internalize new roles and norms. It also tests various hypotheses about both international socialization and roles of civil society addressing specifically Russia’s approaches to and discourses on civil society and the EU policy.