ABSTRACT
In order for states to hold and maintain a social identity requires acceptance and approval from others because identities are mutual constructions. This is especially true for Turkey because Turkey’s European identity was created within the country without acceptance from others. Because this self-image is dependent on the possibility of being supported by others, the most important goal of Turkish foreign policy has been to gain that support from the West. Since membership in the EU was seen as the last step toward recognition of Turkey, the reluctance of Europeans to grant membership to Turkey created an emotional outburst in Turkey. This point was made in 1988 by Prof. Dr. Korkut Boratav in the wake of Turkey’s application when he argued the impossibility of Turkey’s full membership in the EU: “Turkey’s approach to Europe is not healthy and often carries schizophrenic and paranoid characteristics. The EU’s rejection will contribute to the development of fascist and fundamentalist ideologies in Turkey. Therefore, it would have been better if Turkey had never made this application in the first place.”1
