ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the formal dimension of change in the normative area by looking at Turkey’s adherence to the good neighbourly relations principle, by which the EU prescribes the peaceful settlement of disputes. The chapter elaborates on Turkey’s responses to the EU’s specific demands with regard to the Cyprus question and its bilateral relations with Greece, Middle Eastern neighbours, and Armenia. It examines the evolution of the foreign policy instruments used by Turkey, ranging from the threat or actual use of force to diplomacy, negotiation and soft power in general. Using a quantitative content analysis of the relevant sections of the EU’s progress reports, in conjunction with the process-tracing technique, this chapter shows the variations in the direction and magnitude of change in Turkish foreign policy, presents the cyclical nature of Turkey’s Europeanisation in the normative area, and discusses these variations within the EU-level and domestic-level variables of the conditionality mechanism.
