ABSTRACT
The EU candidature of Turkey, however, is not only an issue of domestic debate. This issue is widely discussed in public as well as in academic and bureaucratic circles in Europe and also elsewhere in the world. Arguments in support of the membership of Turkey and against it rose in the Middle East and in the USA also. The developments after 9/11 and the revival of arguments about the clash of civilizations have their repercussions for Turkey’s EU candidature and possible membership. The rise of xenophobia and fear of Islam made the place of Turkey in the world politics crucial. The arguments for and against the membership of Turkey to the EU are raised in this atmosphere. Turkey’s membership to the Union is presented by some politicians and academics as an answer to the arguments of clash of civilizations in Turkey and abroad. Some conservative circles in Europe, however, opposed to Turkey’s membership deriving from the arguments of incompatibility of different cultures and argue that Turkey belongs to another culture. The arguments for and against the membership of Turkey to the EU also contributed to my interest in this topic.
