ABSTRACT
Cultural expansion is also a desirable goal from the perspective of the global competitiveness of the European cultural industry. These political and economic objectives activate a universalizing approach that constructs European culture as a set of assets and products that can be exported to and adopted by non-Europeans. The neo-functionalist expectations, based on assumptions about a natural process whereby integration in economic areas generates a spillover into political and cultural areas, has lost its standing. The European Capital of Culture (ECC) opening ceremony brought together Turkey's political elite and provided them an opportunity to utilize and emphasize Istanbul's title as as a reflection of Turkey's Europeanness. Thus, the importance that Turkey placed on the role of civil society participation plus the fact that the initiative to apply for the title of ECC was taken by Turkish civil society organizations played a significant role in its selection as European Capital of Culture.
