Scrutiny and domestic policy change during accession to the European Union

This chapter focuses on the differences in the domestic political and economic changes states make as they undergo the transformation toward membership in the European Union (EU). Many scholars have noted that EU accession conditionality—where the EU offers candidate countries potential benefits, such as financial aid, in exchange for making domestic reforms—is one of the most powerful mechanisms of promoting Europeanization. The chapter argues that acceding states will make commitments to domestic changes as a direct result of the scrutiny they face during the accession process from international organization gatekeepers. To illustrate this argument, it considers case study comparisons of two ongoing accessions to the EU: the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Serbia. These two cases are excellent representations of the broader population of states that are at various stages of joining or preparing to join the EU.