The EU negotiations as a reform strategy: Turkey's problem ahead

Abstract

During the negotiation phase of accession to the European Union (EU), Turkey has to carry out a series of reforms. In this context, reforms are taken as production processes to setup new institutions by using available resources of the society. The EU reserves the right of not accepting Turkey as a member state, irrespective of her reform performance. Therefore, in reforming her institutions, Turkey has to consider this uncertainty. It is shown that reforms lead to a welfare loss vis-a-vis status-quo-preserving policies during the negotiations period. It is claimed that even if all political parties consider reforms as desirable, they will commit themselves to a pro-reform strategy only if certain extra conditions are satisfied. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.