Türkiye in Terms of European Democratic Values

There are two opposite representations of Türkiye in terms of European democratic values, which are analyzed in this chapter. They are the representation of Türkiye in a difficult process of democratic transformation and the representation of Türkiye as increasingly turning away from European norms and values. Under the representation of Türkiye in a difficult process of democratic transformation, an interdiscursivity with the discourse on Europe as a normative power to make a democratic transformation in Türkiye, which is in such a complex and difficult process, is frequently used. Under the image of Türkiye as increasingly turning away from European norms and values, the representations of Türkiye as a violator of fundamental rights and freedoms with pseudo-reforms, an undemocratic and authoritarian state governed by Erdoğan, an occupier in Cyprus as an EU member state, and lastly a reluctant neighbor far from normalizing relations are analyzed. At the end of the chapter, a convergence and a divergence compared to the findings of the period 1997–2007 in terms of the representation of European identity as an upholder and an embodiment of democratic values and the representation of Turkish identity are uncovered.