"Being European: Turkey's achievement or a paradox?
Huseyin Bagci
bagci@metu.edu.tr
15 May 2006
Whether Turkey is European or not is again a topic of debate among European intellectuals. Turkey's social, political and intellectual developments are now being more closely monitored by European universities and think-tanks, and Turkish academics now are much more in demand than before.
The question is where Turkey is heading and whether the country is developing parallel to or in a different direction from that of Europe. Turks make the headlines when there are internal debates in Europe and when it's stuck on certain issues which can be only solved in a larger time frame. To be concrete: Turkey's possible membership in the European Union is still under debate, and fear of Turkey seems more real than before. One shouldn't being leveling accusations against Europeans at this juncture in history but rather reading history better and taking lessons for the future."
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