Positions and oppositions: Greek foreign policy towards Turkey's accession to the EC/EU (1987-2002)

Abstract

This thesis concerns the Greek policy towards Turkey's accession to the EC/ EU. The instigation for this thesis was the observation of a complete reversion in the Greek policy during that period, from a negative to a very cooperative stance vis-à-vis Turkey's EU prospects. The questions that are treated in the thesis are the following: Under which conditions did this cooperative behaviour occur? Does it reflect a general change in Greek foreign policy towards Turkey? Mainly, why did this shift of policy occur? In order to answer these questions, I proceeded to an historical overview of the Greek foreign policy and I interviewed 14 Greek high-level government officials. The main argument that is presented in the thesis is the following: The reasons for the change had little to do with the Greek perceptions on Turkey per se. Instead, on the systemic level, the rewards from cooperation were multiplied, with the rapid integration at the EU level. The institutional framework started offering more opportunities and incentives for cooperation, in the way that the neoliberal institutionalists theorized it. However, this cooperation would not have been possible without the rise to power of a new set of actors in the level of political class. These had matured ideologically in the debate concerning the EU at the early '80s; they used the EU as a banner in order to differentiate themselves in their domestic political power struggles and, when in power, they took advantage of the opportunities that the EU offered, in order to pursue their redefined Greek national interest, in which rapprochement with Turkey was included.