Abstract:

The relations between Turkey and the European Union (EU) are multi-dimensional, complex and dynamic. The participation of Turkey as a full member of the EU will have a very significant influence on both sides, both institutional, political, economic and identity-based. One of these issues is security issues. There are a number of factors that influence the security-based relations between Turkey and the EU. These factors also constitute the fundamental dynamics of the EU’s development of a security perception towards Turkey. The article focuses on three major developments that lead to systematic changes in international relations, among the various factors that shape the security dimension of the Turkish-EU relations. These three major moments of development or breakdown are the beginning of the Cold War, the end of the Cold War, and the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. The specific conditions and dynamics of the periods following these three major breakdowns have formed a framework in the formation of security-focused relations between Turkey and the EU. During the Cold War and the period after September 11, the EU’s security perception towards Turkey looked in a positive direction, while in the 1990s Turkey and the EU’s different security concepts, threat perceptions and security approaches had a negative impact on the EU’s security perception towards Turkey.

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