Britain as a model: Turkish politicians’ perceptions of the UK
Light lunch provided
This talk analyzes Anglo-Turkish relations in the past 45 years, based on research that has been conducted in the Turkish parliamentary archives and interviews with prominent Turkish politicians, state officials and business people. The data highlights that Britain has rarely been the main theme in Turkish parliamentary discussions or on the main agenda of politics. However, despite major events and periods that have shaped bilateral relations, Britain has been consistently mentioned “as a role model” with its level of democracy and socio-economic development. This type of perception was manifested in parliamentary debates and was touched upon in the interviews in three forms. First, the UK is seen as a country that has epitomized the level of political development that Turkey should also aspire for. Second, the UK was used to legitimize the behaviours of Turkish politicians when criticized by their opponents. Third, in the parliamentary debates, examples from British politics and economic indicators are used to emphasize what other Western countries are doing, usually in passing, along with other country examples and with statistical information. The frequency of how Britain is referenced in parliamentary debates and the positive images of the country in the interviews reflect the Turkish elite’s own understandings of “modernity” and “Western-ness” and provides clues about the constructive relationship the two countries have forged since the Second World War.
Date:
5 June 2019, 12:30 (Wednesday, 6th week, Trinity 2019)
Venue:
St Antony's College - North Site
Venue Details:
Seminar Room, European Studies Centre, 70 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HR
Speaker:
Yaprak Gursoy (Ashton University)
Organising department:
European Studies Centre
Organiser:
Julie Adams (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
julie.adams@sant.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Othon Anastasakis (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Part of:
South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX)
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Julie Adams
