From Clinton to Obama

Turkey has been an official candidate for EU membership since 1999. In 2005 accession negotiations were launched. Negotiations however have been protracted and are expected to last at least another 10 to 15 years; at the same time membership is far from guaranteed. While the country’s membership bid constitutes possibly the most divisive application in the EU’s history one of the most ardent supporters for Turkey’s membership has been the United States. The U.S. has persistently and publicly advocated for Turkey’s EU membership. This book depicts the evolution of American arguments across different time periods. It seeks to explain what the administrations’ official rhetoric reveals about the reasons and the content of U.S. arguments in favor of Turkey’s EU bid. In the first part of this book Turkey’s relationship with the EU is outlined to illustrate the complexities of Turkey’s membership bid in a European context. The next chapter seeks to trace the evolution of different U.S. administrations’ line of argumentation. It covers the Post Cold War era and the presidency of Bill Clinton as well as the period following 9/11 and the Iraq War including George W. Bush’s presidency. The final section assesses President Barack Obama’s first term in office.