History of Turkey and the European Union
Turkey has had a long history with Europe and the European Union that stretches back many years. In 1952, Turkey joined the United States and most of Western Europe in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Turkey would look at this as the first step toward European acceptance, which had been so important to the country's founder and hero, Kemal Ataturk. It would become an associate member of the Western European Union.[1] As early as 1959, Turkey tried to gain entrance into what is now the European Union, then known as the European Economic Community (EEC).[2] Under the Ankara Agreement of 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the EEC.[3] Denied entrance into the European Union in 1987, Turkey still continued to push for membership.[4] The next pivotal moment came in 1996 when Turkey was admitted into the European Union's Customs Union.[5] However, it was disappointed a year later when Turkey was not listed as part of the European Union's plans for enlargement. Finally, in 1999 at the Helsinki summit, Turkey was named as a candidate country.[6] This meant that Turkey was one step away from starting the accession process and realizing its goal of becoming a recognized member of Europe.
Requirements to Join the European Union
The European Union has specific yet numerous qualifications that must be met before accession. The European Council set the criteria for accession in June of 1993. It stated first that a country must have strong democratic institutions, including the rule of law and a guarantee of civil rights. A viable economic market must exist, along with evidence that the economy of the applicant country can compete with those already in the EU. Al...
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...Opportunity in Turkey,?? Financial Times, Oct. 21 (2003).? Academic Search Premier Database,? Lexis-Nexis (29 October 2003).
Gherghisan, Mihaela, ?Verheugen Careful about Turkish EU Accession,?? EUObserver.com, Apr. 29 (2003).? Academic Search Premier Database,? Lexis-Nexis (8 October 2003).
Heper, Metin. Historical Dictionary of Turkey. 2nd ed. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2002.
??EU Enlargement Commissioner Says Turkey Giving ?Mixed Picture,? ? AFX.? Com, Oct. 27 (2003).? Academic Search Premier Databas? Lexis-Nexis (29 October 2003).
?EU/Turkey: Euro 145 Million Pre-Accession Aid Package Granted to ? Ankara,? European Report, Oct. 29 (2003).? Academic Search Premier? Database, Lexis-Nexis (29 October 2003).
?EU/Turkey: Gunter Verheugen Cites 2011 as Possible Membership? Date,? European Report, Apr. 30 (2003). Academic Search Premier
The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest running empires in history, spanning 624 years. The women of the Ottoman empire were often limited to the household of their husband’s and held back by Ottoman lawmakers and authorities. The point of view of outsiders was varied, but there were both positive and negative views.
In the novel, “Unbroken,” by Laura Hildenbrand, Louis Zamperini struggles to overcome many challenges during WWII. Zamperini was a troubled child. He completely disregarded authority and had a difficult time controlling his temper. His brother, Pete, wanted to keep him out of trouble, so he distracted him with running. Louis fell in love with the sport. After having a successful career as an athlete and joining the olympics, Zamperini, was drafted into the Air force. Along with the challenges brought by war, Zamperini faced unusual circumstances as his plane had mechanical issues and crashed near Oahu. Of the eleven men aboard the plane, three survived and were stranded at sea for forty seven days. Zamperini was one of them. After being stranded, he was picked up by the Japanese navy and taken to a prisoner of war camp where he was tortured. He was held there until the end of the war. The events in Zamperini’s childhood led him to become a courageous and fearless adult. His drive, commitment, hope, and resolve kept him alive and thriving through each of these situations.
Ebel, Kathryn A. "Representations of the Frontier in Ottoman Town Views of the Sixteenth Century." Imago Mundi 60, no. 1 (January 2008): 1-22. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 20, 2011).
Islam has been a dominant force throughout Turkish history. During the Ottoman Empire, Islam ruled every part of the theocratic state, but after the demise of the empire, Turkey's rulers led the country away from political Islam. The modern Turkish state has a strictly secular government, and Islam has been relegated to the personal sphere. Although Turkey has experienced a rise in fundamentalism in the past twenty years, the separation of church and state has remained relatively intact. Even with this increase of fundamentalist Islam, the wide majority of Muslims in Turkey are moderate and tolerant. They have adapted to modern life and value Islam for its moral and spiritual messages. Islam is a guide for right living and ethical conduct rather than a political system. Turkey constantly struggles to balance Islamic life with a secular government. Although the government wants to maintain a strict separation between religion and politics, it cannot ignore the power and influence that Islam has in the lives of the Turkish people.
Even his lightest plays have serious undertones to them. Each one depicts life as it once was, complete with the rules and expectations which were common at the time. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare reflects society’s views on love and gender, both in his own time and in ancient Athens.
Every few years, countries experience an economic decline which is commonly referred to as a recession. In recent years the U.S. has been faced with overcoming the most devastating global economic hardships since the Great Depression. This period “a period of declining GDP, accompanied by lower real income and higher unemployment” has been referred to as the Great Recession (McConnell, 2012 p.G-30). This paper will cover the issues which led to the recession, discuss the strategies taken by the Government and Federal Reserve to alleviate the crisis, and look at the future outlook of the U.S. economy. By examining the nation’s economic struggles during this time period (2007-2009), it will conclude that the current macroeconomic situation deals with unemployment, which is a direct result of the recession.
A Democratic Deficit in the EU The question over the legitimacy of the EU has been a nearly continuous debate and many commentators appear to agree that the EU suffers from a severe ‘democratic deficit’. There are many reasons why this perception is so widespread. As a multinational body it lacks the grounding in common history and culture upon which most individual polities can draw.
Imagine being a woman in sixteenth century Europe. Females were raised to believe that they were subservient and that men knew better on any subject. Basically, women had no rights. They were considered property, first “owned” by their fathers and then control was “transferred” to the husband chosen for them. Marriage was not about love, but in most cases, it was a business deal that was mutually beneficial to both families – an interesting fact is that like young women, most young men had no choice in the selection of their future betrothed. These traditions and the gender roles assumed by men and women at that time had an impact on Shakespeare’s writing and performances and a great example of this is evident in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
Thomassen, J. 2009. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. In: Thomassen, J. Eds. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 67-86.
The Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its power in the 1500s. While other empires were experiencing their downfalls, the Ottoman Empire’s power seemed to be increasing. In fact, this empire can be ranked as the strongest power due to its tactical internal organization of power, minorities, and religion, due to its physical expansion which provided more resources, more advancements, and more people to support the empire, and due to its large military strength that provided security, reduced rebellion, and challenged the other powers.
Award-Winning author Laura Hillenbrand writes of the invigorating survival story of Louie Zamperini in her best selling book, Unbroken. Louie Zamperini was an ambitious, record-breaking Olympic runner when he was drafted into the American army as an airman during World War II. On the mission that led him to embark on a journey of dire straits, Louie’s plain crashed into the Pacific Ocean, leaving only him and two other crewmen as survivors. Stranded on a raft in shark infested waters, without any resources or food, and drifting toward enemy Japanese territory, the men now have to face their ultimate capture by Japanese, if they survive that long. Louie responded to his desperation with dexterity, undergoing his plight with optimism and confidence, rather than losing hope. In this memorable novel, Hillenbrand uses a vivid narrative voice to divulge Louie’s tale of endurance, and proves that the resilience of the human mind can triumph through adversity.
In order to be a member of the European Union, an applying nation must first meet the requirements of membership as described in the Copenhagen Criteria. There are geographic, democratic and economic criteria. Geographically, the applying nation must be classified as a European nation, as exemplified by Morocco’s rejection. The applying nation must also have a secure and functional democratic government that only acts in accordance with the law. This means that any citizen should be able participate in the political system and that there are free elections with a secret ballot. The government must also respect human rights and have protection policies for minorities, meaning that a persons’ inalienable rights are protected by law and minority groups can retain their culture and language without discrimination. Economically, a country must have a functional market economy on which it can feasibly support itself and other member nations if need be. The country’s economy needs to be able to compete on a global scale and deal with economic pressures. There are also separate guidelines for countries wanting to convert to the Euro. Finally, countries that want to join must agree to uphold laws and regulations t...
Mulle, E.D., Wedekind, G., Depoorter, I., Sattich, T., & Maltby, T. 2013. ‘EU Enlargement: Lessons from, and prospects for’. IES Working Paper 3. Pp 8-39.
“Istanbul Cultural Tips – National Geographic’s Ultimate City Guide.” National Geographic Travel. 2014. National Geographic Society. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.