Turkey and the EU: the Ankara's Policy on the eve of the immigration crisis

The paper focuses on the historical dynamics of Turkey-EEC/EU relations, explores factors of stagnation of negotiations process between Ankara and Brussels, and the dynamics of Turkish modernization -democratization -Europeanization. The stagnation of negotiations on Turkey's membership in the EU has led to the revision of Europeanization and European integration agenda in Turkey. Since the EU's role as a modernization driver has become weaker the endogenous processes in Turkey's socio-political transformation has gained momentum. Modernization reforms have stalled. However the relations with Europe remain crucially important for Turkey despite complications in political dialogue, lower public support for "European project", rising anti-Western rhetoric and search for alternative mechanisms for enhancing national sovereignty.