The Turkish-EU Odyssey and Political Regime Change in Turkey

Turkish-EU relations have occupied the Turkish political agenda since 1959. However, it was only after the Cold War that relations gained momentum and began to have a deep running impact on Turkish socio-political developments. One such area of impact has been the political regime of Turkey. In an effort to accommodate the standards of Turkish democracy with the Copenhagen Criteria, Turkish governments have initiated several constitutional amendments. This paper analyses the context and the nature of constitutional amendments made in the last three decades, and examines the role that EU-Turkish relations played in the modification of the Turkish political regime.