Dissertation Guide on Accession of Turkey into the EU

The following guide represents a our site writer’s view on how he would approach a law dissertation on the accession of Turkey into the European Union. The guide presents a background of the writer’s education, his understand of the topic and how he would tackle it.
Part 1.0: My Understanding of the topic
I am a recent law graduate from the University of Glasgow (diploma in legal practice) after having studied the Accelerated LLB at the University of Edinburgh. I have a previous degree in journalism and have been writing for our site, specialising in legal research and essays, for one year. I have studied EU law as part of my course and enjoyed it immensely. I have written three law dissertations already for our site and I have been achieving a level of first class (70%+) thus far. I am a sharp and articulate writer who is also very interested in EU law and political affairs. I have access to a vast array of legal journals and books here in Edinburgh on the subject and I have conducted some research already into the accession of Turkey into the EU and the possible implications. The question you are looking to answer is challenging and cutting edge and I strongly believe I could write you not just a 2:1 dissertation but one to a first class level.

As regards the topic I think that the best way to do things is to a comparative study with Eastern European countries which takes into account the Arab spring to give it a cutting edge[1]. If we take an example such as Bulgaria or Romania we can see to what extent these countries influenced the whole region. It could be argued that Poland’s accession was vital to opening up the political processes in these other countries which now includes Croatia as well. Of course the reality of the situation is that Turkey is facing an almost insufferable amount of delay from the EU which has blocked its accession since negotiations began in 2005 principally because of its questionable human rights record and the vexed question of Cyprus[2]. Martin Kettle of the Guardian rightly observes:
“Last, but not least, there is the question of whether the EU can rise above its own perennial self-absorption and grasp that its relationship with Turkey, a European country of 77 million people and with a rapidly and roaringly expanding GDP of $875bn – the China of Europe, as the Economist dubbed it last week – can no longer be held hostage by the atavistic parochialism of a Greek Cypriot statelet of fewer than one million people and with a declining GDP of $23bn.”[3]
So although they have faced insufferable delays due to a number of matters it is not unthinkable to say they will surely join before we see 2025 as Kettle points out. My hypothesis would be that the accession of Turkey to the EU, uniquely placed as it is between muslims and christianity, will be nothing less than the missing link between the two and could perhaps open up the EU to the accession of those countries which have ignited the flames of democracy in the Arab Spring. Could Egypt, Tunisia and even Libya be EU members by 2025This dissertation will attempt to navigate the difficult waters of what EU accession means, what it involves and what are its common effects. The accession ofTurkey to the EU could also be viewed as turning the Arab Spring into something which is enduring and that will change the face of the Middle East.
The next part will have the proposed structure of the dissertation.
Part 2The proposed structure of the dissertation
Introduction3
Chapter 1: Background, overview and hypothesis8
The concept of enlargement of the EU 8
The accession of Turkey12
The current state of affairs in the EU 14
The EU legal aspects of accession 15
The EU in crisis 16
Hypothesis 16
Chapter 2: Case study of Eastern European countries 16
The accession of Bulgaria and Romania 16
The accession of Poland18
Political, economic and democratic effects19
Results and conclusions 21
Chapter 3: The Arab Spring 27
Tunisia, Egypt and Libya 27
What are the implications of the Arab Spring 28
Is the Arab Spring finished 29
The interplay of the revolutions and Turkey’s accession to the EU 30
Chapter 4: Research on the effects of Turkish accession on the Middle East30
Political 30
Economic 32
Democratic 33
Chapter 5: The future of Turkey and the EU: is accession realistic 35
The EU reports on Turkey’s membership 32
The economic crisis in the EU: does it make Turkish accession more or less likely 34
Chapter 6: Recommendations 38
Reforming the Copenhagen criteria 38
The Euro39
C. Relaxing requirements for Middle Eastern countries 39
Conclusion 41
Bibliography 42
Part 3 Final Comments
It is important to note that this is just a first draft for the structure so it is open to changes. I chose Poland, Bulgaria and Romania as case studies to look at as a model for Turkey’s accession. It might also be possible to look at Croatia which is the latest country to join the EU. The case studies should look at the economic, political and democratic effect of the accession of each of these countries on the Balkans. I think it could be a terrific dissertation which is timely and challenging.