Conclusion

Abstract

This study has examined the ways in which Europe is discursively constructed through representations of Turkey in the debates on Turkey’s accession to the EU in the European Parliament, the Commission and three selected member states of the EU (France, Germany and Britain). Based on the theoretical assumption that identities are relational, fragmented and discursively constructed through representations, it has been found that there are multiple Europes that are constructed in the talks over enlargement to Turkey, varying within and between different ideological, national and institutional settings within the scope of the study. It has discerned four main discourse topics over which these Europes are constructed. These correspond to the conceptualisation of Europe as a security community, as an upholder of democratic values, as a political project and as a cultural space.