Europe as a Cultural Space

Abstract

The issue that has probably raised the most controversy in the EU in relation to Turkish accession is the cultural implications of Turkish membership for Europe. The intense contestation over the extent to which Turkish cultural identity is European has also surfaced in this study where it has been taken up by the discourse participants in all of the institutional spheres of analysis. It was also observed however that the notion of culture is closely related to the discursive articulation of European history and geography in the EU talk on Turkish membership. Cultural contestations over Turkish membership continue to occur in the aftermath of the opening of the accession negotiations with Turkey, along with the focus on specific domestic developments within the country. Discursive construction of Europe as a cultural space is realised through two major representations of the country: Turkey as a diluter of European cultural homogeneity and Turkey as a contributor to cultural diversity in Europe.