Diplomacy and lobbying during Turkey's Europeanisation : the private life of politics

225 Pages·2019·5.689 MB·English

by  Bilge Firat

Diplomacy and lobbying during
Turkey’s Europeanisation
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POLITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY
The Political Ethnography series is an outlet for ethnographic research into poli-
tics and administration and builds an interdisciplinary platform for a readership
interested in qualitative research in this area. Such work cuts across the traditional
scholarly boundaries of political science, public administration, anthropology,
social policy, and development studies, and facilitates a conversation across dis-
ciplines. It will provoke a re-thinking of how researchers can understand politics
and administration.
Previously published titles
The absurdity of bureaucracy: How implementation works
Nina Holm Vohnsen
Politics of waiting: Workfare, post-Soviet austerity and the ethics of freedom
Liene Ozoliņa
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Diplomacy and lobbying during
Turkey’s Europeanisation
The private life of politics
Bilge Firat
Manchester University Press
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Copyright © Bilge Firat 2019
The right of Bilge Firat to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 5261 3362 5 hardback
First published 2019
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee
that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Cover design: riverdesignbooks.com
Typeset in Minion and Scala Sans
by R. J. Footring Ltd, Derby, UK
For my dad, the finest connoisseur of human
nature I have ever known
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Contents
List of figures page viii
Series editor’s preface ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xv
Part I: Inside the private life of politics
1 The elephant in the room 3
2 Fieldwork among the no(ta)bles 28
Part II: Framing EU membership
3 The accession pedagogy 57
Part III: Arts of diplomacy and lobbying in the EU institutions
4 Enlargement, twice a week 89
5 Dramas of statecraft, mistrust and the politics of non-membership 114
6 Political documents and bureaucratic entrepreneurs 145
Conclusion: lessons from an anti-case 173
References 177
Index 198
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Figures
1.1 Aerial photo of Brussels’ European neighbourhood, with the
Commission’s cross-shaped Berlaymont building, the Council’s
Justus Lipsius building and the Parliament complex, with ellipsoid
Paul-Henri Spaak building. Source: Google Earth 2
2.1 Expired Commission visitor badges; and local bus stop in the
European quarter with discarded badges. Author’s photos 29
2.2 Car plate with the Turkey and EU symbols either side. Author’s photo 30
2.3 Erdoğan’s Büyük Buluşma (Grand Reunion) inside Athias Arena,
Hasselt, Belgium, 2009. Author’s photo 32
6.1 Documents of the European Parliament. Source: European Parlia-
ment/Pietro Naj-Oleari 146
6.2 European Parliament AFET meeting in session. Source: European
Parliament 154
6.3 Turkish lobbyists at work. Author’s photo 169
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Series editor’s preface
Ethnography reaches the parts of politics that other methods cannot reach. It
captures the lived experience of politics; the everyday life of political elites and
street-level bureaucrats. It identifies what we fail to learn, and what we fail to
under stand, from other approaches. Specifically:
1. It is a source of data not available elsewhere.
2. It is often the only way to identify key individuals and core processes.
3. It identifies ‘voices’ all too often ignored.
4. By disaggregating organisations, it leads to an understanding of ‘the black
box’, or the internal processes of groups and organisations.
5. It recovers the beliefs and practices of actors.
6. It gets below and behind the surface of official accounts by providing texture,
depth and nuance, so our stories have richness as well as context.
7. It lets interviewees explain the meaning of their actions, providing an authen-
ticity that can only come from the main characters involved in the story.
8. It allows us to frame (and reframe, and reframe) research questions in a way
that recognises our understandings about how things work around here
evolve during the fieldwork.
9. It admits of surprises – of moments of epiphany, serendipity and happen-
stance – that can open new research agendas.
10. It helps us to see and analyse the symbolic, performative aspects of political
action.
Despite this distinct and distinctive contribution, ethnography’s potential is rarely
realised in political science and related disciplines. It is considered an endangered
species or at best a minority sport. This series seeks to promote the use of ethnog-
raphy in political science, public administration and public policy.
The series has two key aims:
1. To establish an outlet for ethnographic research into politics, public adminis-
tration and public policy.
2. To build an interdisciplinary platform for a readership interested in quali-
tative research into politics and administration. We expect such work to cut
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