Turkey and the EU : a study of Turkish citizens attitudes to European Union

Euro barometer surveys show quite an astonishing change in Turkish opinion towards European Union. In 2004, 73 % of the population considered EU as a good thing. In 2008, only 49 % were of the same opinion. At the same time, skepticism towards European integration is explained differently in earlier research. Some scholars claim that partisanship may explain attitudes of citizens better than “cost and benefit” approaches. The first aim of this study is to distinguish whether young Turkish citizens show a similar level of skepticism to the EU compared to the rest of the population. The second aim is to show how earlier research-identified factors can explain the EU attitudes of younger Turkish citizens. To map this out, a questionnaire based on Euro barometer survey questions has been used. The Turkish “youths” have been selected based on three conditions: age, profession and gender. To identify these individuals, the author has used what is sometimes referred to as the “snowball” technique. This basically means that the first identified individuals further contact people who fit the sample criterion. The result indicates that level of education; partisanship and strong nationalism all have an impact on EU membership attitudes. The result also showed that people who visited worship and other religious meetings on a regular basis, had a tendency to be more skeptical to a Turkish EU membership