Europeisk identitetspolitik : EU:s demokratibistånd till Polen och Turkiet : [EU democratic aid to Poland and Turkey]

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates the motives behind EU support for Poland's and Turkey's democratic development. Since the end of the Cold War, like many Western governments and international organisations, the EU has made the promotion of democracy one of its main foreign policy ambitions. This aim, "to develop and consolidate democracy", was written into the Treaty on European Union as an official objective of the common foreign and security policy. Simultaneously, for the implementation of these visions, specific budget lines and policy programs were installed. This thesis raises the questions of why, how and when the ambition to constructively support democratisation in third countries is implemented. An empirical investigation carried out here shows that in the first half of the 1990's the EU allocated very extensive and engaged aid for Poland's democratisation. Democratic aid for Turkey, however, was marginal, less varied and less thought through. At the time covered by the study both Poland and Turkey were associated members applying for full membership. The thesis tests three possible explanations of why the EU has done so much more to support Poland's transition to democracy than Turkey's. The first hypothesis considers EU security interests. The second hypothesis looks at trade interests. The third hypothesis deals with the political ambition to create a European identity in order to make the citizens of the EU feel that they belong to a united community. The thesis claims that economic and security interests are insufficient explanations for why Poland and Turkey are awarded such differing treatments by the EU. The thesis claims that EU democracy aid must be understood against the background of EU identity politics. The construction of a common cultural identity leads to demarcations against the world outside the EU, to inclusions and exclusions, which in turn affect the strength of EU engagement and interest in the political development of other nations.