PSC32-304-02 (31890)

The European Union and Turkey

MW 2PM - 3:15PM
Mood-Bridwell, Room 113

Kimberly Guiler
Political Science Department
Office Location: Mood-Bridwell 212
Office Hours: M/W 3:15-4:15 PM and by appointment
guilerk@southwestern.edu

This syllabus is subject to revision at the discretion of the professor.

Any changes will be announced in class and posted to Moodle.
Updated: 2/26/2020

Course Description

This course will introduce students to the history, institutions, decision-making processes and
policies of the European Union, taught through the lens of the EU-Turkey relationship. We will
study the different stages of the relationship, dating back to the Association Agreement of 1963.
Our discussions will help students understand what the EU is, its main institutions, how these
institutions make policies and share power with the governments of member-states, and the
history and functioning of the EU accession process. In studying these topics, we will also learn
about democratization, immigration, and the role of public opinion in shaping policy.

Course Structure:

In this course, students are expected to attend class, read the assigned texts, write a take-home
exam, and be ready for class discussion, including for their presentation and a closing in-class
debate. Class preparation should typically entail 2 hours of work, including time for reading and
any work on upcoming assignments. If you find the homework taking significantly longer than
this amount of time, communicate with the professor.

Texts:

The following books will be available for purchase from the Southwestern Bookstore and
Amazon:

Aydın-Düzgit, S., & Tocci, N. (2015). Turkey and the European Union. Macmillan International
Higher Education. (link)

Adida, C. L., Laitin, D. D., & Valfort, M. A. (2016). Why Muslim integration fails in Christian-
heritage societies. Harvard University Press. (link)

All other assigned readings will be posted on the course Moodle site (link).

Prior to each class, you will be responsible for reading approximately 40-60 pages of material. I
expect you to read actively—to understand the argument, assess it on its merits, and be ready to
articulate your critique of it and ask questions about it on the day that it is assigned.
Grading and Assignments:

There are five components to the grade for this course: participation (20%), presentation and
reading response summary (20%), five quizzes (20%, lowest grade dropped), debate and position
paper (20%) and take-home cumulative exam (20%). Each of these assignments is outlined
below:

1. Regarding the participation grade (20%), it is the expectation of this course that students
come on time and prepared to each class to engage in thoughtful discussion of the
ongoing themes of the course in light of the readings. The course will be driven by
discussion, which means that students are to respectfully engage each other’s comments
so that our ongoing conversation may serve as a springboard to productive research and
writing.

Students who play an active and respectful role in advancing discussion and show a
careful understanding of the readings will receive an A for participation. Students who
appear unprepared for discussion will receive lower grades. Because our class meetings
will overlap with assigned readings, it is important to complete the reading before class.
For example, students should read the first chapter of Turkey and the European Union
before the start of class on January 22.

The goal of this course is to help students reach and express their own conclusions about
historical and current events related to the European Union and Turkey. Some students
may initially have knowledge about these topics than others, but all perspectives are valid
and no prior expertise is expected or needed. When something discussed in class is
unclear, I encourage you to contact me. You may email me, speak to me after class, or
visit my office hours. I want to hear your reactions and questions about the class, so
please communicate with me in the way you feel most comfortable.

2. Students will each be responsible for an in-class presentation and accompanying reading
response summary (20% total, 10% each). Each student will sign up for a day during
which they are responsible for summarizing and evaluating the day’s assigned readings.
The day before his/her in-class presentation, each student should submit a document with
answers to the following three items by 5 p.m.

a. Summarize the author(s)' argument in 15 words or less.

b. Identify two strengths and two weaknesses of each text.
c. What is a question you have about the reading and on which you would like to
hear your colleagues' thoughts.

Individual presentations will generally take place at the beginning of class and will reflect
the student’s reaction to the previous night’s reading(s). Students should summarize but
not directly read from their reading response summaries. They should take particular care
to think through thought-provoking questions to pose to the class. These questions will
set the tone and provide context for the class discussion that follows.

3. A map quiz will take place on January 22. In addition, four additional quizzes on the
weekly readings will take place on February 5, February 24, March 11, and April 20
(20%, lowest grade dropped).

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 4. In mid-March, assigned groups will receive a major proposition concerning the politics of
Turkey and the European Union. The proposition will form the axis of an in-class debate
(10%) on April 22 and of two short papers (between 600-800 words each), one defending
the pro position for their subject and one defending the con position. (Each team must
hand in both papers, and both will be graded.)

Team members are responsible for dividing the responsibility of writing the position
papers equally. I suggest that one person be in charge of writing the introduction and
conclusion and editing the paper, and the other remaining team members each write a
paragraph that outlines a unique argument defending/opposing the proposition.

The papers should reflect the research each team member undertook in studying the topic.
They should cite all sources consulted and use Chicago style. The list of References does
not count toward the word count.

In addition to providing the list of References, the team should draw up a list of “Credits”
specifying what role(s) each member of the team undertook for the research and the
debate. Team members should sign a hard copy of these Credits, attesting that the
information is accurate.

When the class meets on April 22, each team will be randomly assigned its arguing
position. All members of the group must participate in the debate for the group to receive
full participation credit.

5. We will conclude the course with a cumulative final exam. Although students will have
48 hours to complete the take-home exam, each exam itself should only take
approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Notes and readings from the course may be used,
but no other sources may be consulted. All work should be done independently.

The take-home exam will be distributed after class on Wednesday, April 29 and is due by
2 p.m. on Monday May 4. The exam should be emailed to guilerk@southwestern.edu and
dropped off in hard copy form to Mood-Bridwell 212.

Students will be permitted two unexcused absences for the entire semester. If you miss more than
two classes, you will receive a failing participation grade that will make it difficult to pass the
class. If you miss a class, you are responsible for learning about what was covered from your
classmates. Consult them first before asking the professor, “What did I miss?”

Final grades will be determined on the basis of the below rubric. Note that to ensure fairness, all
numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be
inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999. The University does not recognize the grade of
A+.

A = 94-100; A- = 90-93; B+ = 87-89; B = 84-86; B- = 80-83; C+ = 77-79; C = 74-76; C- = 70-73;

D+ = 67-69; D = 64-66; D- = 60-63; F = 0-60

Grade appeals: I occasionally make mistakes or otherwise misinterpret answers. If you believe
that your grade is incorrect as a result of my error, please submit a request for a grade change in
writing to me within 48 hours of receiving the grade. In the appeal, please clearly and concisely
explain why the grade is incorrect. Please note that re-grading may result in an increase or a
decrease in the initial grade.

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Performance in other classes taken here at the university is not germane to any grading decision
made in this class. For example, if receiving a D in this class places you on academic probation,
this does not constitute a viable justification for requesting the regrading of an assignment.

The professor will not alter grades calculated at the end of the semester.

CLASSROOM POLICIES

General

I believe that civility, respect, and solidarity are core components of academic inquiry. I will
make every effort to ensure that our classroom fosters those ideals, and I expect you to do the
same. Videotaping or audio recording of class lectures and discussions is not permitted.

Contacting the Professor

I encourage you to approach me after class, visit office hours, or email me. I typically respond to
email within 24 hours, often sooner. If you do not hear from me, approach me after class to make
sure the message did not go to a spam folder, which periodically happens with non-utexas.edu
addresses.

If I do not respond to emails within 24 hours, please feel free to re-send your email as a reminder.
And you are always welcome to come by my office, especially if you have a substantive question
about the class or the readings. If you cannot come during office hours, please email me and I will
attempt to find an alternative time during which we can meet.

Honor Code

Any assignment turned in, regardless of the assignment’s weight in the course, should be the
student’s original work. When writing term papers or doing research for a project, proper
citations should accompany any material taken from other sources. Neglecting to cite sources is
an act of plagiarism and a violation of the Honor Code. When using direct quotes or paraphrasing
the ideas of another author, citations should accompany the assignment to give credit where it is
due. If a student desires help with an individual assignment, the Debby Ellis Writing Center is
staffed by trained students who can provide aid with planning, organization, grammar, and style
without breaking the Honor Code. At the end of the assignment, students should note that they
visited the Writing Center.

Students Seeking or Requiring Learning Accommodations

SU makes reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students should
register with the Center for Academic Success in Prothro. The Assistant Director must officially
notify me that documentation is on file at least two weeks before the accommodation is needed.

Late Policy

Papers are due as hard copies and by email (guilerk@southwestern.edu) by the start of class on
the day they are due. (The one exception to this rule is the Reading Response Summary, which
should be submitted electronically to the Professor by 5 p.m. the night before the student’s

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scheduled In-Class Presentation.) Late writing assignments will not be accepted. Extensions will
only be granted in the event of an extreme and verifiable medical or family emergency (to be
determined by the Office of the Dean of Students).

Religious Holidays

Southwestern University recognizes that it has students from a variety of religious and cultural
traditions that have special days of observance or celebration that may take students out of their
regular activities on certain days during the school year. Since the academic calendar does not
always coincide with these days, the following policy is to be followed in order to facilitate
student absences due to cultural and religious observances: As far in advance as possible, the
student is expected to notify the professor(s) of the class(es) to be missed. The student is expected
to learn what assignments or exams are due or will be assigned on those dates and negotiate with
the professor(s) alternate times for fulfilling those requirements. Students should be prepared to
fulfill the requirements prior to the class(es) to be missed.

Format of Assignments

When submitting quizzes, the exam, and other assignments for the course, please put your
identifying information in the upper left hand corner of the first page, in the following format:

Jane Smith
February 20, 2020
Assignment Title (e.g. Reading Response Summary)

In addition, all independent work (including exams) should have the following pledge written and
signed at the end of the work:

“I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this work and am unaware of anyone who
has not.”

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IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ABOVE ESSENTIALS OF THE

COURSE, RAISE THEM WITH THE PROFESSOR DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF
CLASS.

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Course Schedule: Below is a list of the course material by week, including assigned reading and
writing.

Historical Overview

M 1/13: Course Introduction

W 1/15: Background Readings

Þ Official Website of the European Union: “The History of the European
Union” (read a brief history here; click on country years for more detailed
information)
Þ Brookings: “Turkey and the European Union: A Journey into the Unknown”
by Nathalie Tocci (link)
Þ United Nations: “What is a Refugee?” (link)
Þ Gallup: “Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West”
(link)
Þ The Guardian: “Europe: Immigrants Under Pressure” (read two articles from
here)
Þ Slate: “Why Immigration Pushed Britons to Brexit” by Reihan Salam (link)

M 1/20: Martin Luther King Day (No Class)

The EU Accession Process

W 1/22: Historical overview of the EU-Turkey Relationship

Þ Chapter 1 of Turkey and the European Union

Quiz #1: Map Quiz

M 1/27: Turkey and the EU Accession Process

Þ Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of Turkey and the European Union

W 1/29: The Future of Turkey’s Accession to the EU?

Þ Carnegie Europe: “Options for the EU-Turkey Relationship” by Marc Pierini
(link)
Þ Hürriyet Daily News: “Support to Join EU Stands at 60 Percent” (link)
Þ Hürriyet Daily News: “Turkey Hopes 2020 Will Mark Progress on EU
Accession Bid” (link)
Þ Global Security Review: “Brexit and the Politics of Islamophobia” by
Antonio Perra (link)
Þ Ahval News: “‘EU needs Turkey more than Turkey needs EU’ – Erdoğan”
(link)

M 2/3: The Economy and Security Concerns

Þ Chapters 5 and 6 of Turkey and the European Union

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 Migration and Mobilization

W 2/5: Migration and Mobility and EU-Turkey relations

Þ Chapter 7 of Turkey and the European Union
Þ MiRecKocWorking Paper: “Three Years on: An Evaluation of the EU-
Turkey Refugee Deal” by Seçil Paçacı Elitok. (link)

Quiz #2

M 2/10: Turkish Immigration to Germany

Þ Migration Policy Institute: “The New Reality: Germany Adapts to Its Role as
a Major Migrant Magnet” (link)
Þ Ehrkamp, P. (2005). Placing identities: Transnational practices and local
attachments of Turkish immigrants in Germany. Journal of Ethnic and
Migration studies, 31(2), 345-364. (link)

W 2/12: Integration of Turkish Migrants in Germany

Þ German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP): “Rethinking
Political Attitudes of Migrants from Turkey and Their Germany-Born
Children” by Sinem Adar (link)
Þ NBC: “Germans of Turkish descent struggle with Identity, Seek Acceptance”
by Saphora Smith and Andy Eckardt (link)

M 2/17: The Challenge of Muslim Migrants in Christian-Heritage Societies

Þ Parts I and II of Adida, Laitin & Valfort (Don’t worry about any statistical
techniques you haven’t seen before but do come prepared with any questions
you may have.)

W 2/19: No class, pls. get ahead on reading for M, 2/24

M 2/24: Muslims in Europe

Þ Parts III and IV of Adida, Laitin & Valfort (focus on this)
Þ BBVA: “Muslims in Europe: The Construction of a ‘Problem’” by Bichara
Khader (link) (skim)
Þ Brookings: “The One Percent Problem: Muslims in the West and the Rise of
the New Populists” (read one article from here)

Democracy and Human Rights

W 2/26: Democracy, Human Rights and the evolution of the EU-Turkey Relationship
Þ Chapter 8 of Turkey and the European Union

Quiz #3

M 3/2: Democratic Backsliding, Victimhood, Identity, and Elections

Þ Guiler, K. (2020 online). From Prison to Parliament: Victimhood, Identity
and Electoral Support. Mediterranean Politics. (link)

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W 3/4: The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Background
Þ BBC: “Syria: The story of the conflict” (link)
Þ UNHCR: “The Syrian Refugee Crisis Explained” (link)
Þ Şimşek, D. (2017). Turkey as a “Safe Third Country”? The Impacts of the
EU-Turkey Statement on Syrian Refugees in Turkey. PERCEPTIONS:
Journal of International Affairs, 22(3), 161-182. (link)
Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “Syrian refugees have become pawns in
their host nations’ politics” by Gerasimos Tsourapas. (link)

M 3/9: The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Consequences

Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “I Interviewed 300 Syrian Refugees.
They are Far from a Security Threat” by Wendy Pearlman. (link)
Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “Politicians blame refugees for
violence. But refugees are more likely to be its victims” by Tobias Böhmel,
Vincenzo Bove and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. (link)
Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “What Will it Take to Get Europeans to
Welcome Syrian Refugees? Here’s Part of the Answer” by Egor Lazarev and
Kunaal Sharma. (link)
Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “Why Syrian Refugees are at Risk of a
Forced Return to Syria” by Jesse Marks. (link)
Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “Most Turks Support the Syrian
Invasion. Here’s why” by Anna Getmansky, Tolga Sinmazdemir and Thomas
Zeitzoff. (link)

W 3/11: Debate Teams and Propositions Assigned, Team Building in Class

Quiz #4

Spring Break!
March 16-20

Culture, Identity and Public Perception

M 3/23: Culture and Identity

Þ Chapters 9 and 10 of Turkey and the European Union

W 3/25: Attitudes and Perceptions

Þ McLaren, L., & Paterson, I. (2019). Generational change and attitudes to
immigration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-18.
Þ Gorodzeisky, A., & Semyonov, M. (2018). Perceptions and misperceptions:
actual size, perceived size and opposition to immigration in European
societies. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-19.

M 3/30: Attitudes and Perceptions, Part II

Þ Meuleman, B., Abts, K., Schmidt, P., Pettigrew, T. F., & Davidov, E. (2018).
Economic conditions, group relative deprivation and ethnic threat
perceptions: a cross-national perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies, 1-19

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 The Far Right

W 4/1: Team Meetings in Class Ahead of Debate

M 4/6: Rise of the Radical Right

Þ Givens, Voting Radical Right in Western Europe: Chapters 1-3 (link)

W 4/8: Causes and Consequences

Þ Muis, J., & Immerzeel, T. (2017). Causes and consequences of the rise of
populist radical right parties and movements in Europe. Current
Sociology, 65(6), 909-930. (link)
Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “Mainstream Conservative Parties
Paved the Way for Far-Right Nationalism” by Bart Bonikowski and Daniel
Ziblatt. (link)
Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “The EU is Supposed to Promote
Democracy. So why do Anti-Democratic Politicians Thrive within it?” by R.
Daniel Kelemen. (link)

M 4/13: Causes and Consequenses, Part II

Þ Öner, S. (2014). Different Manifestations of the Rise of Far-Right in
European Politics: The Cases of Germany and Austria. Marmara Journal of
European Studies, 22(2). (link)

W 4/15: Brexit
Þ BBC: “Brexit: Your Simple Guide to the UK Leaving the EU.” (link)
Þ JRF: “ Brexit vote explained: Poverty, low skills and lack of opportunities”
by Matt Goodwin and Oliver Heath. (link)
Þ The Guardian: “How UKIP Normalized Far-Right Parties.” (video).

M 4/20: Brexit, Part II

Þ The Washington Post Monkey Cage: “Brexit Shows how a Tiny Party can
have Big Consequences” by Tim Bale. (link)
Þ Kallis, A., Zeiger, S., & Öztürk, B. (2018). The Post Brexit Far-Right in
Britain. In Violent Radicalisation & Far-Right Extremism in Europe. SETA:
Ankara. (Read Chapter 3 here.)

W 4/22 Brexit and Turkey

Þ Brown, K. (2019). When Eurosceptics become Europhiles: far-right
opposition to Turkish involvement in the European Union. Identities, 1-22.
Þ Global Relations Forum: “Scenarios for the EU’s Future and their
Implications for Turkey” by Ole Frahm. (link)

Quiz #5

M 4/27
In-Class Debate
Position Papers Due

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W 4/29:
Conclusion and Wrap-up
Cumulative Exam Distributed

M 5/4:

Cumulative Exam Due

Email to guilerk@southwestern.edu
Hard Copy to Mood-Bridwell 212 by 2 PM

SUGGESTIONS FOR CLOSE READING

Close reading entails reflecting on the text as you are reading, and evaluating the author’s
argument. Here are a few suggestions:

• Look for the author’s argument and the evidence she uses to support it, and write down your
observations: What is the main claim she makes? With whom is she disagreeing? Then
consider your reactions to the author’s work: Does this make sense to you? Why or why not?
What are the weaknesses of the argument?

• Read with pencil in hand. Jot down thoughts you want to raise in class. Write your reactions
to the text in the margins. Above all, think about what you are reading; if you find yourself
turning pages numbly, stop, take a pause, and then refocus on the author’s chain of thought.

• Plan your readings to be spaced out in reasonable increments. Thoughtful reading takes time
and energy. It is more pleasant and more productive to read over several days than to try and
compress all the reading into a couple of nights.

• Don’t use a highlighter. Writing comments (e.g., “good counterpoint to Huntington”) helps a
reader engage with the text, whereas highlighting encourages passivity and torpor.

• Keep track of the parts of the text where you had questions, objections, or fierce agreement
with the author’s points. Note page numbers on a separate sheet of paper. You may also want
to use post-it flags for quick reference to key passages.

• When you are done reading, check to see that you can summarize the author’s argument in a
few sentences. You may want to take 5 minutes and write down this summary, particularly if
you are reading several texts in a short period.

• Remember that the goal of close reading is not just to have turned pages, but to be able to say
something about the material and evaluate it.

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