Gamze Avcı

Chipping Away at the Fortress: Unions, Immigration and the Transnational Labour Market

Conventional wisdom holds that in liberal industrialized countries, times of economic recession and high unemployment create pressures for restrictive immigration legislation, proposals which will be supported by trade unions as a means of safeguarding their interests. Drawing on a case study of British trade union opposition to the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act, this article argues that trade unions, which traditional interpretation suggests support such protectionist measures, are actually at the forefront of opposition to them. We suggest that the increased transnationalization of labour markets, combined with the particular nature of the legislative response, had led unions to adopt this apparently paradoxical position.

The Justice and Development Party and the EU: Political Pragmatism in a Changing Environment

The article focuses on the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) and assesses whether the AKP has given up on Turkeys European Union (EU) membership goal since the beginning of negotiations in 2005. The article first reviews the AKPs EU policy, and then analyses shifts in the domestic and institutional contexts of cooperation and their effects on the AKPs EU policy preferences and policy action in the form of reforms. The article concludes with the observation that the AKP has reverted to a ‘passive activism’ in its approach to the EU due to the high cost of passing high-stake reforms.

Comparing Integration Policies and Outcomes: Turks in the Netherlands and Germany

Abstract Integration policies in Europe diverge and converge in different aspects. Yet, it seems that in all receiving Western European societies integration is incomplete or “imperfect.” This contribution focuses on one of the largest immigrant groups in Germany and the Netherlands, namely the Turks, and their cultural, social and economic incorporation. Certain indicators of integration are traced alongside political and policy developments within the two receiving societies. Finally, challenges to and constraints of integration policy in both countries are discussed.

Religion, Transnationalism and Turks in Europe

Abstract This essay focuses on organizations of Turkish labor migrants in the Netherlands from 1960 onwards. It seeks to analyze how the orientations of migrant organizations have changed over time by religion‐based organizing principles. The study distinguishes between organizations operating directly out of the sending country and organizations arising out of the political and cultural opportunity structure in the destination country. The ultimate aim is to explore to what extent “religion” matters for immigrant organizations and how those in turn may influence the role immigrant organizations play in the integration of migrants.

The Nationalist Movement Party's Euroscepticism: Party Ideology Meets Strategy

This article explores what conditions or what specific issues lead to shifts in the positioning of the Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) towards Turkeys European Union (EU) membership goal. The article first examines the MHPs background and characteristics and compares it with similar parties in Western Europe. Subsequently, the MHPs EU stance during 1999–2002 and in the post-2002 period is discussed. The article concludes that ideology matters for the MHP but that shifts in degrees of Euroscepticisim during particular periods can be explained by strategic considerations of the MHP, which respond to the partys electoral gains or losses, its position in the party political spectrum and whether it is in government, in opposition or outside parliament.

Taking Stock of the Dynamics that Shape EU Reforms in Turkey

The aim of this introductory article is to present the objectives, contents and main findings of the special issue on ‘transformative power’ of the European Union (EU) in Turkey. We discuss how this publication differs in its approach to Turkish–EU relations. Finally, we examine and connect the key findings of the individual articles, with the purpose of illustrating the logic and pace of (EU-related) domestic reforms in Turkey.