Strengthening Racism, Xenophobia and Islamophobia in Western Europe and its Impact on Türkiye-EU Relations

Abstract

This study analyses the events in the international arena underlying the development of the phenomenon of racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, which have recently gained strength in Western Europe, and investigates the effects and role of the results obtained in the reflections of Turkey-European Union (EU) relations. In this context, the study consists of three parts. In the first part, the conceptual framework is discussed, and the historical background of the rising racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe is emphasized. In the second part, the reasons behind the rise of xenophobia and Islamophobia in Western Europe are analyzed. The third part analyses the impact of the rising racism movements in Western Europe on bilateral relations by taking Turkey's EU process into consideration. In the study, qualitative research method was used by utilizing descriptive and foreign policy approach. The data obtained were obtained by scanning domestic and foreign sources. According to the data obtained in the study, the revival of racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia in Western Europe after the Cold War period has negatively affected Turkey-EU relations. In this context, racism, immigration, the rise of far-right parties, and the bloody terrorist attacks in Europe by religious radical terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have damaged bilateral relations. This situation has caused and continues to cause problems for Turkish citizens and Muslims of the Islamic faith in the member states of the Union. Consequently, in this study, the reflection of racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia on the relations between Ankara and Brussels during the EU enlargement process is discussed within the framework of the theory of Constructivism.