Turkey applied for membership in 1959 to the European Economic Community, the predecessor to the European Union, yet as of January 2008, Turkey remains in a pre-accession stage for full membership into the European Union while countries such as Cypress, Bulgaria and Romania have achieved membership. The complex nature of regional integration includes not only issues such as management of bilateral relations in an integrated community, labor migration, and human rights, but also in Turkey’s case, issues between the Western and Eastern worlds divided by fundamental religious differences must also be addressed.
This pathfinder is intended to provide background readings for the educator, researcher and student of international relations to investigate not only the theoretical basis of regional integration but also the specific path Turkey has taken in its bid for membership in the European Union.
