JEAN MONNET CHAIR COAWARE – GUEST LECTURE

22 May 2021, Istanbul 29 Mayıs University, Zoom Webinar

The Image of “New Turkey” in the Eyes of EU Media

Dr. Oğuzhan Göksel, Assistant Professor at Istanbul 29 Mayıs University

Moderator: Oğuzhan Barçın, Assistant to the Jean Monnet Chair, Master’s Student in PolSci.

On 22 May 2021, Dr. Goksel presented his work that studies the contemporary image of Turkey in the mainstream media outlets of two leading countries of the EU (France and Germany) and the former EU member, Britain. This seminar aimed at how the image of Turkey in the European media changed dramatically after 2013 and its impact for EU accession process in particular.

It argues that Turkey’s image in EU countries has deteriorated in recent years due to several issues such as the 2013 Gezi Park protests, debates over the transition to super-presidential system and the Syrian refugee crisis. The newspapers included in the study are The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Economist, Deutsche Welle, Der Spiegel, Le Monde Diplomatique and France 24.

At this point, Dr. Goksel explained the New Turkey discourse, its meaning, legacy in Turkish politics and its reflections to the European media. European media have reacted to this change in a very concerned way and not positively. The finding of this study is that the formation of New Turkey has become a key determinant of Turkey’s image in European media. Dr. Goksel explained which issues are heading to these criticisms: 2013 Gezi Protests, The Presidential System, The Syria Crisis, The Kurdish Issue and Turkey’s MENA Policy.