European indentity matters: an emperical analysis of the impact of European identity on the opinion towards a possible EU accession of Turkey

In this paper, relating attitudes towards Europe and attitudes towards the accession of Turkey are contrasted and tested using a large survey among European citizens. Specifically two theories regarding identity-related factors that might influence the opinion towards a possible accession of Turkey to the EU are tested to determine the effects of European identity. On the one hand the widespread theory, that identifying with Europe implies being more open to new members to spread the values and norms of Europe. On the other hand stands the application of the Social Identity Theory, suggesting that identification with Europe negatively influences the opinion towards Turkish EU-membership. A regression analysis using data from the Eurobarometer 69.2 from 2008 is used to come about this task. The main finding of this paper is that the data supports the former theory, showing that European identity feeling has a positive impact on the support of Turkish membership. This means that people identifying stronger with Europe are more inclined to have a positive attitude towards Turkey becoming a member of the European Union.