“Turkey belongs to Europe […] and one day the last step will be made: Turkey will be a full member of the Union.” Half a century has passed since Walter Hallstein said these words. The European politics towards Turkey changed yet again for another time. In this paper I will present the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse as a methodology which I apply to reconstruct the context of reasons to explain such changes of political courses. How does the reception of knowledge in discourses construct reality to let “certain discourses function as true discourses” (Foucault). In essence the issues are specific conceptions of Europe as well as various identity constructs of Turkey. Discursive shifts can be explained as contingent result of interpretation struggles. A discourse analysis reveals the system of knowledge that the accession process is based on and opens room for an extended repertoire for political actions.
