Germany’s Role in the Promotion of EU Democratic Norms in Turkey: a Status Quo Power?

Since the foundation of the Federal Republic, successive German governments have referred to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as the underlying principles of German foreign policy. Notwithstanding Germany’s deep-rooted commitment to democracy support as a foreign policy goal both individually and as an EU member state, its support for democracy in third countries remains understudied and undertheorized. Turkey’s two-fold standing as an EU candidate experiencing substantial democratic backsliding and as a strategic partner for Germany/the EU in various issue areas makes it a key case through which to scrutinise Germany’s practice of democracy support in a multi-level setting. By conceptualising democracy support as a moving target driven by Germany’s role as a ‘status quo power’ (SQP) in the EU, we trace the extent, transformation, and consequences of Germany’s promotion of democratic norms in Turkey. Our data rely on semi-structured interviews with German officials and policy makers and a qualitative content analysis of official statements, documents, and media reports on Turkey. We argue that Germany’s role as SQP in the EU has also guided its external democracy support policies which aimed to preserve and safeguard the existing stability and order of the EU and European integration. As such, Germany’s promotion of democratic norms in Turkey has followed an ambivalent pattern, with efforts only intensifying when anti-democratic processes in Turkey fundamentally challenged the strategic interests of the established European order. The findings of the paper thus contribute to theoretical and empirical discussions on the conceptualization and practice of the EU and its key Member States as global (normative) actors in the contested international order.