Nation brand management in political contexts [Elektronische Ressource] : public diplomacy for Turkey's EU accession / vorgelegt von Jan Dirk Kemming

Nation Brand Management in Political Contexts: Public Diplomacy for Turkey’s EU Accession Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades Dr. rer. soc. des Fachbereichs Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften der Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen. vorgelegt von Jan Dirk Kemming Brüsseler Str. 53 50674 Köln Gutachten durch Prof. Dr. Claus Leggewie Prof. Dr. Güliz Ger September 2009 Summary In the following a short synopsis on the situation analysis, the research ambi-tion, main findings and the contribution of this thesis is given. Problem and situation analysis No matter which database is consulted, the European Union‟s public opinion on Turkey‟s EU membership is disenchanting. Eurobarometer data, the Euro-pean Commission‟s public opinion surveys, shows on average 59% of all member states‟ publics opposing Turkey‟s EU accession and only 28% holding a favorable opinion. While countries like e.g. Sweden or Portugal even display a positive balance between favorable and unfavorable opinions on Turkey‟s EU bid, in countries like Germany, Austria or France the negative camp exceeds positive views by more than 40%. Almost all obvious patterns trying to explain this distribution – be it a large Turkish diaspora, religion, Ottoman history, Muslim immigra-tion, Mediterranean or new member states solidarity – fail. Similar surveys like e.g.