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Crisis, Control and Contradictions: The EU-Turkey Agreement and the Fragility of Normative Power Europe

Hussein, Jana LU (2025) STVM23 20251
Department of Political Science
Abstract
The European Union regularly portrays itself as a normative power committed
to values such as human rights, solidarity, and the rule of law, while the EU
Turkey Statement of 2016 has raised questions about the coherence between
this self-image and the EU’s external migration practices. This thesis
investigates how the Statement is linguistically legitimised in political and
media discourse, as well as to what extent a tension between the EU’s
normative claims and its pragmatic governance of migration is shown. Drawing
on the theoretical frameworks of Normative Power Europe, Securitisation
Theory, and Critical Discourse Analysis, the study analyses 30 selected texts,
which include official EU communications, statements by... (More)
The European Union regularly portrays itself as a normative power committed
to values such as human rights, solidarity, and the rule of law, while the EU
Turkey Statement of 2016 has raised questions about the coherence between
this self-image and the EU’s external migration practices. This thesis
investigates how the Statement is linguistically legitimised in political and
media discourse, as well as to what extent a tension between the EU’s
normative claims and its pragmatic governance of migration is shown. Drawing
on the theoretical frameworks of Normative Power Europe, Securitisation
Theory, and Critical Discourse Analysis, the study analyses 30 selected texts,
which include official EU communications, statements by Turkish political
actors and international media coverage from March 2016 to March 2020. The
analysis focuses on how key terms such as “solidarity” and “responsibility”
are semantically framed to legitimise migration policy measures. The findings
reveal a dual discursive strategy, showing that the EU constructs itself as a
value-based actor while simultaneously using securitised and technocratic
narratives which externalise responsibility and portray migration as a threat.
Turkey is framed predominantly as an executive gatekeeper, obligated with
operational implementation but excluded from a normative role, while at the
same time, counter-discourses from Turkish officials and international media
challenge the EU’s moral authority and show discursive contradictions. This
research demonstrates that normative legitimacy is rather contested than fixed,
since it is constantly negotiated within a discursive field that is shaped by
asymmetrical power relations, competing interests, and divergent
interpretations of responsibility. In essence, the study aims to contributes to a
deeper understanding of how the EU attempts to connect its normative
credibility with their geopolitical agency in the realm of migration governance. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hussein, Jana LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM23 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
EU-Turkey Statement, EU-Turkey Agreement, Externalisation, Migration Governance, Normative Power Europe, Securitization.
language
English
id
9189457
date added to LUP
2025-08-08 11:38:11
date last changed
2025-08-08 11:38:11
@misc{9189457,
  abstract     = {{The European Union regularly portrays itself as a normative power committed 
to values such as human rights, solidarity, and the rule of law, while the EU
Turkey Statement of 2016 has raised questions about the coherence between 
this self-image and the EU’s external migration practices. This thesis 
investigates how the Statement is linguistically legitimised in political and 
media discourse, as well as to what extent a tension between the EU’s 
normative claims and its pragmatic governance of migration is shown. Drawing 
on the theoretical frameworks of Normative Power Europe, Securitisation 
Theory, and Critical Discourse Analysis, the study analyses 30 selected texts, 
which include official EU communications, statements by Turkish political 
actors and international media coverage from March 2016 to March 2020. The 
analysis focuses on how key terms such as “solidarity” and “responsibility” 
are semantically framed to legitimise migration policy measures. The findings 
reveal a dual discursive strategy, showing that the EU constructs itself as a 
value-based actor while simultaneously using securitised and technocratic 
narratives which externalise responsibility and portray migration as a threat. 
Turkey is framed predominantly as an executive gatekeeper, obligated with 
operational implementation but excluded from a normative role, while at the 
same time, counter-discourses from Turkish officials and international media 
challenge the EU’s moral authority and show discursive contradictions. This 
research demonstrates that normative legitimacy is rather contested than fixed, 
since it is constantly negotiated within a discursive field that is shaped by 
asymmetrical power relations, competing interests, and divergent 
interpretations of responsibility. In essence, the study aims to contributes to a 
deeper understanding of how the EU attempts to connect its normative 
credibility with their geopolitical agency in the realm of migration governance.}},
  author       = {{Hussein, Jana}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Crisis, Control and Contradictions: The EU-Turkey Agreement and the Fragility of Normative Power Europe}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}