Is Turkish law incompatible with EU membership Essay

Is Turkish law incompatible with EU membership - Essay Example Ten years ago Turkey applied for accession to the European Union.Till today the accession has not be granted.Mainly because of the huge overall concern that Turkey is not what is perceived to be a truly democratic and free countryOne largely ignores the fact that not half a century ago that what was mostly a divided and warring section of Mediterranean countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal is now today an integrated and peaceful Europe and the European integration project in which Turkey wants to join, has brought Europe together into a cohesive whole creating a 'security community' within an ever growing community where there is a "democratic peace". Former authoritarian and militarily dominated countries have come together. And the conditionality for the membership 'peace and cooperation' has been the most potent tool for the drawing together of diverse cultures and groups such as French, German, Poles, Hungarian and Romanian countries. Dialogue and a mutual sense of security e xists where earlier there was only confrontation and suspicion. Till today Turkey's dream of integration into the EU is still a dream. A virulent debate still rages over whether Turkey will strengthen EU's 'democratic zone' or destroy it and undermine the functioning of the EU through its action, most of which is considered as unlawful in the EU.The most prominent argument is that Turkey is a hardliner and the regions surrounding Turkey is filled with instability, violence, terrorism and political instability with hard-line Islamic fundamentalism. But internationally prominent figures like George Bush and Condoleeza Rice, Tony Blair are all for the process of Turkey's integration into the European Union. Olli Rehn (assumed office as EU Commissioner for Enlargement on 22 November 2004,) is the President of the European Commission responsible for Enlargement of the European Union (ENP), which was adopted in 2003. EU borders are being stretched now to the Middle East and World borders are breaking down. Increasingly Turkey is starting to play a prominent role. It is shedding the coercive aspects of its political views and laws are becoming much more liberal and dependent on dialogue and cooperation, dismantling prejudices and promoting mutual trust. The Portuguese Foreign Affairs minister recognized this and after the Brussels Council meeting in 2005 he said 'the US will be pleased and Bin Laden will be disappointed'. This was the meeting where it was decided that talks on Turkey accession to the EU would start. With this accession to the EU it's credibility and influence in world politics and the Muslim world will increase significantly. Prominently opposition was because the Turks did not allow freedom of expression. For a long time challenging status quo in Cyprus amounted to treason and the Anan Plan was criticized and applauded in turn. The Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdoan (wanted a "win-win" solution) Discourse of this kind was a new phenomena and a novel one in Turkey and undoubted this was the pressure that was created due to the EU and the prospect of accession. On 12th September 2005 was published the 12 cartoons by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which showed the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in a variety of humorous or satirical situations. Turkey and the Muslim world clashed with the western world. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's nomination as NATO's new secretary-general due to his stand in 2005 in this issue lead to his leadership being strongly opposed and the rights and the freedom of expression in the Muslim world being strongly questioned. It seemed to be incompatible with the U.N declaration of human rights. Muslims complained about an 'ongoing smear campaign' in Denmark against Islam and warned that negative reaction could result in Muslim countries and Muslim communities in Europe. They called on the prime minister "to take all those responsible to task under law

Gangs and gang behavior - week 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gangs and gang behavior - week 5 - Essay Example Page 126 shows a list of all the problems in communities such as availability of firearms, violence and other problems. These problems lead to other problems for the members of the society, such as children as noted in page 127, for children between 12 years to 17 years. For example, it is well-known that the gang members in a society who are the most vicious and violent are usually the ones who are usually respected and praised by other members and even some members of the society. In disorganization theory, a child gets influence from existing members in the society. If the child gets exposed to such attitudes or beliefs, believing that the most violent gang member is the most respected, then this child also adopts the same trend, as noted in page 128 on risk factors. This is where the developmental theory comes in, because such a child who is under the wrong influence views the gang life as the best choice. Therefore, it is not surprising to see such a child failing in school and adopting the gangster-like behavior while trying so that he or she also gets the same respect. In chapter 5, page 119, Howell clearly states that the development theories explain more on gang joining, as part of a development process. As child, such as the one mentioned in the example who joins a gang because of influence from the neighborhood gangs is also likely to influence other children, such as his or her friends. Therefore, it becomes a development process as proposed in the development theories, because more children continue to join