The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union | Global Dialogue office in Brussels is commissioning one or more policy analyses critically engaging with EU-Turkey defence cooperation. Applications should be submitted by Monday 9 November 2026, EOB.
- Deliverable: Research and write an analysis on the obstacles and blind spots facing EU-Turkey Defence Cooperation. Possibly present findings at a (digital) round-table.
- Audience: European and Turkish policymakers and media, think tanks, academia
- Format: 8-15 pages (A4 format), including at least one chart or infographic that illustrates key findings; Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung EU will provide layout, graphic design and publication in its corporate design
- Timeline: Please send your application by Monday 9 November 2026, EOB; a final draft after a feedback loop with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung EU is to be handed in by Friday 18 December 2026
- Budget: Only offers up to 6.000 € including VAT, excluding costs for layout, graphic design and proofreading, will be considered
Context
In the face of growing threats to its security, the EU works to improve defence capabilities (e.g. through SAFE) and its overall comprehensive security architecture. For this, it explores new partnerships and even new models of association outside of EU full-membership.
Turkey is generally regarded as an important partner for closer defence cooperation due to its geopolitical location, fast-growing military-industrial capabilities, and NATO-membership. Nevertheless, successful cooperation with the EU outside of NATO remains difficult. For example, Turkey was not included in SAFE.
The reasons for this are complex and multifaceted, ranging from technical incompatibilities and industrial asymmetries to divergent strategic interests, persistent political tensions, and the implications of Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian political system. These challenges are further compounded by differing perceptions of Turkey’s geopolitical role, competing priorities in defence policy, and unresolved questions about mutual trust, institutional compatibility, and the scope for meaningful cooperation.
Aim
There is no shortage of reports that provide thoughtful analyses of the potentials and challenges of cooperation between the EU and Turkey in the area of defence. The present call for analyses aims to explore the remaining blind spots. A proposal may address one or several of the following questions or identify another gap in the discussion with policy relevance:
- What technical, regulatory, institutional, or industrial incompatibilities constrain closer EU-Turkey defence cooperation? Which of these obstacles are structural, and which could be overcome through targeted policy measures?
- How deep is the real-existing dependency between EU Members States and Turkey at the current moment (politically, technologically, militarily etc.)?
- How is leverage distributed between Turkey, the EU, and individual EU Member States? To what extent can this leverage be used to advance mutually beneficial defence cooperation?
- Which assumptions, perceptions, or misconceptions held by European and Turkish policymakers and institutional actors shape their approaches to defence cooperation? To what extent do these assumptions correspond to political, military, and industrial realities?
- How are Turkey's defence industry and the prospects for closer integration into European defence structures perceived and debated within Turkey? What role do domestic political, ideological, economic, and institutional interests play in shaping these debates?
- How does the close relationships between Turkey's political leadership and the defence industry influence its policy and prospects for cooperation with European partners?
- To what extent and in what way does the increasingly authoritarian structure of the Turkish political system affect the prospects for deeper, strategic defence cooperation with the EU? Which challenges are specifically linked to the current political system, and which would persist, or potentially even intensify, under a more democratic Turkish government?
Key elements
- Short outline of the state of the debate on EU-Turkey defence cooperation
- Brief identification of previously covered obstacles to cooperation
- Identification of one or several gaps / blind spots
- Explanation of Policy Relevance
- Contextualisation and discussion of findings
- Recommendations for European and Turkish actors
How to apply for this call
We welcome submissions from academics, researchers, think tankers and journalists as well as research institutions, with strong expertise in EU-Turkey relations, defence studies, or Turkish and EU politics.
Please submit applications by Monday 9 November 2026, EOB, in one single PDF document:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) of any authors. Please use a standard format, max. 2 pages in PDF. Do not include a photo, date of birth, religion, or marital status.
- Pitch document (1 page PDF). Outline the following:
- Your qualifications and relevant experience
- Your analysis proposal: What gaps or blindspots do you wish to address? What is your research question? How do you plan to approach the research questions? How do you intend to scope and structure your paper?
- A budget proposal based on daily rates, excluding layout of print/online publication and excluding costs of proofreading
- Work samples. Submit two samples of previous work, either as PDFs or links.
Applications will be assessed based on relevance, quality, and originality of the proposed approach, demonstrated expertise and experience, quality of previous publications and work related to the issue, feasibility of the proposed timeline and budget.
Applications should be submitted with the subject line “EU-Turkey defence relations” to Malte Spielmann at Malte.Spielmann [at] eu.boell.org