The illusion of autonomy and the EU in Britain, Russia and Turkey: The politics of imperial nostalgia

The article examines the role that nostalgia of the imperial past plays in the foreign policy of Britain, Russia and Turkey towards the EU. It suggests that imperial nostalgia plays a bimodal role regarding the position of the three countries towards the EU (integration). On the one hand, imperial nostalgia can be used to mobilise domestic support for policies that advance European integration. On the other hand, imperial nostalgia can become a useful tool for supporting strategies that deviate from the EU common foreign policy objectives. By deconstructing the interconnected components of narratives about imperial past in the last fifteen years, the article suggests that changes in the political use of nostalgia should not be attributed only to the political orientation of the government of the three. Both domestic and systemic factors should be considered in order to assess the construction of imperial narratives and their impact on foreign policy.