How to forge ties with post-Brexit Europe?

Former European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein once said Turkey was too big, too poor and too different to become a full member of the European Union.

Indeed, the opponents of Turkey's EU membership have always come up with plenty of arguments to undermine the process. Some claimed that Turkey was geographically more Middle Eastern than European, some focused on the income disparity and the army of unqualified poor workers waiting to invade Europe's job market, while others stood against Turkey's membership simply because it is Muslim.

Turkey has indeed lost its appetite for reforms and moved further away from the Copenhagen criteria since it started accession negotiations in 2005. Yet, looking back over the years, the blunt statements of European leaders mocking Turkey's accession ideal were of little help either. The same goes for the EU decision to accept Greek Cyprus as a member in 2004 despite the lack of a settlement on Cyprus. Ultimately, the decisions fueled suspicions among Turks that there was no place for Turkey in the EU - even if it fulfilled all the requirements one day - since the EU was a Christian club and would remain so.

The long-stalled negotiations between Ankara and Brussels were reinvigorated last November as a result of the contentious refugee deal. Under a May agreement, the EU agreed to provide financial aid for refugees in Turkey, liberalize visas for Turkish citizens and revive Turkey's EU accession process in return for Turkish moves to limit the number of asylum seekers coming to Europe.

But in reality, the domestic political contexts in both Europe and Turkey are not conducive to Turkey's EU membership. 

Given the rise of populist, anti-immigration and anti-Islam movements in Europe, the issue...