The Last Ten Years of Civil Society in the European Union and Turkey: Discussions on the Tightening of Civic Space

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 507 - 523, 31.10.2024

Nihan Akıncılar Köseoğlu , Şirin Duygulu Elcim

https://doi.org/10.17336/igusbd.1277399

Abstract

When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came first into power in 2002, in line with the European Union (EU) membership goals, it initiated a reform, democratization and Europeanization process. Further development of civil society was crucial in fulfilling the Copenhagen Political Criteria. The process slowed down in 2005 and a new era called ‘de-Europeanization’ started in 2011. The gradual shift away from the EU vision and the overall democratic backsliding are considered to be the main reasons behind the tightening of the civic space. The arguments that focus on the domestic factors in explaining the current problems of civil society can be complemented with an analysis of the problems that the civil society faces within the EU. Such a perspective will provide a basis for comparative analysis and help better understand the broader dynamics that limit the EU’s impact on Turkish civil society.

Keywords

EU, Civil Society, Turkey, Civic Space, Tightening

Avrupa Birliği ve Türkiye’de Sivil Toplumun Son On Yılı: Sivil Alanın Daralması Tartışmalarına Karşılaştırmalı Bir Bakış

Abstract

Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP), Avrupa Birliği'ne (AB) üyelik hedefi doğrultusunda 2002 yılında ilk kez iktidara geldiğinde reform, demokratikleşme ve Avrupalılaşma sürecine odaklanmıştır. Türkiye'de sivil toplumun daha da gelişmesi, Kopenhag Siyasi Kriterlerinin yerine getirilmesinde çok önemli bir rol oynamaya başlamıştır. Bu reform süreci 2005 yılında yavaşlamış ve Türkiye 2011 yılında ‘Avrupalılaşmama’ olarak adlandırılan yeni bir döneme girmiştir. AKP’nin AB üyelik vizyonundan kademeli olarak uzaklaşması ve genel demokratik gerileme, sivil alanın daralmasının arkasındaki ana nedenler olarak kabul edilmektedir. Ancak sivil toplumun mevcut sorunlarını açıklamada yapısal ve bağlamsal yerel faktörlere odaklanan savlar, resmin bir bölümüne ışık tutmaktadır. Sivil toplumun AB içinde karşı karşıya kaldığı sorunların, özellikle de demokratik gerilemenin bir sonucu olarak sivil alanın dünya genelinde daralmasının da altı çizilmelidir. Böyle bir bakış açısı, yalnızca karşılaştırmalı analiz için bir temel sağlamakla kalmaz, aynı zamanda AB'nin Türkiye’deki sivil toplumun üzerindeki etkisini sınırlayan daha geniş dinamiklerinin daha iyi anlaşılmasına da yardımcı olur.

Keywords

AB, Sivil Toplum, Türkiye, Sivil Alan, Daralma

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