The Relationship between the State and Civil Society Organizations, and Participation in Civil Society Organizations in Turkey

Year 2019, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 405 - 427, 29.09.2019

Osman Şahin Sema Akboğa

https://doi.org/10.14782/ipsus.623237

Cited By: 7

Abstract

Previous research demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between democracy and

membership in civil society organizations. Turkey is considered to be a country where membership

in civil society organizations is low. Relying on the literature on the factors effecting the participation

in civil society organizations and the history of the relationship between civil society organizations

and the Turkish state, this article aims to investigate the factors behind low civil society organization

membership in Turkey. To this end, this article benefited from a nation-wide survey conducted in 2015.

Analysis showed that people in Turkey do not consider strong civil society as an important dimension

of democracy. In addition, analysis revealed that a large number of people in Turkey think that: civil

society organizations in Turkey are not independent from the state; the state does not see civil society

as a partner in policy-making; and people are afraid of being a member of civil society organizations.

This article concluded that the problematic history between civil society organizations and the Turkish

state is a major reason why people in Turkey hold negative views about civil society organizations, and

therefore avoid membership in these organizations.

Keywords

Turkey, participation in civil society organizations, civil society-state relations, democracy, national survey

Türkiye’de Devlet-Sivil Toplum Kuruluşları İlişkisi ve Sivil Toplum Kuruluşlarına Katılım

Abstract

Yapılan araştırmalar, sivil toplum kuruluşlarına katılımın demokrasi üstünde olumlu bir etkisi

olduğunu göstermiştir. Ancak Türkiye’de sivil toplum kuruluşlarına üyelik düşüktür. Bu çalışma,

Türkiye’de devlet ile sivil toplum kuruluşları arasındaki ilişkinin tarihine ve sivil toplum kuruluşlarına

katılımı etkileyen faktörleri inceleyen literatüre dayanarak Türkiye’de sivil toplum kuruluşlarına

üyeliğin düşük olmasının nedenlerini araştırmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu doğrultuda bu çalışmada, 2015

senesinde Türkiye nüfusunu temsil eden bir örneklem ile gerçekleştirilmiş ulusal bir anket çalışması

kullanılmıştır. Yapılan analizler, Türkiye’de kişilerin sivil toplum kuruluşlarını demokrasinin önemli

öğesi olarak görmediğine işaret etmiştir. Ayrıca, devletin sivil toplum kuruluşlarını dikkate alması,

sivil toplum kuruluşlarının devletten bağımsız hareket etmesi ve vatandaşların çekinmeden sivil

kuruluşlarına üye olması gibi konularda katılımcıların büyük bir kısmının olumsuz düşüncelere sahip

olduğu bulunmuştur. Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de sivil toplum ve devlet ilişkilerinin problemli tarihinin

kişilerin sivil toplum kuruluşlarına karşı bu olumsuz yargılara sahip olmalarına ve dolayısıyla sivil

toplum kuruluşlarına üyelikten kaçınmalarına neden olduğu sonuca varmıştır.

Keywords

Türkiye, sivil toplum kuruluşlarına katılım, sivil toplum-devlet ilişkileri, demokrasi, ulusal anket

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