Civil Society in Turkey and Local Dimensions of Europeanization

Abstract

Since the Helsinki Summit of 1999 when Turkey’s candidacy for membership was accepted, the EU has exercised considerable transformative power over the development of Turkey’s civil society. This article examines Turkish civil society both as an agent of the ‘internationalization’ of domestic social agendas and as a reflection of more general Turkish perceptions of the EU and Turkey’s prospective membership. The first part of the article offers an analytical account of Turkish civil society development in order to portray the domestic context in which the interaction between local and international actors takes place. The second part deals with the nature of the relationship between the EU and domestic civil society organizations, concentrating on the peculiarities of this relationship. The last section investigates the perceived impact of European actors, namely governmental and non‐governmental organizations, on the development and evolution of Turkish civil society. It also discusses the meanings and values attributed to the contribution of European players in domestic political and social transformation.