The transformation of civil society in Turkey: from quantity to quality

Abstract

The spread of western democracy to non‐western societies has raised important questions. The liberal aspects of western democracy and its correlation with civil society and NGOs have yielded unexpected results in non‐western settings. This study investigates the theoretical conditions and qualifications of a pro‐democracy civil society, particularly outside the West. This theoretical framework is then tested through the examination of a spectrum of civil society in Turkey. Although Turkey has elements of civil society in abundance, their qualitative impact on political life is relatively trivial. Turkey's official ideology should be made more flexible, the control of politics by the military should be minimized, and the education system should be reformed substantially in order to increase the contributions of civil society to democratization.