The ‘civil society policy’ of the European Union for promoting democracy in Turkey: golden goose or dead duck?

Abstract

‘Golden goose’ of European integration for some time now, EU’s civil society policy displays a vivid example during Turkey’s accession. This article queries the impact of this policy in the Turkish context, ultimately showing its limited extent on Turkish civil society organizations (CSOs) and illuminating its real constraints in the Turkish context. Drawing on interviews with CSOs, this article argues that the EU could not accomplish its expected objectives set within its civil society policy in Turkey due to its neo-Tocquevillian conceptualization that overlooks at the constraints on civil society actors and disregards civil society’s political nature and its CSOs’ autonomous character.

Keywords:

• Turkey
• civil society
• European Union
• democratization
• neo-Tocquevillian

Acknowledgement

The author is grateful for helpful feedback and suggestions of Prof. D. Julia Adams, Prof. Dr. Susan Hyde, Asst. Prof. Dr. Gaye İlhan Demiryol and of two anonymous referees of Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.

Notes

1. This article acknowledges the multiplicity of EU actors (e.g. European Commission, European Parliament, member states) each engaged with Turkish civil society at different levels. However, because these actors’ actions are guided with similar motives and principles, this article brings them under a single, unifying framework of EU civil society policy to make it easier to understand the relation to Turkish civil society.

2. These programmes include, but are not limited to Mediterranean Economic Development Area Programme (MEDA), Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Restructuring their Economies (PHARE), Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession (ISPA), Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD), Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stability in the Balkans (CARDS) for the Western Balkan Countries, Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS) for the CIS countries.

3. For the period starting from 2007, the annual budget allocation of the EU, given directly to Turkey to facilitate the harmonization process and from which the CSOs can receive funding is organized as the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).

4. A solidarity organization for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders.

5. This interview is conducted in confidentiality, and the name of interviewee is withheld by mutual agreement.

6. Adherents of a branch of Islam related to Shi’ism and practised mainly in (majority Sunni) Turkey.