Europeanization and Civil Society : Turkish NGOs as Instruments of Change?

Since 1999 when Turkey was declared a candidate country for European Union membership, Turkish nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have found themselves at the heart of the EU pre-accession process. Not only is the development of a vibrant and strong civil society key part of the Europeanization process Turkey is expected to undertake, but NGOs also have an important role in facilitating broader socio-political changes through a range of EU-funded projects. These claims, however, are based on normative assumptions on how Turkish NGOs should behave, rather than on empirical evidence of how they experience and respond to the Europeanization project.

This book examines the (dis)connections between EU civil society policy and Turkish NGOs in detail. Through interviews with key actors from the NGO sector, and policymakers from the EU and Turkish government the book draws a picture of a complex and intricate relationship. Turkish NGOs do not passively accept the top-down agenda set by the EU civil society funding framework but often find creative ways to circumvent and resist the EU''s objectives.