State and Civil Society in Turkey

[SYOUNTCHI@hotmail.com (YOUNTCHI; SUZANNE MARIE)]

When discussing the issue of civil society in the Middle East, Turkey is listed among the few examples where ¡°¡­civil society has developed with  remarkable rapidity, emphasizing yet again that the chronology of political change is dramatically telescoped in the late twentieth century¡± (Norton, vol. 2, 7).  However, as Ersin Kalaycioglu¡¯s study of ¡°Civic Culture in ¡®Secular¡¯ Turkey¡± reveals, a ¡°fragmented civil society¡± is actually present. For instance, in Turkey, ¡°the overall rate of membership in voluntary associations seems to be quite low, hovering around 7% of the population for all associations¡­.¡± (Kalaycioglu, 2)  Thus, only a small minority of the population is taking part in this civil society.  These associations are not only lacking in numbers, but lack in its strength to act as the ¡°buffer¡± between the people and the state. Therefore, it would seem obvious that civil society in Turkey must improve and grow in order to meet its democratic ideals.  But to what extent can the Turkish Republic afford a stronger and more widespread civil society? Can the state pursue a strong political structure while allowing more voluntary associations, or more ¡°civic mindedness¡± of the population to grow and gain influence in the state?  In Norton¡¯s discussion of civil society in the Middle East, he notes Sadowski¡¯s observation that societies in the Middle East are so powerful that they can overpower the state (Norton, vol. 1, p. 25).  Similiarly, Nilufer Gole argues that ¡°civil society is thus expected to be a force of resistance and opposition to political state power. However, it is precisely this overpoliticization of civil society that hinders democratization.¡± (Gole, p. 17).  A government that has too much central power though, loses its democratic ideals. 
As Norton observes ¡°¡­the political discourse in Turkey centers on the themes of consolidation of democracy and strengthening civil society¡± (Norton, vol 2, p. 7). For my term paper, I intend to look at these themes, specifically examining the changing role of the military in Turkey and whether or not this will have an impact on civil society.  I will begin this venture with this short paper, intended to present the argument for a strong state and civil society in Turkey.  First, I discuss Sheri Berman¡¯s argument in favor of a strong political structure in order to illustrate the consequence of having a weak state and strong civil society.  Second, I show the relevance of Berman¡¯s argument to the case of Turkey in showing the argument against decentralization of the state.  Finally, I discuss the notion of a top-down approach to facilitating civil society should be pursued in Turkey, rather than a bottom-up approach. Although I do not discuss the military specifically in this paper, my intention is to illustrate the debate on the strength of state and civil society, an issue relevant to a discussion of the military¡¯s role in Turkey.  
In The Collapse of the Weimer Republic, a response to Rober D. Putnam¡¯s Making Democracy Work, Sheri Berman argues that ¡°not only did participation in civil society organizations fail to contribute to republican virtue, but it in fact subverted it¡± (Berman, 417). Her argument here is specifically targeted at Robert D. Putnam¡¯s study of ¡°Italy¡¯s regional experiment¡±.  As he discusses how the differing social context and history of the northern and southern regions of Italy shape the performance of institutions, he concludes, ¡°Toqueville was right: Democratic government is strengthened, not weakened, when it faces a vigorous civil society¡± (Putnam, 182).  She points out that Putnam fails to see the consequence of strong participation in volunteer associations as weakening necessary political parties and political structure.  Berman supports her argument by attributing strong associations to corroding the necessary political parties and political structure needed for a state to survive, such as in Germany (Berman, 424-425).  Furthermore, in terms of the importance of having specifically ¡°horizontal structured associations¡±, Berman notes that these will not have a positive effect unless you have the strong institutions (429).  
Although the argument stems from observations made about two Western states, Italy and Germany, it does bear relevance to the discussion of civil society and the state in Turkey.  In Binnaz Toprak¡¯s study, he agrees with R¨¦gis Debray that civil society can pose a threat to ¡°the free expression of individuality¡± (Toprak, 118).  Civil society can pose this threat because ¡°as the state recedes¡­the stage may not be left to the free individual, but is likely to be dominated by religious authorities, ethnic clans, the mafia, the mass media and financial "feudalities." (Toprak, 118).    Thus, while a move towards decentralization in Turkey can open the door towards an increase in the quality of civil society, not having enough state power may do more harm than good.  As Berman argues, this is the consequence of having too strong of a civil society, as the case in Germany.  Therefore, it is obvious that a certain balance in the strength of the state and the strength of voluntary associations, is necessary in order for Turkey to further develop its democracy.  
	In order achieve this ¡°balance¡± in state power and the strength of civil society, some argue that the state should be allowed to further develop a framework for civil society. Although, this may seem contrary to the concept of ¡°voluntary associations,¡± some sort of framework may help to keep civil society ¡°vigorous¡± without taking too much power from the political structure.  Furthermore, many would argue that the state is already too strong, and this power plays out in the obstacles faced by Islamic or ethnic groups trying to form associations in Turkey.  However, the state needs to have a role in the formation of civil society so that civil society can be defined as a separate domain from the state but nevertheless function under its universal rules (Toprak, 89).  For now, the only associations that are successful, are those which act as a bureaucratic arm.  In this context, it is argued that civil society in Turkey is weak.  For instance, in ¡°Civic Culture and Islam in Urban Turkey¡±, Jenny B. White argues that ¡°¡­while a civic culture that supports democracy from the bottom up is necessary, it is an insufficient condition¡­the state must be responsible for providing a top-down legal and political framework that allows and protects plurality and diversity¡± (White, p. 152).  Binnaz Toprak also touches on such notions in his discussion of ¡°Civil Society in Turkey¡±.  Although he observes that the strong state in Turkey was an obstacle for the free association of social forces, especially those that were Islamic and ethnic based, he does agree that a strong state laid the foundations for their orderly competition (Toprak, p. 86).    
It appears that Turkey can actually attribute its ¡°civic mindedness¡± to its legacy of a strong, centralized state.  However, while Turkey may be civic minded, the number and strength of voluntary associations, and hence civil society, remain relatively low.  Therefore, as Turkey questions the ¡°reorganization¡± of its legislative, judicial, military, and economic spheres, in light of its nomination to for EU membership, it is essential that it also addresses how it foresees the role of civil society.  It cannot assume that civil society sill be a bi-product of other developments.  As I hope to address in my final paper, the military will play an important role in this question, as civil-military relations and the legacy of the military is an important element in the dynamics of Turkey¡¯s civil society.  


Note: All sources are part of class readings with the exception of:
Kalaycioglu¡¯s, Ersin. ¡°Civic Culture in ¡®Secular¡¯ Turkey¡±. The Institute of Ismali Studies. 
	http://www.iis.ac.uk/research/sem_con_lec/sem_00/kalaycioglu.htm.

White, Jenny B. ¡°Civic Culture and Islam in Urban Turkey¡±.  Civil Society: Challenging Western Models. Chris Hann and Elizabeth Dunn, Eds. Routledge, Great Britain, 1996.



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