The Approaches to the EU Civil Society Policy in the Context of Turkish Accession

Civil society is the cornerstone in the enlargement process. It plays an instrumental role in the accession to the EU where support to civil society is also preparation for EU membership. The first pillar of the Copenhagen criteria contends that the candidate country should be a democratic country and should respect human rights and minorities. In this respect, the development of democracy is associated with the existence of a dynamic civil society. Therefore, the EU promotes civil society to help Turkey comply with the political criteria.

In Turkey, civil society engagement is in line with the broader policy aspirations. The EU channels assistance to civil society through various financial instruments. Civil society programs reflect the EU’s priorities in civil development by making strong references to democracy, human rights, dialogue and partnership. The EU policy to civil society has two facets that are considered complementary to each other.

The first facet focuses on development of democracy through civil society.

For this purpose, the initial program on civil society (Civil Society Development Program) supports capacity building initiatives to develop the institutional structure of civil society. In these programs, civil society is defined as broadly as possible.

However, certain issue areas are prioritized in relation to EU expertise. The civil society groups are expected, through their involvement in civil society development programs, to utilize not only issues concerning EU enlargement but also EU priorities.

The EU’s policy to strengthen civil society is justified on the basis of a certain logic, where civil society is defined as a key player in the democratic game. In this logic, democratization in Turkey is closely related with the existence of open civil society and active citizens. In this process, civil society is expected to develop their capacity so they can fulfill certain functions and contribute to democratic development.

The second facet of the EU policy focuses on the role of civil society as partners in civil society dialogue programs that strengthen contacts, mutual understanding and the exchange experience between the EU and candidate countries.

The logic behind these programs is the lessons learnt from the previous enlargement processes. In this context, civil society is seen as a mechanism to understand political and cultural experiences; incorporation of culture is a key component of the civil

society dialogue. There are awareness-raising activities of policies and values. In general, these programs complement civil society development program, but learning is at the heart of the civil society dialogue. Civil society is defined in a broader and more inclusive way and as a linking actor between the EU and citizens. It is assumed that civil society will inform the public and flourish better understanding. In addition, networking is the main strategy in civil society dialogue. There are various activities for NGOs and network building is the main tool for strengthening civil society dialogue. In the case of Turkey, the most important principle of the civil society dialogue is not only the cooperation and collaboration with other civil society actors but also with the Turkish state.

3.4 Conclusion

The question of how the EU impacts civil society development requires an understanding of the rationale and motivations behind the EU policy towards civil society. The policy has implications for understanding Europeanization outcome.

The concept of civil society was entered into the EU policy circle during the early 1990s. It is critical to understand the concept of civil society in the policy language of the EU since it is this concept that is being transferred into different political and cultural contexts during the enlargement process. In section 3.1, the evolution of EU policies within EU context lead to two main conclusions. First, the increasing talk about the importance of civil society in policymaking reflects positive connotations of civil society where civil society is seen as an important instrument in democratization and efficient policymaking. Second, civil society has been deemed crucial for the EU since they have the potential to close the gap between EU policymaking and the citizens and bring EU policymaking closer to the public.

The examination of three different contexts, namely- the EU, Central and East European and Turkish- in relation to civil society reveals similar conclusions in the EU’s approach to civil society despite the differences in the focus in civil society programs. The civil society development is associated as a part of good democracy, and governance as well as successful policymaking at the EU level. A comparison between the EU approach to civil society in CEE and Turkey also highlights similarities. In both contexts, the EU introduces civil society within policy frameworks, in a context of ongoing democratization processes. This is

operationalized through the EU assistance to civil society. As section 3.2 and 3.3 illustrate, in its enlargement process, the EU has two complementary pillars for strengthening civil society. The first pillar enhances capacity building and institutional structure of NGOs. The second pillar focuses on dialogues and previous experiences. The policy of civil society dialogue can be found both in CEE and Turkish contexts and based on learning processes.

The efficiency of EU policy on civil society has been a controversial debate both in academic and international policymaking circles. The EU has been criticized along two lines. On the one hand, opponents argue that a neo-liberal model of civil society based on a specific type of organizational structure has been promoted by the EU. On the other hand, critics stress that civil society development is not a technical process. In this context, the EU cannot simply transfer a “blueprint” model of civil society without considering domestic contexts, namely, the effect of historical legacies on civil society. The remaining chapters investigate the impact of the EU on civil society development in Turkey.

CHAPTER 4