Women’s Civil Society Organisations in Turkey: Reflections of Europeanisation and De-Europeanisation Along the EU Journey

This book focuses on the de-Europeanisation process that Turkey is undergoing through an examination of women’s civil society organisations.

Considering the lively women’s movement in the country and its diversity, it questions whether a transformation has occurred in the way that women’s civil society organisations perceive the European Union and make use of the financial and strategic support offered by the EU as part of the latter’s recognition of the importance of civil society organisations in candidate and new member states. With attention to the ways in which the contributions of the EU enabled such organisations to intensify and widen their activities, as well as their lobbying and networking prospects, the authors examine the effects on these of Turkey’s fluctuating relations with the EU and the parallel de-Europeanisation process that has marked the last decade. An exploration of the process of de-Europeanisation as experienced by women’s civil society organisations, with particular focus on the axis of their independence, this volume considers their responses. Though the very survival of some is uncertain, many have responded by adopting new strategies and resources for lobbying, networking and collaboration.

A study of political change and the effects of de-Europeanisation in a country with changing attitudes towards the EU, this volume will appeal to scholars of political sociology, political science and European studies with interests in civil society organisations and gender.

Nazlı Kazanoğlu currently serves as the Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at İstanbul Nişantaşı University, Turkey.

Ayşe İdil Aybars is a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Social Policy Master’s Program at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.