Civil society and state in Turkey: a gramscian perspective

Abstract

This study focuses on the relations between civil society and state in Turkey. It acknowledges that the interactions in civil society might lead to further democratization. However, it criticizes the ready identification of civil society as a counter-hegemonic force in the Turkish case from a Gramscian perspective. It argues that civil society is rather a site for hegemonic struggles and that these struggles determine the outcome which might not necessarily result in any further democratization of domestic politics. The chapter begins with an evaluation of Antonio Gramsci’s views on civil society. The study then turns to the state tradition and emergence of civil society in Turkey in its historical context, both as an attempt to understand why civil society is conceptualized as opposed to the military and the state, and to reveal the dialectical relations between Turkish civil society and political society.