The social reception of the discourse of human rights in Turkey

The debates on the human rights in Turkey continue to be relevant. Since human rights are basically regarded as the entitlements that individuals claim against the state, a high level of demand for human rights from the society to the state is required in order to increase the level of enforcement of these rights. In Turkey, such a demand does not exist adequately. Human rights discourse is not used effectively in the process of rights advocacy carried out by non-state actors. One of the important reasons for this situation is the incompatibility of the cultural background of the human rights doctrine, which is falsely claimed to be universal, with the cultural codes and dynamics of Turkish society. Human rights, like all other social and intellectual paradigms, is a cultural phenomenon. The concept of human rights has strong ties with the Western culture, and it spreads this culture within a legal model. This cultural character creates some obstacles in the social acceptance process of human rights in Turkey.