The relationship between the power and non-governmental organizations in Turkey in the period after 2000: The case of Diyarbakır

The concept of civil society has been associated with the state in the historical process. According to the political, social, and economic developments in Europe, civil society, which began to manifest itself as an autonomous area from the political authority, gradually came to be seen as an antithesis of political power. Even though the position of the civil society issue varies according to periods, the relationship between political power and civil society continued to exist at certain levels. The main purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between political power and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Diyarbakır in the post-2000 period. In this context, the research question of the thesis was determined as "How and in which direction the relations between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and NGOs in Diyarbakır developed". In order to answer the basic question of the research, the case study method, which is a qualitative approach, was used. In this context, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were held with representatives of NGOs in Diyarbakır, provincial chairmen of opposition parties, and officials working in the central and local organization of the AK Party. After the interviews were deciphered, they were coded into the qualitative data analysis program (NVIVO-11), and thematic analysis was made. According to the findings obtained as a result of the analysis, it has been observed that there are periodic changes in the relations between the AK Party government and the NGOs in Diyarbakır. It can be stated that positive relations were established between the political power and the NGOs in Diyarbakır during the apprenticeship-journeyman period, which we have thematized as the first period of the AK Party. However, in the second period of the AK Party, which we have thematized as the mastery period, it has been seen that problems have started to be experienced in the relations between the political power and the NGOs in Diyarbakır, also with the effect of the political crises in the country. As a matter of fact, with the transition from the mastery period, which is expressed as the interim period of democratization and authoritarianism, to the presidential period, it can be stated that the problems between the government and NGOs have intensified, polarizations have occurred in the field of civil society, and in this context, there has been a sharp decline in civil society activities. Therefore, it can be stated that the relations with NGOs in Diyarbakır tended to deteriorate during the twenty-year ruling period of the AK Party, from the apprenticeship-journeyman period to the presidency. Keywords: Civil Society, Non-Governmental Organizations, Political Power, State, Authority, AK Party, Diyarbakır, Rights and Freedoms, Democracy