The changing structure of civil society in turkey: A study on the transformation of conservative civil society organizations after 1980

Although the concept of civil society has changed through the history, it had evolved to final form with the birth of liberalism which is modern world system and the progress of neo-liberalism. The concept of civil society, evolving in the West, was changing in parallel with the developments of industrial society. As a result, it was shaped by bourgeois and economic relations. After the welfare state crises in 1980's, civil society has gained popularity and it became symbol of solving problems that the government failed to address. During that period, it became theorized and was provided with the important institutions which tried to fill the void between the individuals and the government. Thanks to globalization and effects of neo-liberalism, the concept has spread all over the world, especially in developing countries it was defined as the social democratic model. In the light of these developments, the concept of civil society had showed itself with strong awareness in 1980 and it led to replacing the old understanding of civil society comes from Ottoman Empire which had close relationship with the government and supported the authority. The concept became controversial topic in Turkey during the European Union full membership process and the concept gained positive popularity and attention. Turkey has a long way to go in terms of developing civil society like Western cultures but these developments show that it becomes more active and professional. The study focuses on structural transformation of the concept, developing in Turkey and analyze the structure of conservative non-governmental organizations which are prone to become professional and specialized.