Onur Sazak

The “Reengaging European Philanthropy in the Restoration of Turkish Civil Society” project will address the problem of the shrinking civic space in Turkey by reengaging critical European—in particular German—philanthropic support in Turkish civil society. It is founded upon the premise that European, especially German, philanthropy has made substantial contributions toward the development and expansion of the Turkish civic space over the past two decades. However, the contentious political climate looming over Turkey today casts aside civil society as a legitimate actor of inclusive political and social processes, while stoking the skepticism over the time-honored support and cooperation from European peers. The continuation of these dual problems of the shrinking space and Euro-skepticism is likely to hurt the accomplishments gained since the early 2000s vis-à-vis the expansion of the Turkish civic space and its unequivocal role as an anchor of positive relations with Europe.

The project, therefore, aims to present empirical evidence of the substantial contributions made by European—in particular German—foundations to the development of the Turkish civic space. Furthermore, it will demonstrate the current difficulties experienced by Turkish civil society amidst dwindling funds, government pressure, and the pandemic-induced challenges. It also will explore solutions and produce recommendations to help Turkish civil society emerge stronger from today’s forbidding environment. As part of this solution process, the project will look for ways to build trust between Turkish authorities and European philanthropists with a view to restoring the cooperative relations of the recent past.