Browsing by Subject "NGOs"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
Empowering voices: unveiling the dynamics of women's NGOs and state relations in Turkey
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2024-11-22) Ertan, Senem; Yol, Fatma; Aykaç, Rojda; Savaş, Gökhan
###### *Purpose* This paper aims to examine the gender perceptions of members within women’s NGOs in Türkiye, highlighting the persistence of patriarchal values despite the rise in these organizations. The study provides insights into the influence of socio-political factors and demographic variables on gender attitudes within these organizations. ###### *Design/methodology/approach* The research utilized a survey conducted among 735 members of women’s NGOs in Istanbul and Ankara, gathering quantitative data on their attitudes toward gender inequality. The study employs a gender inequality index, supplemented with demographic and personal factors like age, marital status, education, political ideology and religiosity. ###### *Findings* Findings reveal that members of women’s NGOs often exhibit gender-inequitable attitudes, influenced by factors such as age, religiosity, political ideology and education. Contrary to expectations, these NGOs do not uniformly promote feminist values, and gender inequity is deeply entrenched within the organizational culture. ###### *Research limitations/implications* The study is limited by its focus on two major cities, which may not reflect the experiences of NGO members in other regions of Türkiye. The findings underscore the necessity to address structural constraints within women’s NGOs to promote genuine gender equality. ###### *Practical Implications* This research suggests the need for critical awareness and capacity-building within women’s NGOs in Türkiye. Policymakers and organizational leaders can use these insights to develop targeted interventions that enhance gender consciousness and challenge patriarchal norms in civil society. ###### *Originality/value* This study provides a novel exploration of gender attitudes within women’s NGOs in Türkiye, challenging the assumption that such organizations inherently promote feminist ideals. By combining empirical data with a socio-political analysis, the research reveals how entrenched patriarchal values persist within organizations that advocate for gender equality. This work contributes to understanding the complexities and contradictions in civil society’s role in gender politics, offering valuable insights for scholars and practitioners interested in gender, civil society and socio-political dynamics in Türkiye.
Open Access
Local participation and social capital in women's development projects : influence of external versus internal financing on NGOs in Turkey
(2008) Walterova, Iva
Sustainable development has been a great challenge for a number of experts. The social dimension of development studies has gained significance in recent decades. Civil society and social capital are, therefore, increasingly more examined as these concepts are widely discussed; and there are not many empirical country specific studies of them. Accordingly, this thesis focuses on local participation and social capital in women’s development projects in Turkey. The research question in this study is: how does internal versus external financing influence local participation in women’s development projects of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Turkey? In order to examine the role of financing in local participation in women’s development projects, the theoretical arguments focusing on development, civil society, women’s development and social capital are assessed to demonstrate the importance of local participation for sustainable development and women’s development projects for empowerment of women. Furthermore, an overview of Turkey’s history from the angle of civil society and women’s movement is presented to provide a background for the evolution of women’s NGOs and their work in Turkey. A sample of donor organizations and externally and internally funded women’s development projects is selected as cases. The assumption of this study is that local participation can facilitate social capital. Women should be perceived as able and active participants in all phases of the NGOs’ projects, including implementation and monitoring. Thus, NGOs and local donors are expected to use more participatory approaches because of the grounded knowledge potentially stemming from ‘internal’ resources that are embedded in these organizations. However, the research findings demonstrated that this argument cannot be sufficiently supported. Despite the participatory requirement in the iv applications, managers/administration of both externally and internally funded projects perceive no such requirement. Neither the externally nor the internally financed projects were undertaken with considerable local participation. Overall, the findings have shown that the participatory approach is often part of the rhetoric of the donors and the NGOs; however, it rarely appears in practice. Since local participation is not facilitated to a full extent in the sample projects, social capital is not used to allow empowerment of women as active owners of their choice of development programs. Therefore, bonding and bridging social capital among women in Turkey requires further research. Consequently, it is puzzling that development practitioners in Turkey dealing with women/gender in development would not fully utilize this invaluable resource.
Open Access
NGO's as the link between state and society? Women's community centers in Southeastern Turkey
(2003) Genel, Sema
Civil society initiatives in Turkey are transforming from organizations based on traditional commitments, religious ties, and other primordial forms of relations to organizations based on universal values, which are shaped mainly by the claims of a larger civil society on a global scale. These universal values are in close interconnection with changes taking place at the local level, exerting an influence on particularistic values. This results in flows of interaction between global civil society and grassroots initiatives. In this sense, civil society organizations at the national level play a crucial role in the provision of the link between the global and the local within a given nation-state. However, values promoted at the national level, shaped mainly by politics of the nation-state, can be in sharp contradiction to those of a universalist and equally particularistic character. This situation is currently prevalent in Turkey with respect to the discussions on the crisis of democracy in the country. Civil society organizations, represented mainly by vakıfs and derneks as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are trying to bring closer together the national practice of democracy with the changes of the notion of democracy at the global level, with reference to local particularities. It is the role of the national NGOs in Turkey, then, to ease the tension with respect to the clash of values between the state and the local community level as shaped by a global civil society. On a global scale, NGOs have started filling the gap between the top-down policies of the state and the bottom-up demands of local grassroots activity. The three-tier relationship between the state, NGO, and the local community is becoming increasingly complex due to the internal as well as external forces at play. It is this role of Turkish NGOs that is the focus of the current study. It is interesting to observe the degree to which NGOs in Turkey are creating alternatives to development and a move towards participatory democracy through women’s empowerment centers within a larger state-sponsored development project in Southeastern Turkey. Given the peculiarities of gender and minorities as essential components of the case study, the thesis analyzes the role of Turkish NGOs in creating the links between local and central authorities on the one hand, and the local community on the other.
Open Access
What a difference context makes: comparing communication strategies of migration NGOs in two neighboring countries
(Routledge, 2022-12-31) Dimitrova, D.; Ozdora-Aksak, Emel
This research study compared non-governmental organizations(NGOs) working in the area of migration in two neighboring countries–Bulgaria and Turkey. Utilizing in-depth interviews with39 NGO professionals in both countries, the analysis identified critical differences in public opinion dynamics, organizational structures and interdependencies, and government relationships. Further analysis unveiled how the local socio-economic and political context had impacted NGO communication strategies as well as the specific communication channels, public engagement activities, and social media campaigns in each country. Implications for communication scholarship during times of increasing migration flows and globalization are discussed.