The Inevitable Coexistence of Civil Society and Liberalism: The Case of Turkey

Abstract. This article aims to draw attention to the coexistence of liberalism and civil society based upon the case of Turkey. Examined are three periods related to the history of Turkey: the last period of the Ottoman Empire, the non-liberal period of republican Turkey dating from 1923 to 1980, and the liberal post-1980 period. This article argues that there is a negative correlation between the domination of the state over society and economy and the development of a democratically functioning civil society. What the Turkish case indicates is that the development of civil society seems to become possible only in those societies where the influence of the state in economic and social life is limited, and it is liberalism that advocates that the state remain a value-neutral body among different parties and a body that leaves social and economic activities to be carried out by the private sector, which is the basis of civil society