Civil society and democracy: the case of a migrant association

Abstract

This thesis aims to discuss the relationship between civil society and democracy by examining the case of a migrant association in Istanbul founded by people comingfrom a town in the Black Sea region. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore how and to what extent the association promotes or undermines broader and deeper political participation, the exercise of civil rights, socio-economic equality and theenjoyment of cultural differences. Although the membership is based on an inheritedcharacteristic, i.e. hometown, the association differs from traditional communities in that it is justified on the basis of sharing common cultural elements rather thancoming from a common lineage. The common hometown also functions as aninstrument in the generation of resources and power. The prospects for thecontribution of the association to democracy are analyzed by looking at the opportunities for the articulation of demands, the economic empowerment of its , members, the representation of differences and the cultivation of democratic valuesamong its members. Moreover, potential problems are also considered such asreproduction of inequalities through exclusion of non-members, maintenance of unequal power relations within the association, limitation of individual freedom of its members, promotion of undemocratic values and possibility for rent-seeking activities. The problems are argued to emerge and exacerbate depending on thedegree of dependency of its members on the association, and the lack of a issuebased perspective and institutionalized relations within the association.