ABSTRACT
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)1 in Turkey have gained prominence in recent years, the establishment of which dates back to the relatively democratic period of the 1960s. During the 1970s, NGOs were characterized by overpoliticized left-or right-wing extremist politics and ideological polarization. However, starting from the second half of the 1980s and especially in the 1990s, issue-based politics began to emerge, while ideologically oriented or revolutionary politics lost their strength. This process was accompanied by the rise of new political dynamics and involved the creation of new social movements of women, businessmen, engineers, and environmentalists. They brought with them a new form of identity politics and corresponding political demands. What Laclau (1985, p. 39) calls the ‘moment of totalization’ in the political imaginary, therefore, is now restricted to specific demands in particular circumstances. Following Laclau, this chapter argues that the democratizing potential of non-governmental and nonstate actors in Turkey lies precisely in their demands for a radically open and indeterminate view of society.
