ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the EU's influence on the process of transforming Turkish civil society in legal and practical terms. It draws on 11 face to face in-depth interviews, conducted between 2009 and 2011 with representatives of various civil society organisations (CSO's) in Turkey. The chapter discusses the ongoing challenges during the Europeanisation process of civil society in Turkey and what can be done in order to cope with the challenges. The Civil Society Index (CSI) project, conducted by the Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TSEV), is the first internationally comparative study of civil society's structure, values, environment and impact in Turkey, based on data collected between 2004 and 2005. Çiğdem Nas comments that the CSO's have become more project-oriented due to the effect of the Europeanisation of civil society in Turkey. The EU's institutions and programmes have transformed the activities of civil society through their engagement with CSOs in Turkey.
