CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs) IN TURKEY: HISTORY, THEORIES AND ISSUES

The idea of conducting research on “civil society organizations” (CSOs), and writing a book have emanated some major processes throughout my life. The first time I heard about the concept of CSO was on August 17, 1999. I was studying in Fethiye primary school in Bursa province, where I was born, when a devastating earthquake struck Western Marmara region of Turkey, causing thousands of deaths and injuries in and around Gölcük, İzmit. Although we felt this earthquake very badly, nothing happened to our homes and family members in Bursa. But still my family and I had to live in a hand- made tent for 2 weeks due to risk of another earthquake.