The Transformation of Civic Networks: A Cross-local Comparison of CSO networks in Turkish Cities in the Aftermath of the Syrian Refugee Crisis

• In Event: Big Data, Civic Networks, and Creative Collaboration

Abstract

The Syrian civil war has brought about a massive influx of refugees to Turkey. This has spurred the creation of a large number of civil society organizations (CSOs) throughout Turkey. Civic networks, as a core part of Turkey’s third sector, thus engaged in a transformation process in a context of insufficient state resources and unpreparedness of the public authorities for such a large migration flow.
Civic networks comprise episodic and unique, ever-evolving interactions, hence constituting dynamic networks which may be observed over time as they transform. This paper provides a first fine-grained analysis of the evolution of civic networks as they transform at the local level, throughout successive phases. The analysis unpacks the evolution of the actors’ attributes and relational patterns as they face successive opportunities, threats and critical junctures. It also reveals the dynamism and adaptability of the CSO networks in the quickly changing landscape of Turkey’s third sector.
Building upon Diani's (2012) typology of modes of coordination in collective action (social movement, organizational and coalitional modes of coordination), we zoom in on the evolution of civic networks in two contrasted cities, Istanbul and Gaziantep. This analytical framework also enables us to identify the evolving structure of exchanges between civic associations and to differentiate between actors embedded in various modes of coordination. To this end, in line with the network-centric analytical approach, Network Analysis (SNA) is used as a technique to grasp evolving intricate structures of relations between actors in different phases during the crisis. SNA enables us to attain a quite deep understanding of the complex patterns at play in the CSO networks.
Drawing on rich primary sources and interviews with a diverse array of CSO representatives, the paper examines how these networks have adapted to the changing landscape of civil society in two different local settings exposed to quite similar contextual factors. It compares how civic networks in these two settings have adapted to the enduring refugee crisis and have thereby transformed. The findings indicate that this transformation is deep, that it varies throughout the crisis period, and that it is dependent upon local context. This study also sheds light, more broadly, on the recent evolution of Turkey’s civil society, and contributes to the existing literature on civil society in time of crisis.

References

Diani, M. (2012). Modes of coordination of collective action: What actors in policymaking? In B. Vedres & M. Scotti (Eds.), Networks in Social Policy Problems (pp. 103-123). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511842481.006

Authors

• Iremgul Utlu

• Benoit Rihoux, UCLouvain