Transition from Civil Society to Active Diplomacy: Candidateship

While the number of candidates from different parties who are also CSO members are increasing with the upcoming election; which is considered as a positive interaction, it is also reminded that the main considerations should be pursuing social utility and alienation of unqualified and pluralistic state.

As Prof. Ferhat Kentel comments to Civil Pages by saying; “it is the result of a refreshment need for democracy demanded by the social and cultural segments.” According to Nesrin Nas, the increasing pressures for new diplomatic staff and for innovation by the public are other reasons. Prof. Nihat Erdoğmuş also adds that the critical point of this issue is whether the elected candidates’ will be able to make an effort to contribute to the legislative process on behalf of their electors and act according to their benefits. According to Mehmet Ali Çalışkan, finding a spot in the active political agenda is usually a problematic issue and the way of eluding this problem is always consulting with civil society stakeholders about the matters to be proposed for the agenda.

The member of YADA Foundation, Mehmet Ali Çalışkan says: Turkish Parliament won’t be able to constitute a majority to form a government in the forthcoming period. In that case, the political parties will give up on their roles as potentially alternative governments and they will try to impress the government in AK Saray. We may be entering a period which we could see political parties acting as CSOs. Therefore, the parliament will be a course of decision effectuating rather than a course of decision making. As this situation may weaken the relation between the government and civil society, it may strengthen parliament-diplomacy-civil society trio’s relation. That’s why; it is expected for the civil society representatives to act as a bridge between government and civil society.vv