Regional Structure of Social Capital and Civil Society in Turkey

Abstract

Civil Society can be defined as the ability of organizations and individuals with civic consciousness to cope with social problems. It is also accepted as a source of regional development. Social capital plays an important role in civil society through the trust, norms and networks that facilitate actions and the effectiveness of society. In this context, the structure of civil society in the NUTS II regions of Turkey has been put forth as the main theme of this paper. Indicators defining civil society according to the social capital literature have been produced by primary and secondary data and grouped under specific headings through factor analysis. Accordingly, the indicators that define civil society have been categorized under three basic components: Sociality, Charity and Active Participation. Weight coefficients of factor analysis have been used in deriving the civil society index for NUTS II regions. Thus, the regional distribution of a civil society index consisting of three sub-indices was evaluated. Findings of the analysis reveal the differences between eastern and western regions of Turkey and metropolitan cities.