The interplay between the state and civil society: A case study of honor killings in Turkey

Honor killings in Turkey provide a crucial case for studying the interplay between gender, law, the state and civil society. The characteristics of the Turkish modernization made legal reform an important source of social change. I build on legal studies in order to provide a sociological analysis of the reproduction of the gender order through the law. For this purpose, I focus on civil societal actors that advocate for legal reform and law enforcement. I conceptualize law not only as an instrument of state policies but also as an opportunity and advocacy cause for civil societal actors. I suggest that the limits of legal reform cannot be explained solely by a legal analysis without understanding the gendered nature of the relationship between the civil society and the state. The predominant norms reflect the gender order that subjugates women through discourses on honor and shame. These discourses also constrain the expression of subaltern norms advocated by civil societal actors in the public sphere. In this regard, these actors pursue legal reform not only to press for concrete policy changes, but also as a means to enhance their political capacity. I argue that the activities of civil societal organizations, the methods they employ and primary areas of operation are determined according to their relation to the state. Claims of independence generally relate to issues of funding, where the sources of funds are thought to manipulate the outcome of projects. The effectiveness and outreach of an NGO are related to its relation to the state and its collaboration with state institutions. The situatedness of each civil societal organization reflects its ideological discourse and determines its strategy and methods. This is a framework where the interplay between the civil societal actors and the state shape the space for politics. State-induced legal reforms do not suffice to provide gender equality unless the social organization of the society and mechanisms of regulation are altered in ways that have repercussions in all state related institutions, such as the law, family, and education system. Civil societal actors, in this case, women's NGOs, monitor the implementation of and enforce the law in collaboration with state agencies, and through international and transnational networks. They thus gain public visibility and political power to challenge the gender order.