Onur Sazak is Turkey-based Project Coordinator at the International Press Institute (IPI). Prior to joining IPI, Sazak coordinated the Philanthropy Infrastructure Development in Turkey project at The Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV) from September 2019 to May 2021. He has also worked at Open Society Foundations Turkey, Istanbul Policy Center at Sabancı University, Hudson Institute, and Brookings Institution in different capacities ranging from research manager to program associate for over a decade and a half. Sazak holds a BA and MA in International Relations and International Economic Policy from American University in Washington, D.C. He has a PhD in Political Science from Sabancı University in Istanbul.

Project: "Reengaging European Philanthropy in the Restoration of Turkish Civil Society"

The “Reengaging European Philanthropy in the Restoration of Turkish Civil Society” project will address the problem of the shrinking civic space in Turkey by reengaging critical European—in particular German—philanthropic support in Turkish civil society. It is founded upon the premise that European, especially German, philanthropy has made substantial contributions toward the development and expansion of the Turkish civic space over the past two decades. However, the contentious political climate looming over Turkey today casts aside civil society as a legitimate actor of inclusive political and social processes, while stoking the skepticism over the time-honored support and cooperation from European peers. The continuation of these dual problems of the shrinking space and Euro-skepticism is likely to hurt the accomplishments gained since the early 2000s vis-à-vis the expansion of the Turkish civic space and its unequivocal role as an anchor of positive relations with Europe.

The project, therefore, aims to present empirical evidence of the substantial contributions made by European—in particular German—foundations to the development of the Turkish civic space. Furthermore, it will demonstrate the current difficulties experienced by Turkish civil society amidst dwindling funds, government pressure, and the pandemic-induced challenges. It also will explore solutions and produce recommendations to help Turkish civil society emerge stronger from today’s forbidding environment. As part of this solution process, the project will look for ways to build trust between Turkish authorities and European philanthropists with a view to restoring the cooperative relations of the recent past.