Redefining Roles: Women, Families and Security in a Shifting Global Landscape
Civil society and social policy guide how communities handle change, whether through local activism, partnerships with governments, or cooperation across borders. In Turkey, Germany, and parts of Africa, shifts in money, ideas, and institutions reshape who leads, who supports, and how people organize. Researchers from İstanbul Nişantaşı University explore these developments in three areas—women’s groups in Turkey, work–and–family policies in Germany, and conflict response in Africa—to spot the ways groups adapt and face new challenges.
Turkey’s Women’s Networks: From EU Backing to Local Resilience
Twenty years ago, Turkey’s women’s organizations grew quickly thanks to EU funding and training that made them more professional [1]. Recently, some groups tied to the government have shifted to promoting a conservative view of “gender justice,” stressing women’s roles as mothers and caregivers in conferences and community services [2]. In response, independent activists formed “velvet-triangle” partnerships with reform-minded politicians, European NGOs, and scholars. When official doors closed after 2011, they switched to a “double-target” approach—first working through easier contacts like moderate party members and businesses, then reaching top decision-makers [3]. Meanwhile, the state hired faith-based groups to run welfare programs, mixing market-style reforms with religious values and leaving secular groups with fewer chances to shape social services [4]. Together, these changes show the challenges and the creativity of Turkey’s women’s movements.
Bridging Germany’s Childcare Gaps and Career Ambitions
Across Europe, balancing career with raising children has become a hot topic. The EU pushed Germany to expand childcare and modernize parental leave, but local politics and long-standing beliefs about mothers’ roles led to mixed results [5]. Laws passed since 2005 added thousands of daycare spots and gave every child under three a right to a place by 2013, but most offerings are part-time and look very different from one region to another [6]. Powerful actors, like conservative parties, state governments, and church-run centers backed cash benefits to keep young children at home, slowing the shift toward full-time public care. As a result, many women still struggle to build careers and families at the same time, and Germany now has one of Europe’s highest rates of childlessness.
EU and NATO’s Quest for Lasting Peace in Africa
In Africa, the European Union and NATO want to lead peace efforts, but each faces limits. The EU often supports training, aid, and prevention programs, while NATO focuses on military help for peacekeeping and anti-piracy missions. Yet both lack enough resources, wrestle with questions about their legitimacy, and depend heavily on contributions from member nations. Experts say success will depend on clearer roles—so the EU and NATO don’t step on each other’s toes, stronger ties with African regional groups, and better teamwork between civilian and military operations [7].
Despite their different contexts, these stories share a theme: money, ideas, and institutional power shape who gets to influence social change. Whether through grassroots women’s groups, national family policies, or international security missions, actors learn to adjust when old supports fade or new partnerships arise. Seeing how they adapt helps us understand what it takes to build flexible, inclusive, and effective networks for positive change worldwide.
*Notes: This article provides research teasers for each reference to showcase the novelties
References
[1] Ergun, A., & Kazanoğlu, N. (2024). Civil society negotiating between internationalization and de-Europeanization: The case of women’s organizations in Turkey. Turkish Studies, 25(3), 474–498. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2024.2334320
[2] Eslen-Ziya, H., & Kazanoğlu, N. (2023). Turning counterhegemony into hegemony. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 19(2), 167–184. https://doi.org/10.1215/15525864-10462326
[3] Hande Eslen-Ziya & Nazlı Kazanoğlu (2020): De-democratization under the NewTurkey? Challenges for women’s organizations, Mediterranean Politics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2020.1765524
[4] Nazlı Kazanoğlu & Markus Ketola (2022): Understanding the moral economy of state-civil society relationships: Islam, women’s NGOs and rights-based advocacy in Turkey, Turkish Studies, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2022.2033118
[5] Nazli Kazanoğlu (2021): The Politics of Europeanisation Patterns of German Work and Family Life Reconciliation Policy, German Politics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2021.1886276
[6] Kazanoglu, N. (2018), “The Effects of Childcare Arrangements on Childlessness in Germany”, Sappleton, N. (Ed.) Voluntary and Involuntary Childlessness (Emerald Studies in Reproduction, Culture and Society), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 355-377. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78754-361-420181017
[7] Üstün, Ç., & Akgül-Açıkmeşe, S. (2021). Conflict response through operations. In A. Özerdem, S. Akgül-Açıkmeşe, & I. Liebenberg, Routledge Handbook of Conflict Response and Leadership in Africa (1st ed., pp. 89–102). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429318603-9
Redefining Roles: Women, Families and Security in a Shifting Global Landscape
Civil society and social policy guide how communities handle change, whether through local activism, partnerships with governments, or cooperation across borders. In Turkey, Germany, and parts of Africa, shifts in money, ideas, and institutions reshape who leads, who supports, and how people organize. Researchers from İstanbul Nişantaşı University explore these developments in three areas—women’s groups in Turkey, work–and–family policies in Germany, and conflict response in Africa—to spot the ways groups adapt and face new challenges.
Turkey’s Women’s Networks: From EU Backing to Local Resilience
Twenty years ago, Turkey’s women’s organizations grew quickly thanks to EU funding and training that made them more professional [1]. Recently, some groups tied to the government have shifted to promoting a conservative view of “gender justice,” stressing women’s roles as mothers and caregivers in conferences and community services [2]. In response, independent activists formed “velvet-triangle” partnerships with reform-minded politicians, European NGOs, and scholars. When official doors closed after 2011, they switched to a “double-target” approach—first working through easier contacts like moderate party members and businesses, then reaching top decision-makers [3]. Meanwhile, the state hired faith-based groups to run welfare programs, mixing market-style reforms with religious values and leaving secular groups with fewer chances to shape social services [4]. Together, these changes show the challenges and the creativity of Turkey’s women’s movements.
Bridging Germany’s Childcare Gaps and Career Ambitions
Across Europe, balancing career with raising children has become a hot topic. The EU pushed Germany to expand childcare and modernize parental leave, but local politics and long-standing beliefs about mothers’ roles led to mixed results [5]. Laws passed since 2005 added thousands of daycare spots and gave every child under three a right to a place by 2013, but most offerings are part-time and look very different from one region to another [6]. Powerful actors, like conservative parties, state governments, and church-run centers backed cash benefits to keep young children at home, slowing the shift toward full-time public care. As a result, many women still struggle to build careers and families at the same time, and Germany now has one of Europe’s highest rates of childlessness.
EU and NATO’s Quest for Lasting Peace in Africa
In Africa, the European Union and NATO want to lead peace efforts, but each faces limits. The EU often supports training, aid, and prevention programs, while NATO focuses on military help for peacekeeping and anti-piracy missions. Yet both lack enough resources, wrestle with questions about their legitimacy, and depend heavily on contributions from member nations. Experts say success will depend on clearer roles—so the EU and NATO don’t step on each other’s toes, stronger ties with African regional groups, and better teamwork between civilian and military operations [7].
Despite their different contexts, these stories share a theme: money, ideas, and institutional power shape who gets to influence social change. Whether through grassroots women’s groups, national family policies, or international security missions, actors learn to adjust when old supports fade or new partnerships arise. Seeing how they adapt helps us understand what it takes to build flexible, inclusive, and effective networks for positive change worldwide.
*Notes: This article provides research teasers for each reference to showcase the novelties
References
[1] Ergun, A., & Kazanoğlu, N. (2024). Civil society negotiating between internationalization and de-Europeanization: The case of women’s organizations in Turkey. Turkish Studies, 25(3), 474–498. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2024.2334320
[2] Eslen-Ziya, H., & Kazanoğlu, N. (2023). Turning counterhegemony into hegemony. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 19(2), 167–184. https://doi.org/10.1215/15525864-10462326
[3] Hande Eslen-Ziya & Nazlı Kazanoğlu (2020): De-democratization under the NewTurkey? Challenges for women’s organizations, Mediterranean Politics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2020.1765524
[4] Nazlı Kazanoğlu & Markus Ketola (2022): Understanding the moral economy of state-civil society relationships: Islam, women’s NGOs and rights-based advocacy in Turkey, Turkish Studies, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2022.2033118
[5] Nazli Kazanoğlu (2021): The Politics of Europeanisation Patterns of German Work and Family Life Reconciliation Policy, German Politics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2021.1886276
[6] Kazanoglu, N. (2018), “The Effects of Childcare Arrangements on Childlessness in Germany”, Sappleton, N. (Ed.) Voluntary and Involuntary Childlessness (Emerald Studies in Reproduction, Culture and Society), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 355-377. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78754-361-420181017
[7] Üstün, Ç., & Akgül-Açıkmeşe, S. (2021). Conflict response through operations. In A. Özerdem, S. Akgül-Açıkmeşe, & I. Liebenberg, Routledge Handbook of Conflict Response and Leadership in Africa (1st ed., pp. 89–102). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429318603-9
