Cooperatives as a way of participation in political decision-making processes: An Examination over the Turkish Forestry Cooperatives in constitutional terms

Abstract

In this article, cooperatives were examined on their distinctive structure, questioning whether they can be seen as a way of civil participation on political decision-making, by presenting some recent cases from Turkish Forestry Cooperatives. Firstly, the place of the civil society in participatory democracies and the importance of economic and social conditions in this perspective and consequently the role of the cooperatives in civil society were explained briefly. Afterwards, the cooperative’s practical impact on political decision-making was analysed over the instance of OR-KOOP including core information on cooperatives and forest villagers in Turkey —representing a community lower economic facilities— in the search of fundamental necessities for an expected participation in political decision-making processes. Finally, constitutional significance of the forests and the cooperatives were revealed with regard to the crossing concepts of participatory democracy, sustainable development and human rights. Received: 29 July 2022 Accepted: 27 April 2023