BATI DÜŞÜNCE TARİHİNDE BİREYİ ÖNCELEYEN DÜŞÜNÜRLERDE SİVİL TOPLUM VE DEMOKRASİ.

Discussions on civil society and democracy concepts date back to Ancient Greece. These concepts have been evaluated together in the historical process, but the meanings attributed to civil society have made the relationship between civil society and democracy controversial. Some thinkers have seen civil society synonymous with the state and political society throughout history and questioned the possibility of civil society being independent of the state. Some thinkers have evaluated civil society as a structure that serves the interests of political society. Some thinkers have seen civil society as an area of democracy and freedom independent of the state and emphasize individual freedoms. This study aims to evaluate the approaches of thinkers who focus on the individual and individual freedoms in the history of Western thought to the concepts of civil society and democracy. Locke, Montesquieu, Ferguson, Mill, Hayek, and Tocqueville are the thinkers in the focus of this study. These thinkers have been evaluated under three different categories according to the meanings they attribute to civil society and democracy. Although these thinkers differ in how they interpret the concepts of civil society and democracy, they are in common in that they emphasize individual freedoms. Therefore, the study is essential in revealing the differences between thinkers who prioritize the individual over the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]