An Assessment of Political Participation, Freedom of Thought and Freedom of Expression for the Countries of the Organization of Turkic States

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), whose foundations were laid with the signing of the Nakhchivan Agreement on October 3, 2009, under the name “Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking Countries,” officially revised its name to “Organization of Turkic States” after the İstanbul Declaration in 2021. The member states of this international organization, whose purpose is to develop comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking states, are Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Turkmenistan, Hungary, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have been included in the organization as observers. The organization, whose General Secretariat is located in İstanbul, is currently chaired by Kyrgyzstan. Political participation as a form of behavior can be explained as the willpower of the political system, which supports the implementation process of the government and its policies, through the voluntary activities of voters. Accordingly, the concepts of freedom of thought and expression, which are enjoyed by all citizens as well as voters, refer to the freedom to express and disseminate one’s thoughts and opinions through various means, as guaranteed by law. In this study, the themes of political participation, freedom of expression, and freedom of thought in the countries within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) will be explored through the lens of member countries and in the context of the organization’s institutional identity. This study is a qualitative research case based on historical and descriptive methods and supported by document analysis evaluation will be used.  Keywords: Organization of Turkic States, Political participation, Freedom of expression, Freedom of thought