Political Economy of Transforming Social Security Policy in Turkey

Abstract

This study intends to examine the transformation of the social security system in neoliberal era in Turkey after 1980. Most of the studies argue that neoliberal transformation of economy has been led by international institutions and that social security has been commoditized in the market during the period of neoliberal restructuring. Pointing out that commoditization discourse cannot satisfactorily explain the fact, this article tries to show that the transformation of social security has some clientelistic and populist features designed to contribute to neoliberal accumulation regime in many ways. It argues that social security policy aimed at reproducing labour power, manufacturing consent of poor masses and helping privatization process of state-owned enterprises.