The Turkish welfare regime in transformation

Abstract:

This article discusses the current transformation of Turkey’s welfare regime in the context of contemporary developments in social policy processes, particularly in Europe. It is argued that the transformation, under constraints of gobalization and neo-liberalism, involves a change from an inegalitarian corporatism where both the rural population and urban informal sector employees were excluded from the formal social security system. Variables influencing the direction of change include the historical legacy of state-society relations in the country, the conservative liberalism of the current government, the influence of international financial institutions that emphasize budgetary discipline, as well as the need for more universalist approaches to combat new forms of poverty and social exclusion. The relations of Turkey with the EU also affect the balance between conservative-liberal trends and universalist, rights-based approaches to social policy.