The return to the family: Welfare, state, and politics of the family in Turkey
Anthropological Quarterly, cilt.85, sa.1, ss.103-140, 2012 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 85 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2012
- Doi Numarası: 10.1353/anq.2012.0013
- Dergi Adı: Anthropological Quarterly
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.103-140
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Bureaucracy, Politics of the family, State, Turkey, Welfare restructuring and neoliberalism
- Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This article examines the transformation of the Turkish state's social work policy to engage recent debates in anthropology about welfare restructuring and neoliberalism. Building on ethnographic research from top to bottom, I trace welfare policy through the discourse of politicians and bureaucrats into everyday bureaucratic practice. Drawing attention to the stark contrast between the discursive image of the nurturing three generational extended family put at the center of the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government's political rhetoric and policy-making and the experience of urban poor women who pass through the welfare orbit, I argue that for poor women and children, the globally influenced transformation in welfare corresponds to the reinforcement of socioeconomic vulnerabilities, all of which constrain their already precarious lives. © 2012 by the Institute for Ethnographic Research (IFER) a part of the George Washington University. All rights reserved.