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.

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This paper argues that deepening commodification in Turkish agriculture has changed the lives of farmers in significant ways. Global circuits have swept away the accustomed networks of information, production and marketing which had been largely established and maintained by comprehensive governmental support policies. New institutions have come into the picture establishing the links between small producers and larger markets. With state policy strengthening the domination of the market, prices and demand patterns fluctuate widely leaving small producers vulnerable to market forces and raising the level of risk and insecurity. This situation brings about a rapid de‐ruralization of the population in most regions of the country. In the fertile coastal strip of the southern and western provinces, however, commercial opportunities introduced by global circuits have led to a thriving market in products, land, and labour. Farming of vegetables and fruits for domestic and European markets dominate agricultural production. Seasonal employment, in tourism and in labour‐intensive crops, supplement household incomes, permitting the rural population to remain in the countryside.