Türkiye’de Kırsal Kalkınma Planlaması Aracılığıyla Neoliberal Öznenin İnşası

Abstract

The implementation of neoliberal policies in the agricultural sector in Turkey have resulted in negative consequences for the rural population and the rural life, necessitating the designing of a new form of rural development policies. This study argues that this new form involves construction of the neoliberal subject in rural areas. Under new development policies, rather than migrating to economically more developed areas, the rural actors are transformed in their own context, if they can achieve the necessary skills compatible with the rules of the market. By investing in their human capital, they should increase their employability and entrepreneurship. The state facilitates this process, by shifting responsibility to both individuals and local institutions, but also ensuring the integration of different regional practices at the national scale. Through a qualitative analysis of national and regional development plans, the study analyses the dynamics of planning of the construction of the neoliberal subject. In addition, the place of women in this process, as emerging rural actors, is examined.