Saturday, March 15, 2014
Cabinet (Omni Shoreham)
This article examines the paradigmatic shift that has taken place in Turkey in the 2000s from an age old concern with regional development towards regional competitiveness embedded within the endogenous development paradigm, which in turn is part and parcel of the broader neoliberal ideas. This ‘third-order change’ observed in Turkey’s regional policy provides a good test case for the analysis of the ways in which ideas shape political behavior and outcomes and, thus, a fuller explanation of politics in Turkey. To this end, this article follows a common template adopted by other papers in the panel: First, the article reviews the literature on the role of ideas in policymaking and identifies ex ante a number of alternative explanations based on alternative potential drivers of change, i.e. rational and scientific motives of policymakers on the one hand and values and discursive practices on the other. Second, the article assesses the outcome in policy change and establishes the presence of a paradigmatic shift supported by empirical evidence. Third, the article unpacks the process of paradigm shift by examining the relationship between ideas, institutions and perceived interests in the light of original data produced through 38 qualitative in-depth interviews with key policymakers and other stakeholders as well as other primary sources including programming documents, parliamentary minutes and legislative acts. The aim at this stage is to test the accuracy of alternative explanations developed in the first stage. Finally, the article ends with concluding remarks.
