Neoliberalism and surveillance in Turkey: the international political economy of banking sector reform in the 1980s

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the impact of various banking sector policy reforms in Turkey in the 1980s from the critical perspective offered by surveillance studies. I argue that, with the proliferation of retail banking services, data on the economic assets of individuals in Turkey became increasingly transmitted to the national and international data vortex, creating advantages for power centers that had access to this data. I show the power hierarchies at the bank, state, and international levels through a wide range of qualitative sources. Neoliberal reforms were leading society to consume more, as well as enabling the collection of data on an individual basis. At all levels of analysis, I have found that surveillance mechanisms were mainly used for two purposes: to ensure transparency necessary for the functioning of the economy and to reinforce existing hierarchies. While the latter target is less visible at the corporate level, I have observed that information is collected and disseminated at the state level to remind people of their consumer identity and at the international level to position Turkey within the global economic system.