The politics of (non) retrenchment in two most different cases: a comparative analysis of societal response in France and Türkiye between 1980-2018

Abstract

The neoliberalism brings the notion of welfare state retrenchment into discussion that is followed by welfare state transformation. This thesis compares France and Türkiye’s welfare states after the neoliberal revolution of the 1980s. It argues that both states avoided retrenchment because of the existence of a causal mechanism that is societal response thar also has a root cause that is familization. The thesis adopts most different systems design (MDSD). It identifies similarities in two dissimilar cases to establish the causal mechanism that produces similar outcomes, namely, non-retrenchment. France is a continental-European welfare state that had a developed welfare state at the time and is regarded as most resilient to change, whereas Türkiye is a Southern European welfare that is not developed but emerging. Therefore, the thesis analyzes France and Türkiye’s as most different cases’ responses to neoliberal pressures for fiscal retrenchment to determine the common characteristics that produce similar outcomes. Causal analysis is used to investigate the relationship between cause and outcome. The empirical analysis uses social expenditure (SOCX) as the quantitative data source and analyzes policy paradigms between 1980- 2018. The thesis identifies that even though France and Türkiye are significantly different cases, the legitimacy of the incumbent party for citizens is quintessential in policymaking, which is the causal mechanism. The role of the family as a structural constraint is seen through familization and its resistance to the changes that would weaken the family. The established gender and intergenerational roles within a family create the societal response to the retrenchment in social welfare. The trilemma of state-family-market is visible in both cases, with the mere strong state and family that retains family as a structural constraint.