Neoliberalism and the Changing Face of Unionism: The Combined and Uneven Development of Class Capacities in Turkey

by Efe Can Gürcan, Berk Mete

Overview

This book provides a political, economic, and sociological investigation of how neoliberalism shapes ‘working class capacities,’ or the power of the working class to organize and struggle for its collective interests. Efe Can Gürcan and Berk Mete discuss the global importance of the labor question as it pertains to Turkey. They apply the main theoretical framework of the combined and uneven development of class capacities to Turkish trade unionism. They also address Turkey’s recent history of neoliberalization and its repercussions for class capacities, as mediated by national regulations, conservative unionism, and Islamic social assistance networks. Finally, the authors explore how neoliberalism generates intra-class fragmentation through public regulatory mechanisms and cultural differentiation in the sphere of social unionism. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319482842
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	01/21/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	164
File size:	586 KB

About the Author

Efe Can Gürcan is an instructor of Sociology and a PhD candidate in Sociology at Simon Fraser University, Canada. He has published over a dozen articles and book chapters on political economy, international development, and social movements.
Berk Mete is pursuing an MSc in Sociology at Maltepe University, Turkey. His thesis concerns workers' autonomy at Kazova, a recuperated textile factory in Turkey. 

Table of Contents

1. The Increasing Relevance of the Working Class: Global Movements and the Case of Turkey2. The Combined and Uneven Development of Class Capacities in Pre-Neoliberal Turkey3. Turkey’s Neoliberal Restructuring and Class Capacities: A Macro-Level Assessment from a Combined and Uneven Development Perspective4. A Bottom-Up Approach to the Combined Development of Working Class Capacities in Turkey: Privatization, Flexibilization, and Union Responses5. The Uneven Development of Working Class Capacities in Turkey: Clientelism, Paternalism, and Politics of Identity6. Turkey’s Social Unionism from a Combined and Uneven Development Approach: Labour Flexibility and Working Class Identities7. Conclusion