The expansion of neoliberalism in Turkey: The case of the Mass Housing Development Administration

Abstract

The neoliberal transformation in Turkey’s housing market and urban economy creates a legal and institutional framework that accelerates the commodification of land, and construction-based economy. This thesis illustrates the institutional aggrandizement of Mass Housing Development Administration (TOKI) between 1984 and 2012 to unveil the ways of state intervention in the housing market and the transformation of state-society relations. A close examination of TOKI’s institutional path elucidates the context-specific and path-dependent transformation of the neoliberal economy in Turkey. Although it increased its capacity through new modalities, TOKI’s institutional expansion after 2003 has been based on the themes that already existed since the foundation of the administration. Benefiting from various sources such as laws and reports, and presenting an analysis of relevant parliamentary debates, this study is a demonstrative case on how institutional continuities and ruptures interact with neoliberalization in Turkey.