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The politics of philanthropy and welfare governance: the case of Turkey

Private aid and philanthropic charities are often considered part of a neo-liberal strategy to reduce state responsibility for the provision of many services considered essential to securing social rights, with the devolution of welfare responsibilities to non-state actors a means to minimising social expenditures. Such a construction ostensibly depicts philanthropic non-state actors as agents of social justice that, in contributing to poverty reduction, play a role in social transformation. This article questions the assumption that private aid delivered through philanthropic activities and faith-based organisations (FBOs) can fulfil the state's responsibility in terms of social protection and transformation. It questions whether partnerships between the state and institutions that are not democratically elected and do not fit within a robust accountability framework can fulfil this remit. This is examined through the prism of a case study of the relationship between the Turkish state and philanthropy, focusing on FBOs that fund poverty reducing activities.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/6109
Date January 2013
CreatorsMorvaridi, Behrooz
Source SetsBradford Scholars
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle

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