Bilge Filiz graduated from Middle East Technical University. She got her master's degree from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. She finished her Ph.D. studies in the Programme of the European Union and International Economic Relations at Ankara University. Her research focuses on social justice, social policy, and social movements. She worked as a visiting researcher in Universidad de Alcala. During her PhD studies, she worked for 6 years in several EU Twinning Projects in the field of human rights.
Dijitallesen Dunyada Birey Toplum Siyaset Kongresi Bildiri Kitabi, 2022
Evde çalışmanın farklı modellerinden biri olan bilgi teknolojisini kullanarak uzaktan çalışma,
2... more Evde çalışmanın farklı modellerinden biri olan bilgi teknolojisini kullanarak uzaktan çalışma, 2020 yılından itibaren COVID-19 pandemisinin yayılmasını önlemek amacıyla dünyanın farklı yerlerinde birçok bireyin iş yaşamına dahil olmuştur. Bu durum bazı pozitif örneklerde çalışanların işleri üzerindeki hakimiyetini artırarak, çalışanlara hem çalışma saatlerinde hem de çalışma mekanlarında esneklik sağlayarak olumlu deneyimler yaratmıştır. Fakat bununla beraber, uzaktan çalışma, çalışanlar için uzun çalışma saatleri, sürekli erişilebilir olma zorunluluğu gibi ciddi hak kayıplarına neden olmanın yanı sıra; soyutlanmışlık hissi, sosyalleşememe gibi çalışanların psikolojik sağlığını etkileyebilecek durumlara da sebep olmaktadır. Bunun yanında, işveren dünyanın birçok yerinden çalışana erişebilirken çalışanlar sınırları belli olmayan bir rekabetin içine itilmektedir. Diğer taraftan, bu durum, işverenin maliyetlerini azaltarak tasarruf etmesini sağlarken uzaktan çalışan kişilerin masraflarını artırmaktadır. Bu makale, uzaktan çalışmanın 2020’li yıllarda uygulanma şeklini Byung-Chul Han tarafından öne sürülen psikopolitika kapsamında incelenen yeni iktidar teknikleri çerçevesinde analiz etmektedir. Byung-Chul Han’a (2019) göre, neoliberal psikopolitika giderek daha incelikli sömürü biçimleri icat etmekte ve neoliberal rejim, tükenme çağını başlatarak bireyin ruhunu, duygularını (heyecanını) sömürmektedir. Çeşitli iktidar teknikleri ile bireye kendisini her zaman daha fazla gerçekleştirme, geliştirme, “iyileştirme” talimatı verilmektedir. Bunun sonucunda birey, sürekli olarak daha fazla performans gösterme durumunda olduğunu düşünmekte ve kendisini gönüllü ve heyecanlı bir şekilde sömürmektedir (Han, 2019). Bireylerin ruhuna hükmetmeyi başarmış bu sistemin ofislere ihtiyacı ortadan kalkmıştır. Tüm bunlar göz önünde bulundurularak uzaktan çalışmanın yarattığı mevcut durumun bireylerin gözünden nasıl değerlendirildiği, söz konusu çerçevede bir iktidar pratiğini yansıtıp yansıtmadığı iş piyasasının yönetimi ve dolayısıyla küresel toplumun geleceği açısından dikkat çekicidir. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de özel sektör, kamu sektörü ve insan haklarının geliştirilmesi ve teşvik edilmesi amacıyla faaliyet gösteren uluslararası ve ulusal kurumlarda uzaktan çalışan 15 kişi ile yürütülen yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine mülakat aracılığıyla uzaktan çalışmanın soyutlanmış ve sömürülmüş hissetme durumuna etkisi araştırılmaktadır.
Since activation policies prove their inefficiency in solving existent socioeconomic problems, es... more Since activation policies prove their inefficiency in solving existent socioeconomic problems, especially after the pandemic crisis of COVID-19, alternative policies other than Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) have appeared on the agenda of the EU. This research traces the reasons of the ineffectiveness of activation by highlighting the perception of the beneficiaries of the ALMPs. This article builds on the fieldwork implemented in a member state (Spain) and candidate country (Turkey) of the EU through 78 semi-structured individual interviews with the participants of vocational trainings for unemployed people. Results show that the beneficiaries in both countries are aware of the fact that the activation process does not provide a solution for their socioeconomic problems and they desire a decent job, rather than training.
We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to... more We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to people in the course of daily life through a mysterious fog. Charles Lemert This research is just an attempt to make the fog clearer. However, heavier or lighter, fog is fog. Classical economists treated economy as an autonomous and self-regulating body. This perspective created a commodification process of all units that enter into the production, distribution and investment mechanisms of economy. Labor, land and money substantially started to be considered as commodities that could be bought and sold in the market. Their prices were determined according to the rules of the market. However, human society reacted against it and protected itself from this wildness in its surrounding. This is how Karl Polanyi explains that the great transformation happen during 19th and 20th century through double movements: laissez-faire movement that tries to enlarge the scope of the market, and the protective countermovement that opposes the disembedding of the economy. These double movements were considered as a precipitating factor for institutional change while warfare states were converting into welfare mechanisms. Today’s great transformation - considered as second great transformation - in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained again with the political clash of international actors between disembedding and reembedding of the market. The change from market correcting to market confirming ideas enlarged the commodification process from production, distribution and investment mechanisms to redistribution of wealth and social investment phases. The values and norms of society about fairness and social justice -that produce and legitmise the way of redistibution and social investment- have been commodified as a result of the activation of social policies. The structural problems of self-regulated market -such as unemployment- are treated as the problems of individuals due to their inactiveness or lack of necessary abilities and skills. Therefore, social justice has started to be perceived by individuals as a product that they can access and deserve only if they behave in a certain manner because this is the only way to justify and legitimize the neoliberal policies that oppress the economic, political and social essence of the collective society. This research tries to shed light on how activation policies change the perception of social justice in the society. Firstly, the effects of neoliberal ideas on institutional change are demonstrated through explaining how welfare states have turned into the workfare mechanism. Secondly, the change in social policies towards workfare mechanisms and activation policies are analyzed empirically in member state and candidate country of EU: Spain and Turkey. Thirdly, the effect of this change on the perception of social justice is examined with phenomenological approach through semi-structured interviews realized with unemployed people who are participating in one of the activation programs in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep (the city having a frontier with Syria) in Turkey. Key words: Social justice, Commodification, Activation of Social Policies, Welfare states, Workfare regimes,
Debating Europe: Past, Present and Future. MCES 2020: Marmara Conference on European Studies. Proceedings, 2020
Today’s great transformation – considered as second great transformation – in political, economic... more Today’s great transformation – considered as second great transformation – in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained with the clash of international actors between disembedding and re-embedding of the market. With the change from market correcting to market confirming ideas, the values and norms of society about social responsibilities have been transformed due to certain policies pursued by neoliberal logic. The process has begun with flexible production and continued through expanding flexible social protection (flexicurity) mechanisms. These mechanisms have reached the individuals with the tool of active social policies, which promote change in the perception of social responsibilities spreading the ideas of individualization, self-reliance, self-responsibility, flexibility, minimal state, and merit-based social stratification in order to legitimize these policies in the eyes of beholders. The Foucauldian explanation of conduct of conduct and neoliberal governmentality offer a great insight to understand the change in the perception of social responsibilities of the recipients of active social policies. The production of neoliberal subjects through neoliberal project converts individuals’ thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and their perceptions. This research asks whether the efforts of promoting this type of conception of social responsibilities affect its perception by the individuals; whether they adapt or reject this imposition. These questions are scrutinized focusing on the impact power of the European Union. Therefore, how the recipients of active social policies perceive social responsibilities is examined comparatively in one member state and one candidate country of the European Union. The phenomenological approach is applied through realizing 120 semi-structured face-to-face interviews held in 2018 with unemployed people who are participating in one of the active social policies in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep in Turkey. The aim of this comparative analysis is to indicate how the individuals, from different socio-cultural structures, exposed to similar active social policies perceive the social responsibilities in Spain and Turkey.
Centre for Policy Analysis and Research on Turkey. Vol. III, Issue 4, pp.44-50, (Research Turkey), London, ResearchTurkey, 2014
European Union can be defined as a running and operative machine/mechanism when its life span is ... more European Union can be defined as a running and operative machine/mechanism when its life span is observed during the half century. The evaluation of its gears, cycles or instruments (regardless of how they are named) of this machine/mechanism in terms of productivity and operability is more rational than externalization of these units by considering them non-functional. The exclusion of one of its gears from the machine or changing it with another can subvert the functions of the whole structure. All mechanisms can halt due to being exposed to several internal and external changes. Under these conditions, the solution should be structured by the logic of reparation on the analysis of inconsistencies in the current mechanism in order to increase the existent operability of the system. Within this framework, reasons of structural problems of the EU can be found in its institutional mechanism or lack of harmony between its member states. At this point, lack of harmony between states can be identified as an existent economic gap between states named as Triple A that give loans and states named as PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) that are debtors. On the other hand, it is asserted that the structural problems of EU is derived from application fallacies in common policy areas (for ex. EMU). Even if these findings concerning structural problems of the EU are correct, suggestions to change the structural tools of the current system (creation of Senate..etc.) cannot provide sufficient and suitable solutions. During the EU integration process, member states adopt supranational policies by defining common policy areas and delegate their authority on these areas. Therefore, EU mechanism is formed by reciprocal operation of EU institutions and member states on these common policy areas. As the necessity of broad reform plans have emerged during its 50 years of experience, overbalance or insufficiency of gears of the mechanism (institutions, members, common policy areas) can easily be questioned. However, when European Union is evaluated in terms of reaching its aims, it is a unique example and a successful project compared with other international organizations regardless of its being democratic or having a democratic deficit problem; being egalitarian or producing unequal representation challenges; or being legitimate in the eye of its citizens or not. As indicated initially, the question is what kind of mechanism that the EU have instead of how it is perceived or evaluated. Therefore, the European Union can tackle with and then overcome its structural problems by preserving its current mechanism in its integration process through fostering political contention in three dimensions: policy dimension, politics dimension and polity dimension. This solution is the change that converts EU’s apolitic mechanism by internalizing political dispute in these three dimensions.
Actas del VII Congreso de la Red Española de Política Social (REPS), 2018
We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to... more We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to people in the course of daily life through a mysterious fog. Charles Lemert
This research is just an attempt to make the fog clearer. However, heavier or lighter, fog is fog.
Classical economists treated economy as an autonomous and self-regulating body. This perspective created a commodification process of all units that enter into the production, distribution and investment mechanisms of economy. Labor, land and money substantially started to be considered as commodities that could be bought and sold in the market. Their prices were determined according to the rules of the market. However, human society reacted against it and protected itself from this wildness in its surrounding. This is how Karl Polanyi explains that the great transformation happen during 19th and 20th century through double movements: laissez-faire movement that tries to enlarge the scope of the market, and the protective countermovement that opposes the disembedding of the economy. These double movements were considered as a precipitating factor for institutional change while warfare states were converting into welfare mechanisms. Today’s great transformation - considered as second great transformation - in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained again with the political clash of international actors between disembedding and reembedding of the market. The change from market correcting to market confirming ideas enlarged the commodification process from production, distribution and investment mechanisms to redistribution of wealth and social investment phases. The values and norms of society about fairness and social justice -that produce and legitmise the way of redistibution and social investment- have been commodified as a result of the activation of social policies. The structural problems of self-regulated market -such as unemployment- are treated as the problems of individuals due to their inactiveness or lack of necessary abilities and skills. Therefore, social justice has started to be perceived by individuals as a product that they can access and deserve only if they behave in a certain manner because this is the only way to justify and legitimize the neoliberal policies that oppress the economic, political and social essence of the collective society. This research tries to shed light on how activation policies change the perception of social justice in the society. Firstly, the effects of neoliberal ideas on institutional change are demonstrated through explaining how welfare states have turned into the workfare mechanism. Secondly, the change in social policies towards workfare mechanisms and activation policies are analyzed empirically in member state and candidate country of EU: Spain and Turkey. Thirdly, the effect of this change on the perception of social justice is examined with phenomenological approach through semi-structured interviews realized with unemployed people who are participating in one of the activation programs in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep (the city having a frontier with Syria) in Turkey.
Key words: Social justice, Commodification, Activation of Social Policies, Welfare states, Workfare regimes,
European Journal of Social Sciences Education and Research, 2017
Welfare regime is composed of the social and economic policies that are adopted to protect and pr... more Welfare regime is composed of the social and economic policies that are adopted to protect and promote the economic and social well-being of its citizens. While neoliberal principles extend through globalization, welfare regimes have been suffering from this process since policies are developed with the emphasis on individual empowerment rather than collectively shared welfare. While spending a great deal of efforts not to lose its competitiveness, the European Union tries to create an alternative for the structure of its social policies. However, this attempt remains highly vulnerable due to the impact of capitalist economic system on development of EU social policy/model since the beginning of the EU integration process. This article analyzes the roots of underdeveloped social policy in EU history at three stages: explanation of underdevelopment of social Europe from several theoretical paradigms; examination of deep-rooted problems of European social policy within the dynamics of European integration; elaboration of EU modernization process; and clarification of this deficiency with the example of European Social Model deemed as a politically constructed project.
Özet Refah rejimleri vatandaşların sosyal ve ekonomik menfaatlerini korumak ve geliştirmek için y... more Özet Refah rejimleri vatandaşların sosyal ve ekonomik menfaatlerini korumak ve geliştirmek için yürütülen sosyal ve ekonomik politikalardan oluşur. Küreselleşmenin yarattığı ivme ile neoliberal politikalar yaygınlaştıkça refah rejimleri; sosyal durum güvenliği, sonuçlarda eşitlik, toplu ve paylaşılan refah kavramları yerine kişisel başarı, fırsat eşitliği, bireysel güçlenme kavramlarını vurgulayan bu neoliberal prensiplerden olumsuz etkilenmektedir. Algıdaki bu değişiklik toplumda eşitsizliği derinleştirerek güçlendirilen ve zayıflaştırılan bireyler arasında uçurum yaratmış, 'sosyal adalet' kavramının geri çağırılma ihtiyacını zorunlu hale getirmiştir. Bu durum sosyal içerme kavramının ve sosyal risk yönetimi politikalarının temelinin nasıl oluştuğunu gözler önüne sermektedir. Bu makale, söz konusu temelin AB yoluyla Türkiye'ye yansıma yolları ve Türkiye'de sosyal politikanın gelişiminde olası fayda/maliyeti veya avantaj/dezavantajlarını tartışmaktadır. AB ve Türkiye'nin sosyal içerme politikalarının analizinde Graziano'nun siyasaları: hedefler, prensipler, prosedürler ve araçlar olmak üzere 4 temel boyutta değerlendiren teorik bakış açısı kullanılmıştır. Abstract Welfare regime is composed of social and economic policies that are adopted to protect and promote the economic and social well-being of its citizens. While neoliberal principles extend through globalization, welfare regimes have been suffering from this spreading principles emphasizing on individual empowerment and equality of opportunity rather than collective security, equality of results and shared welfare. This perception has widened the inequalities in the society between empowered and weakened individuals and the urgent need to call back the 'social justice' becomes sino qua non. This is the base of how the concept of social inclusion and social risk management policies has emerged. This article analyzes ways of the reflection of this basis from EU to Turkey and its possible benefits/costs and 1 advantages/disadvantages for Turkish social policy development. The policy approach suggested by Graziano that evaluates policies with four key dimensions: objectives, principles, procedures and instruments is applied to the analysis of EU and Turkish social inclusion policy implementations.
SOSYAL BİLİMLER EKSENİNDE GÜNCEL ARAŞTIRMA VE DEĞERLENDİRMELER, Ekin Yayınevi, 2021
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the virus has been monitored through several tools va... more During the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the virus has been monitored through several tools varying from mandatory tests to obligatory usage of e-bracelets. Many countries have started to develop several digital solutions or improve the existing ones such as thermal scanning, facial recognition through cameras, drones, robots for crowd control, and mobile applications. These tools are not new instruments; however, their level of usage has apparently been increased to a great extent in many different countries in order to trace the contact between people, control the infection, and oblige society to comply with the rules. In addition to this formally expressed purpose, there are several concerns of critical perspectives about these tools’ being used not only in digiital contact tracing but also in controlling and regulating people’s behaviours.
Considering these facts, the mobile applications produced and utilized during the pandemic in Turkey (HES: Life fits inside the house), Germany (Corona-Warn-App), and Hong Kong (StayHomeSafe) are examined comparatively as three specific cases in this research. Applying Foucault’s (1979) concept of the production of docile bodies and subjected minds through practices of surveillance, this article analyses whether these mobile applications are becoming a tool for cyber bio-surveillance and a digital panopticon in order to control human behaviour and make the people obedient to the existing rules without questioning. To this end, the main purposes, features, and communication styles of these mobile applications are scrutinised. The most different systems’ design approach has been applied as a methodology. The selected countries for this research are totally different from each other with respect to geography, historical background, political structure, economic development, culture, and religion. However, they all are using digital surveillance through mobile applications as a law enforcement tool. Therefore, in addition to their benefits in providing information about useful data for the public and providing tools to improve health security and public safety, their possible alarming effects during post-COVID-19 are underlined in this comparative research.
Bireyler, meşruiyetini ve inanılırlığını kaybeden neoliberal rüyadan artık uyanıyorlar. Eşitsizli... more Bireyler, meşruiyetini ve inanılırlığını kaybeden neoliberal rüyadan artık uyanıyorlar. Eşitsizlikten adaletsizliğe, işsizlikten güvencesizliğe neoliberalizmin ürettiklerini ve derinleştirdiklerini kendi bireysel hatası ya da suçu olarak değerlendirme illüzyonundan kurtuluyorlar.
Bireyler, henüz gözlerini açıyor olduğundan hareketlenip ayağa kalkmamış olabilirler. Ancak, kendi bedenlerini ve zihinlerini dönüştüren -gösterişli fakat doğal olmayan- yapının farkındadırlar. Bedenlerindeki kırmızı kurdelanın dikişlerin çözülmesini engelleyen birleşim yerinden ibaret olduğunu artık biliyorlar.
Bu kitap, söz konusu uyanışı, bireylerin sosyal adalet algısı kapsamında tartışmaktadır. Bireylere göre bir toplumu adil yapan nedir? İnsanlar neye göre eşit sayılır: Bedenleri, akılları, düşünceleri, duyguları veya umutlarıyla mı? Sosyal adalet tartışması neye odaklanmalıdır? Yeniden dağıtıma mı yoksa kurumsallaşmış eşitsizlik ve baskıya mı?
Bu sorular, neoliberal politikaların bir aracı olan aktif sosyal politikalara katılan bireylerin gözünden karşılaştırmalı bir perspektifle analiz edilmektedir. Türkiye ve İspanya'nın farklı bölgelerinden bireylerin çarpıcı şekilde ifade ettiği sosyal adalet talepleri ile günümüzde göze çarpan küresel değişim talepleri örtüşmekte ve ortak bir zeminde birleşmektedir.
Bu birlik ve ortaklık üzerine düşünmek isteyen ve uyanışını dayanışarak kutlamak isteyen herkes bu kitabı okumalıdır.
Dijitallesen Dunyada Birey Toplum Siyaset Kongresi Bildiri Kitabi, 2022
Evde çalışmanın farklı modellerinden biri olan bilgi teknolojisini kullanarak uzaktan çalışma,
2... more Evde çalışmanın farklı modellerinden biri olan bilgi teknolojisini kullanarak uzaktan çalışma, 2020 yılından itibaren COVID-19 pandemisinin yayılmasını önlemek amacıyla dünyanın farklı yerlerinde birçok bireyin iş yaşamına dahil olmuştur. Bu durum bazı pozitif örneklerde çalışanların işleri üzerindeki hakimiyetini artırarak, çalışanlara hem çalışma saatlerinde hem de çalışma mekanlarında esneklik sağlayarak olumlu deneyimler yaratmıştır. Fakat bununla beraber, uzaktan çalışma, çalışanlar için uzun çalışma saatleri, sürekli erişilebilir olma zorunluluğu gibi ciddi hak kayıplarına neden olmanın yanı sıra; soyutlanmışlık hissi, sosyalleşememe gibi çalışanların psikolojik sağlığını etkileyebilecek durumlara da sebep olmaktadır. Bunun yanında, işveren dünyanın birçok yerinden çalışana erişebilirken çalışanlar sınırları belli olmayan bir rekabetin içine itilmektedir. Diğer taraftan, bu durum, işverenin maliyetlerini azaltarak tasarruf etmesini sağlarken uzaktan çalışan kişilerin masraflarını artırmaktadır. Bu makale, uzaktan çalışmanın 2020’li yıllarda uygulanma şeklini Byung-Chul Han tarafından öne sürülen psikopolitika kapsamında incelenen yeni iktidar teknikleri çerçevesinde analiz etmektedir. Byung-Chul Han’a (2019) göre, neoliberal psikopolitika giderek daha incelikli sömürü biçimleri icat etmekte ve neoliberal rejim, tükenme çağını başlatarak bireyin ruhunu, duygularını (heyecanını) sömürmektedir. Çeşitli iktidar teknikleri ile bireye kendisini her zaman daha fazla gerçekleştirme, geliştirme, “iyileştirme” talimatı verilmektedir. Bunun sonucunda birey, sürekli olarak daha fazla performans gösterme durumunda olduğunu düşünmekte ve kendisini gönüllü ve heyecanlı bir şekilde sömürmektedir (Han, 2019). Bireylerin ruhuna hükmetmeyi başarmış bu sistemin ofislere ihtiyacı ortadan kalkmıştır. Tüm bunlar göz önünde bulundurularak uzaktan çalışmanın yarattığı mevcut durumun bireylerin gözünden nasıl değerlendirildiği, söz konusu çerçevede bir iktidar pratiğini yansıtıp yansıtmadığı iş piyasasının yönetimi ve dolayısıyla küresel toplumun geleceği açısından dikkat çekicidir. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de özel sektör, kamu sektörü ve insan haklarının geliştirilmesi ve teşvik edilmesi amacıyla faaliyet gösteren uluslararası ve ulusal kurumlarda uzaktan çalışan 15 kişi ile yürütülen yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine mülakat aracılığıyla uzaktan çalışmanın soyutlanmış ve sömürülmüş hissetme durumuna etkisi araştırılmaktadır.
Since activation policies prove their inefficiency in solving existent socioeconomic problems, es... more Since activation policies prove their inefficiency in solving existent socioeconomic problems, especially after the pandemic crisis of COVID-19, alternative policies other than Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) have appeared on the agenda of the EU. This research traces the reasons of the ineffectiveness of activation by highlighting the perception of the beneficiaries of the ALMPs. This article builds on the fieldwork implemented in a member state (Spain) and candidate country (Turkey) of the EU through 78 semi-structured individual interviews with the participants of vocational trainings for unemployed people. Results show that the beneficiaries in both countries are aware of the fact that the activation process does not provide a solution for their socioeconomic problems and they desire a decent job, rather than training.
We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to... more We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to people in the course of daily life through a mysterious fog. Charles Lemert This research is just an attempt to make the fog clearer. However, heavier or lighter, fog is fog. Classical economists treated economy as an autonomous and self-regulating body. This perspective created a commodification process of all units that enter into the production, distribution and investment mechanisms of economy. Labor, land and money substantially started to be considered as commodities that could be bought and sold in the market. Their prices were determined according to the rules of the market. However, human society reacted against it and protected itself from this wildness in its surrounding. This is how Karl Polanyi explains that the great transformation happen during 19th and 20th century through double movements: laissez-faire movement that tries to enlarge the scope of the market, and the protective countermovement that opposes the disembedding of the economy. These double movements were considered as a precipitating factor for institutional change while warfare states were converting into welfare mechanisms. Today’s great transformation - considered as second great transformation - in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained again with the political clash of international actors between disembedding and reembedding of the market. The change from market correcting to market confirming ideas enlarged the commodification process from production, distribution and investment mechanisms to redistribution of wealth and social investment phases. The values and norms of society about fairness and social justice -that produce and legitmise the way of redistibution and social investment- have been commodified as a result of the activation of social policies. The structural problems of self-regulated market -such as unemployment- are treated as the problems of individuals due to their inactiveness or lack of necessary abilities and skills. Therefore, social justice has started to be perceived by individuals as a product that they can access and deserve only if they behave in a certain manner because this is the only way to justify and legitimize the neoliberal policies that oppress the economic, political and social essence of the collective society. This research tries to shed light on how activation policies change the perception of social justice in the society. Firstly, the effects of neoliberal ideas on institutional change are demonstrated through explaining how welfare states have turned into the workfare mechanism. Secondly, the change in social policies towards workfare mechanisms and activation policies are analyzed empirically in member state and candidate country of EU: Spain and Turkey. Thirdly, the effect of this change on the perception of social justice is examined with phenomenological approach through semi-structured interviews realized with unemployed people who are participating in one of the activation programs in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep (the city having a frontier with Syria) in Turkey. Key words: Social justice, Commodification, Activation of Social Policies, Welfare states, Workfare regimes,
Debating Europe: Past, Present and Future. MCES 2020: Marmara Conference on European Studies. Proceedings, 2020
Today’s great transformation – considered as second great transformation – in political, economic... more Today’s great transformation – considered as second great transformation – in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained with the clash of international actors between disembedding and re-embedding of the market. With the change from market correcting to market confirming ideas, the values and norms of society about social responsibilities have been transformed due to certain policies pursued by neoliberal logic. The process has begun with flexible production and continued through expanding flexible social protection (flexicurity) mechanisms. These mechanisms have reached the individuals with the tool of active social policies, which promote change in the perception of social responsibilities spreading the ideas of individualization, self-reliance, self-responsibility, flexibility, minimal state, and merit-based social stratification in order to legitimize these policies in the eyes of beholders. The Foucauldian explanation of conduct of conduct and neoliberal governmentality offer a great insight to understand the change in the perception of social responsibilities of the recipients of active social policies. The production of neoliberal subjects through neoliberal project converts individuals’ thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and their perceptions. This research asks whether the efforts of promoting this type of conception of social responsibilities affect its perception by the individuals; whether they adapt or reject this imposition. These questions are scrutinized focusing on the impact power of the European Union. Therefore, how the recipients of active social policies perceive social responsibilities is examined comparatively in one member state and one candidate country of the European Union. The phenomenological approach is applied through realizing 120 semi-structured face-to-face interviews held in 2018 with unemployed people who are participating in one of the active social policies in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep in Turkey. The aim of this comparative analysis is to indicate how the individuals, from different socio-cultural structures, exposed to similar active social policies perceive the social responsibilities in Spain and Turkey.
Centre for Policy Analysis and Research on Turkey. Vol. III, Issue 4, pp.44-50, (Research Turkey), London, ResearchTurkey, 2014
European Union can be defined as a running and operative machine/mechanism when its life span is ... more European Union can be defined as a running and operative machine/mechanism when its life span is observed during the half century. The evaluation of its gears, cycles or instruments (regardless of how they are named) of this machine/mechanism in terms of productivity and operability is more rational than externalization of these units by considering them non-functional. The exclusion of one of its gears from the machine or changing it with another can subvert the functions of the whole structure. All mechanisms can halt due to being exposed to several internal and external changes. Under these conditions, the solution should be structured by the logic of reparation on the analysis of inconsistencies in the current mechanism in order to increase the existent operability of the system. Within this framework, reasons of structural problems of the EU can be found in its institutional mechanism or lack of harmony between its member states. At this point, lack of harmony between states can be identified as an existent economic gap between states named as Triple A that give loans and states named as PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) that are debtors. On the other hand, it is asserted that the structural problems of EU is derived from application fallacies in common policy areas (for ex. EMU). Even if these findings concerning structural problems of the EU are correct, suggestions to change the structural tools of the current system (creation of Senate..etc.) cannot provide sufficient and suitable solutions. During the EU integration process, member states adopt supranational policies by defining common policy areas and delegate their authority on these areas. Therefore, EU mechanism is formed by reciprocal operation of EU institutions and member states on these common policy areas. As the necessity of broad reform plans have emerged during its 50 years of experience, overbalance or insufficiency of gears of the mechanism (institutions, members, common policy areas) can easily be questioned. However, when European Union is evaluated in terms of reaching its aims, it is a unique example and a successful project compared with other international organizations regardless of its being democratic or having a democratic deficit problem; being egalitarian or producing unequal representation challenges; or being legitimate in the eye of its citizens or not. As indicated initially, the question is what kind of mechanism that the EU have instead of how it is perceived or evaluated. Therefore, the European Union can tackle with and then overcome its structural problems by preserving its current mechanism in its integration process through fostering political contention in three dimensions: policy dimension, politics dimension and polity dimension. This solution is the change that converts EU’s apolitic mechanism by internalizing political dispute in these three dimensions.
Actas del VII Congreso de la Red Española de Política Social (REPS), 2018
We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to... more We, social scientists, are dealing with the mysterious power of social structures which appear to people in the course of daily life through a mysterious fog. Charles Lemert
This research is just an attempt to make the fog clearer. However, heavier or lighter, fog is fog.
Classical economists treated economy as an autonomous and self-regulating body. This perspective created a commodification process of all units that enter into the production, distribution and investment mechanisms of economy. Labor, land and money substantially started to be considered as commodities that could be bought and sold in the market. Their prices were determined according to the rules of the market. However, human society reacted against it and protected itself from this wildness in its surrounding. This is how Karl Polanyi explains that the great transformation happen during 19th and 20th century through double movements: laissez-faire movement that tries to enlarge the scope of the market, and the protective countermovement that opposes the disembedding of the economy. These double movements were considered as a precipitating factor for institutional change while warfare states were converting into welfare mechanisms. Today’s great transformation - considered as second great transformation - in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained again with the political clash of international actors between disembedding and reembedding of the market. The change from market correcting to market confirming ideas enlarged the commodification process from production, distribution and investment mechanisms to redistribution of wealth and social investment phases. The values and norms of society about fairness and social justice -that produce and legitmise the way of redistibution and social investment- have been commodified as a result of the activation of social policies. The structural problems of self-regulated market -such as unemployment- are treated as the problems of individuals due to their inactiveness or lack of necessary abilities and skills. Therefore, social justice has started to be perceived by individuals as a product that they can access and deserve only if they behave in a certain manner because this is the only way to justify and legitimize the neoliberal policies that oppress the economic, political and social essence of the collective society. This research tries to shed light on how activation policies change the perception of social justice in the society. Firstly, the effects of neoliberal ideas on institutional change are demonstrated through explaining how welfare states have turned into the workfare mechanism. Secondly, the change in social policies towards workfare mechanisms and activation policies are analyzed empirically in member state and candidate country of EU: Spain and Turkey. Thirdly, the effect of this change on the perception of social justice is examined with phenomenological approach through semi-structured interviews realized with unemployed people who are participating in one of the activation programs in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep (the city having a frontier with Syria) in Turkey.
Key words: Social justice, Commodification, Activation of Social Policies, Welfare states, Workfare regimes,
European Journal of Social Sciences Education and Research, 2017
Welfare regime is composed of the social and economic policies that are adopted to protect and pr... more Welfare regime is composed of the social and economic policies that are adopted to protect and promote the economic and social well-being of its citizens. While neoliberal principles extend through globalization, welfare regimes have been suffering from this process since policies are developed with the emphasis on individual empowerment rather than collectively shared welfare. While spending a great deal of efforts not to lose its competitiveness, the European Union tries to create an alternative for the structure of its social policies. However, this attempt remains highly vulnerable due to the impact of capitalist economic system on development of EU social policy/model since the beginning of the EU integration process. This article analyzes the roots of underdeveloped social policy in EU history at three stages: explanation of underdevelopment of social Europe from several theoretical paradigms; examination of deep-rooted problems of European social policy within the dynamics of European integration; elaboration of EU modernization process; and clarification of this deficiency with the example of European Social Model deemed as a politically constructed project.
Özet Refah rejimleri vatandaşların sosyal ve ekonomik menfaatlerini korumak ve geliştirmek için y... more Özet Refah rejimleri vatandaşların sosyal ve ekonomik menfaatlerini korumak ve geliştirmek için yürütülen sosyal ve ekonomik politikalardan oluşur. Küreselleşmenin yarattığı ivme ile neoliberal politikalar yaygınlaştıkça refah rejimleri; sosyal durum güvenliği, sonuçlarda eşitlik, toplu ve paylaşılan refah kavramları yerine kişisel başarı, fırsat eşitliği, bireysel güçlenme kavramlarını vurgulayan bu neoliberal prensiplerden olumsuz etkilenmektedir. Algıdaki bu değişiklik toplumda eşitsizliği derinleştirerek güçlendirilen ve zayıflaştırılan bireyler arasında uçurum yaratmış, 'sosyal adalet' kavramının geri çağırılma ihtiyacını zorunlu hale getirmiştir. Bu durum sosyal içerme kavramının ve sosyal risk yönetimi politikalarının temelinin nasıl oluştuğunu gözler önüne sermektedir. Bu makale, söz konusu temelin AB yoluyla Türkiye'ye yansıma yolları ve Türkiye'de sosyal politikanın gelişiminde olası fayda/maliyeti veya avantaj/dezavantajlarını tartışmaktadır. AB ve Türkiye'nin sosyal içerme politikalarının analizinde Graziano'nun siyasaları: hedefler, prensipler, prosedürler ve araçlar olmak üzere 4 temel boyutta değerlendiren teorik bakış açısı kullanılmıştır. Abstract Welfare regime is composed of social and economic policies that are adopted to protect and promote the economic and social well-being of its citizens. While neoliberal principles extend through globalization, welfare regimes have been suffering from this spreading principles emphasizing on individual empowerment and equality of opportunity rather than collective security, equality of results and shared welfare. This perception has widened the inequalities in the society between empowered and weakened individuals and the urgent need to call back the 'social justice' becomes sino qua non. This is the base of how the concept of social inclusion and social risk management policies has emerged. This article analyzes ways of the reflection of this basis from EU to Turkey and its possible benefits/costs and 1 advantages/disadvantages for Turkish social policy development. The policy approach suggested by Graziano that evaluates policies with four key dimensions: objectives, principles, procedures and instruments is applied to the analysis of EU and Turkish social inclusion policy implementations.
SOSYAL BİLİMLER EKSENİNDE GÜNCEL ARAŞTIRMA VE DEĞERLENDİRMELER, Ekin Yayınevi, 2021
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the virus has been monitored through several tools va... more During the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the virus has been monitored through several tools varying from mandatory tests to obligatory usage of e-bracelets. Many countries have started to develop several digital solutions or improve the existing ones such as thermal scanning, facial recognition through cameras, drones, robots for crowd control, and mobile applications. These tools are not new instruments; however, their level of usage has apparently been increased to a great extent in many different countries in order to trace the contact between people, control the infection, and oblige society to comply with the rules. In addition to this formally expressed purpose, there are several concerns of critical perspectives about these tools’ being used not only in digiital contact tracing but also in controlling and regulating people’s behaviours.
Considering these facts, the mobile applications produced and utilized during the pandemic in Turkey (HES: Life fits inside the house), Germany (Corona-Warn-App), and Hong Kong (StayHomeSafe) are examined comparatively as three specific cases in this research. Applying Foucault’s (1979) concept of the production of docile bodies and subjected minds through practices of surveillance, this article analyses whether these mobile applications are becoming a tool for cyber bio-surveillance and a digital panopticon in order to control human behaviour and make the people obedient to the existing rules without questioning. To this end, the main purposes, features, and communication styles of these mobile applications are scrutinised. The most different systems’ design approach has been applied as a methodology. The selected countries for this research are totally different from each other with respect to geography, historical background, political structure, economic development, culture, and religion. However, they all are using digital surveillance through mobile applications as a law enforcement tool. Therefore, in addition to their benefits in providing information about useful data for the public and providing tools to improve health security and public safety, their possible alarming effects during post-COVID-19 are underlined in this comparative research.
Bireyler, meşruiyetini ve inanılırlığını kaybeden neoliberal rüyadan artık uyanıyorlar. Eşitsizli... more Bireyler, meşruiyetini ve inanılırlığını kaybeden neoliberal rüyadan artık uyanıyorlar. Eşitsizlikten adaletsizliğe, işsizlikten güvencesizliğe neoliberalizmin ürettiklerini ve derinleştirdiklerini kendi bireysel hatası ya da suçu olarak değerlendirme illüzyonundan kurtuluyorlar.
Bireyler, henüz gözlerini açıyor olduğundan hareketlenip ayağa kalkmamış olabilirler. Ancak, kendi bedenlerini ve zihinlerini dönüştüren -gösterişli fakat doğal olmayan- yapının farkındadırlar. Bedenlerindeki kırmızı kurdelanın dikişlerin çözülmesini engelleyen birleşim yerinden ibaret olduğunu artık biliyorlar.
Bu kitap, söz konusu uyanışı, bireylerin sosyal adalet algısı kapsamında tartışmaktadır. Bireylere göre bir toplumu adil yapan nedir? İnsanlar neye göre eşit sayılır: Bedenleri, akılları, düşünceleri, duyguları veya umutlarıyla mı? Sosyal adalet tartışması neye odaklanmalıdır? Yeniden dağıtıma mı yoksa kurumsallaşmış eşitsizlik ve baskıya mı?
Bu sorular, neoliberal politikaların bir aracı olan aktif sosyal politikalara katılan bireylerin gözünden karşılaştırmalı bir perspektifle analiz edilmektedir. Türkiye ve İspanya'nın farklı bölgelerinden bireylerin çarpıcı şekilde ifade ettiği sosyal adalet talepleri ile günümüzde göze çarpan küresel değişim talepleri örtüşmekte ve ortak bir zeminde birleşmektedir.
Bu birlik ve ortaklık üzerine düşünmek isteyen ve uyanışını dayanışarak kutlamak isteyen herkes bu kitabı okumalıdır.
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Papers by Bilge Filiz
2020 yılından itibaren COVID-19 pandemisinin yayılmasını önlemek amacıyla dünyanın farklı
yerlerinde birçok bireyin iş yaşamına dahil olmuştur. Bu durum bazı pozitif örneklerde
çalışanların işleri üzerindeki hakimiyetini artırarak, çalışanlara hem çalışma saatlerinde hem de
çalışma mekanlarında esneklik sağlayarak olumlu deneyimler yaratmıştır. Fakat bununla
beraber, uzaktan çalışma, çalışanlar için uzun çalışma saatleri, sürekli erişilebilir olma
zorunluluğu gibi ciddi hak kayıplarına neden olmanın yanı sıra; soyutlanmışlık hissi,
sosyalleşememe gibi çalışanların psikolojik sağlığını etkileyebilecek durumlara da sebep
olmaktadır. Bunun yanında, işveren dünyanın birçok yerinden çalışana erişebilirken çalışanlar
sınırları belli olmayan bir rekabetin içine itilmektedir. Diğer taraftan, bu durum, işverenin
maliyetlerini azaltarak tasarruf etmesini sağlarken uzaktan çalışan kişilerin masraflarını
artırmaktadır.
Bu makale, uzaktan çalışmanın 2020’li yıllarda uygulanma şeklini Byung-Chul Han tarafından
öne sürülen psikopolitika kapsamında incelenen yeni iktidar teknikleri çerçevesinde analiz
etmektedir. Byung-Chul Han’a (2019) göre, neoliberal psikopolitika giderek daha incelikli
sömürü biçimleri icat etmekte ve neoliberal rejim, tükenme çağını başlatarak bireyin ruhunu,
duygularını (heyecanını) sömürmektedir. Çeşitli iktidar teknikleri ile bireye kendisini her
zaman daha fazla gerçekleştirme, geliştirme, “iyileştirme” talimatı verilmektedir. Bunun
sonucunda birey, sürekli olarak daha fazla performans gösterme durumunda olduğunu
düşünmekte ve kendisini gönüllü ve heyecanlı bir şekilde sömürmektedir (Han, 2019).
Bireylerin ruhuna hükmetmeyi başarmış bu sistemin ofislere ihtiyacı ortadan kalkmıştır. Tüm
bunlar göz önünde bulundurularak uzaktan çalışmanın yarattığı mevcut durumun bireylerin
gözünden nasıl değerlendirildiği, söz konusu çerçevede bir iktidar pratiğini yansıtıp
yansıtmadığı iş piyasasının yönetimi ve dolayısıyla küresel toplumun geleceği açısından dikkat
çekicidir.
Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de özel sektör, kamu sektörü ve insan haklarının geliştirilmesi ve teşvik
edilmesi amacıyla faaliyet gösteren uluslararası ve ulusal kurumlarda uzaktan çalışan 15 kişi
ile yürütülen yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine mülakat aracılığıyla uzaktan çalışmanın
soyutlanmış ve sömürülmüş hissetme durumuna etkisi araştırılmaktadır.
social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained with the clash of international actors between disembedding and re-embedding of the market. With the change from market correcting to market confirming
ideas, the values and norms of society about social responsibilities have been transformed due to certain
policies pursued by neoliberal logic. The process has begun with flexible production and continued
through expanding flexible social protection (flexicurity) mechanisms. These mechanisms have reached the individuals with the tool of active social policies, which promote change in the perception of social responsibilities spreading the ideas of individualization, self-reliance, self-responsibility, flexibility, minimal state, and merit-based social stratification in order to legitimize these policies in the eyes of beholders.
The Foucauldian explanation of conduct of conduct and neoliberal governmentality offer a great insight to
understand the change in the perception of social responsibilities of the recipients of active social policies.
The production of neoliberal subjects through neoliberal project converts individuals’ thoughts, beliefs,
attitudes and their perceptions.
This research asks whether the efforts of promoting this type of conception of social responsibilities
affect its perception by the individuals; whether they adapt or reject this imposition. These questions are
scrutinized focusing on the impact power of the European Union. Therefore, how the recipients of active social policies perceive social responsibilities is examined comparatively in one member state and one candidate country of the European Union. The phenomenological approach is applied through realizing 120 semi-structured face-to-face interviews held in 2018 with unemployed people who are participating in one of the active social policies in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep in Turkey. The aim of this comparative analysis is to indicate how the individuals, from different socio-cultural structures, exposed to similar active social policies perceive the social responsibilities in
Spain and Turkey.
Within this framework, reasons of structural problems of the EU can be found in its institutional mechanism or lack of harmony between its member states. At this point, lack of harmony between states can be identified as an existent economic gap between states named as Triple A that give loans and states named as PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) that are debtors. On the other hand, it is asserted that the structural problems of EU is derived from application fallacies in common policy areas (for ex. EMU). Even if these findings concerning structural problems of the EU are correct, suggestions to change the structural tools of the current system (creation of Senate..etc.) cannot provide sufficient and suitable solutions. During the EU integration process, member states adopt supranational policies by defining common policy areas and delegate their authority on these areas. Therefore, EU mechanism is formed by reciprocal operation of EU institutions and member states on these common policy areas. As the necessity of broad reform plans have emerged during its 50 years of experience, overbalance or insufficiency of gears of the mechanism (institutions, members, common policy areas) can easily be questioned. However, when European Union is evaluated in terms of reaching its aims, it is a unique example and a successful project compared with other international organizations regardless of its being democratic or having a democratic deficit problem; being egalitarian or producing unequal representation challenges; or being legitimate in the eye of its citizens or not.
As indicated initially, the question is what kind of mechanism that the EU have instead of how it is perceived or evaluated. Therefore, the European Union can tackle with and then overcome its structural problems by preserving its current mechanism in its integration process through fostering political contention in three dimensions: policy dimension, politics dimension and polity dimension. This solution is the change that converts EU’s apolitic mechanism by internalizing political dispute in these three dimensions.
Charles Lemert
This research is just an attempt to make the fog clearer. However, heavier or lighter, fog is fog.
Classical economists treated economy as an autonomous and self-regulating body. This perspective created a commodification process of all units that enter into the production, distribution and investment mechanisms of economy. Labor, land and money substantially started to be considered as commodities that could be bought and sold in the market. Their prices were determined according to the rules of the market. However, human society reacted against it and protected itself from this wildness in its surrounding. This is how Karl Polanyi explains that the great transformation happen during 19th and 20th century through double movements: laissez-faire movement that tries to enlarge the scope of the market, and the protective countermovement that opposes the disembedding of the economy. These double movements were considered as a precipitating factor for institutional change while warfare states were converting into welfare mechanisms.
Today’s great transformation - considered as second great transformation - in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained again with the political clash of international actors between disembedding and reembedding of the market. The change from market correcting to market confirming ideas enlarged the commodification process from production, distribution and investment mechanisms to redistribution of wealth and social investment phases. The values and norms of society about fairness and social justice -that produce and legitmise the way of redistibution and social investment- have been commodified as a result of the activation of social policies.
The structural problems of self-regulated market -such as unemployment- are treated as the problems of individuals due to their inactiveness or lack of necessary abilities and skills. Therefore, social justice has started to be perceived by individuals as a product that they can access and deserve only if they behave in a certain manner because this is the only way to justify and legitimize the neoliberal policies that oppress the economic, political and social essence of the collective society.
This research tries to shed light on how activation policies change the perception of social justice in the society. Firstly, the effects of neoliberal ideas on institutional change are demonstrated through explaining how welfare states have turned into the workfare mechanism. Secondly, the change in social policies towards workfare mechanisms and activation policies are analyzed empirically in member state and candidate country of EU: Spain and Turkey. Thirdly, the effect of this change on the perception of social justice is examined with phenomenological approach through semi-structured interviews realized with unemployed people who are participating in one of the activation programs in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep (the city having a frontier with Syria) in Turkey.
Key words: Social justice, Commodification, Activation of Social Policies, Welfare states, Workfare regimes,
Books by Bilge Filiz
Considering these facts, the mobile applications produced and utilized
during the pandemic in Turkey (HES: Life fits inside the house), Germany (Corona-Warn-App), and Hong Kong (StayHomeSafe) are examined comparatively as three specific cases in this research. Applying Foucault’s (1979) concept of the production of docile bodies and subjected minds through practices of surveillance, this article analyses whether these mobile applications are becoming a tool for cyber bio-surveillance and a digital panopticon in order to control human behaviour and make the people obedient to the existing rules without questioning. To this end, the main purposes, features, and communication styles of these mobile applications are scrutinised. The most different systems’ design approach has been applied as a methodology. The selected countries for this research are totally different from each other with respect to geography,
historical background, political structure, economic development, culture, and religion. However, they all are using digital surveillance through mobile applications as a law enforcement tool. Therefore, in addition to their benefits in providing information about useful data for the public and providing tools to improve health security and public safety, their possible alarming effects during post-COVID-19 are underlined in this comparative research.
Bireyler, henüz gözlerini açıyor olduğundan hareketlenip ayağa kalkmamış olabilirler. Ancak, kendi bedenlerini ve zihinlerini dönüştüren -gösterişli fakat doğal olmayan- yapının farkındadırlar. Bedenlerindeki kırmızı kurdelanın dikişlerin çözülmesini engelleyen birleşim yerinden ibaret olduğunu artık biliyorlar.
Bu kitap, söz konusu uyanışı, bireylerin sosyal adalet algısı kapsamında tartışmaktadır. Bireylere göre bir toplumu adil yapan nedir? İnsanlar neye göre eşit sayılır: Bedenleri, akılları, düşünceleri, duyguları veya umutlarıyla mı? Sosyal adalet tartışması neye odaklanmalıdır? Yeniden dağıtıma mı yoksa kurumsallaşmış eşitsizlik ve baskıya mı?
Bu sorular, neoliberal politikaların bir aracı olan aktif sosyal politikalara katılan bireylerin gözünden karşılaştırmalı bir perspektifle analiz edilmektedir. Türkiye ve İspanya'nın farklı bölgelerinden bireylerin çarpıcı şekilde ifade ettiği sosyal adalet talepleri ile günümüzde göze çarpan küresel değişim talepleri örtüşmekte ve ortak bir zeminde birleşmektedir.
Bu birlik ve ortaklık üzerine düşünmek isteyen ve uyanışını dayanışarak kutlamak isteyen herkes bu kitabı okumalıdır.
2020 yılından itibaren COVID-19 pandemisinin yayılmasını önlemek amacıyla dünyanın farklı
yerlerinde birçok bireyin iş yaşamına dahil olmuştur. Bu durum bazı pozitif örneklerde
çalışanların işleri üzerindeki hakimiyetini artırarak, çalışanlara hem çalışma saatlerinde hem de
çalışma mekanlarında esneklik sağlayarak olumlu deneyimler yaratmıştır. Fakat bununla
beraber, uzaktan çalışma, çalışanlar için uzun çalışma saatleri, sürekli erişilebilir olma
zorunluluğu gibi ciddi hak kayıplarına neden olmanın yanı sıra; soyutlanmışlık hissi,
sosyalleşememe gibi çalışanların psikolojik sağlığını etkileyebilecek durumlara da sebep
olmaktadır. Bunun yanında, işveren dünyanın birçok yerinden çalışana erişebilirken çalışanlar
sınırları belli olmayan bir rekabetin içine itilmektedir. Diğer taraftan, bu durum, işverenin
maliyetlerini azaltarak tasarruf etmesini sağlarken uzaktan çalışan kişilerin masraflarını
artırmaktadır.
Bu makale, uzaktan çalışmanın 2020’li yıllarda uygulanma şeklini Byung-Chul Han tarafından
öne sürülen psikopolitika kapsamında incelenen yeni iktidar teknikleri çerçevesinde analiz
etmektedir. Byung-Chul Han’a (2019) göre, neoliberal psikopolitika giderek daha incelikli
sömürü biçimleri icat etmekte ve neoliberal rejim, tükenme çağını başlatarak bireyin ruhunu,
duygularını (heyecanını) sömürmektedir. Çeşitli iktidar teknikleri ile bireye kendisini her
zaman daha fazla gerçekleştirme, geliştirme, “iyileştirme” talimatı verilmektedir. Bunun
sonucunda birey, sürekli olarak daha fazla performans gösterme durumunda olduğunu
düşünmekte ve kendisini gönüllü ve heyecanlı bir şekilde sömürmektedir (Han, 2019).
Bireylerin ruhuna hükmetmeyi başarmış bu sistemin ofislere ihtiyacı ortadan kalkmıştır. Tüm
bunlar göz önünde bulundurularak uzaktan çalışmanın yarattığı mevcut durumun bireylerin
gözünden nasıl değerlendirildiği, söz konusu çerçevede bir iktidar pratiğini yansıtıp
yansıtmadığı iş piyasasının yönetimi ve dolayısıyla küresel toplumun geleceği açısından dikkat
çekicidir.
Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de özel sektör, kamu sektörü ve insan haklarının geliştirilmesi ve teşvik
edilmesi amacıyla faaliyet gösteren uluslararası ve ulusal kurumlarda uzaktan çalışan 15 kişi
ile yürütülen yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine mülakat aracılığıyla uzaktan çalışmanın
soyutlanmış ve sömürülmüş hissetme durumuna etkisi araştırılmaktadır.
social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained with the clash of international actors between disembedding and re-embedding of the market. With the change from market correcting to market confirming
ideas, the values and norms of society about social responsibilities have been transformed due to certain
policies pursued by neoliberal logic. The process has begun with flexible production and continued
through expanding flexible social protection (flexicurity) mechanisms. These mechanisms have reached the individuals with the tool of active social policies, which promote change in the perception of social responsibilities spreading the ideas of individualization, self-reliance, self-responsibility, flexibility, minimal state, and merit-based social stratification in order to legitimize these policies in the eyes of beholders.
The Foucauldian explanation of conduct of conduct and neoliberal governmentality offer a great insight to
understand the change in the perception of social responsibilities of the recipients of active social policies.
The production of neoliberal subjects through neoliberal project converts individuals’ thoughts, beliefs,
attitudes and their perceptions.
This research asks whether the efforts of promoting this type of conception of social responsibilities
affect its perception by the individuals; whether they adapt or reject this imposition. These questions are
scrutinized focusing on the impact power of the European Union. Therefore, how the recipients of active social policies perceive social responsibilities is examined comparatively in one member state and one candidate country of the European Union. The phenomenological approach is applied through realizing 120 semi-structured face-to-face interviews held in 2018 with unemployed people who are participating in one of the active social policies in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep in Turkey. The aim of this comparative analysis is to indicate how the individuals, from different socio-cultural structures, exposed to similar active social policies perceive the social responsibilities in
Spain and Turkey.
Within this framework, reasons of structural problems of the EU can be found in its institutional mechanism or lack of harmony between its member states. At this point, lack of harmony between states can be identified as an existent economic gap between states named as Triple A that give loans and states named as PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) that are debtors. On the other hand, it is asserted that the structural problems of EU is derived from application fallacies in common policy areas (for ex. EMU). Even if these findings concerning structural problems of the EU are correct, suggestions to change the structural tools of the current system (creation of Senate..etc.) cannot provide sufficient and suitable solutions. During the EU integration process, member states adopt supranational policies by defining common policy areas and delegate their authority on these areas. Therefore, EU mechanism is formed by reciprocal operation of EU institutions and member states on these common policy areas. As the necessity of broad reform plans have emerged during its 50 years of experience, overbalance or insufficiency of gears of the mechanism (institutions, members, common policy areas) can easily be questioned. However, when European Union is evaluated in terms of reaching its aims, it is a unique example and a successful project compared with other international organizations regardless of its being democratic or having a democratic deficit problem; being egalitarian or producing unequal representation challenges; or being legitimate in the eye of its citizens or not.
As indicated initially, the question is what kind of mechanism that the EU have instead of how it is perceived or evaluated. Therefore, the European Union can tackle with and then overcome its structural problems by preserving its current mechanism in its integration process through fostering political contention in three dimensions: policy dimension, politics dimension and polity dimension. This solution is the change that converts EU’s apolitic mechanism by internalizing political dispute in these three dimensions.
Charles Lemert
This research is just an attempt to make the fog clearer. However, heavier or lighter, fog is fog.
Classical economists treated economy as an autonomous and self-regulating body. This perspective created a commodification process of all units that enter into the production, distribution and investment mechanisms of economy. Labor, land and money substantially started to be considered as commodities that could be bought and sold in the market. Their prices were determined according to the rules of the market. However, human society reacted against it and protected itself from this wildness in its surrounding. This is how Karl Polanyi explains that the great transformation happen during 19th and 20th century through double movements: laissez-faire movement that tries to enlarge the scope of the market, and the protective countermovement that opposes the disembedding of the economy. These double movements were considered as a precipitating factor for institutional change while warfare states were converting into welfare mechanisms.
Today’s great transformation - considered as second great transformation - in political, economic and social spheres with neoliberal ideas can be explained again with the political clash of international actors between disembedding and reembedding of the market. The change from market correcting to market confirming ideas enlarged the commodification process from production, distribution and investment mechanisms to redistribution of wealth and social investment phases. The values and norms of society about fairness and social justice -that produce and legitmise the way of redistibution and social investment- have been commodified as a result of the activation of social policies.
The structural problems of self-regulated market -such as unemployment- are treated as the problems of individuals due to their inactiveness or lack of necessary abilities and skills. Therefore, social justice has started to be perceived by individuals as a product that they can access and deserve only if they behave in a certain manner because this is the only way to justify and legitimize the neoliberal policies that oppress the economic, political and social essence of the collective society.
This research tries to shed light on how activation policies change the perception of social justice in the society. Firstly, the effects of neoliberal ideas on institutional change are demonstrated through explaining how welfare states have turned into the workfare mechanism. Secondly, the change in social policies towards workfare mechanisms and activation policies are analyzed empirically in member state and candidate country of EU: Spain and Turkey. Thirdly, the effect of this change on the perception of social justice is examined with phenomenological approach through semi-structured interviews realized with unemployed people who are participating in one of the activation programs in Community of Madrid and Basque Country in Spain; Ankara and Gaziantep (the city having a frontier with Syria) in Turkey.
Key words: Social justice, Commodification, Activation of Social Policies, Welfare states, Workfare regimes,
Considering these facts, the mobile applications produced and utilized
during the pandemic in Turkey (HES: Life fits inside the house), Germany (Corona-Warn-App), and Hong Kong (StayHomeSafe) are examined comparatively as three specific cases in this research. Applying Foucault’s (1979) concept of the production of docile bodies and subjected minds through practices of surveillance, this article analyses whether these mobile applications are becoming a tool for cyber bio-surveillance and a digital panopticon in order to control human behaviour and make the people obedient to the existing rules without questioning. To this end, the main purposes, features, and communication styles of these mobile applications are scrutinised. The most different systems’ design approach has been applied as a methodology. The selected countries for this research are totally different from each other with respect to geography,
historical background, political structure, economic development, culture, and religion. However, they all are using digital surveillance through mobile applications as a law enforcement tool. Therefore, in addition to their benefits in providing information about useful data for the public and providing tools to improve health security and public safety, their possible alarming effects during post-COVID-19 are underlined in this comparative research.
Bireyler, henüz gözlerini açıyor olduğundan hareketlenip ayağa kalkmamış olabilirler. Ancak, kendi bedenlerini ve zihinlerini dönüştüren -gösterişli fakat doğal olmayan- yapının farkındadırlar. Bedenlerindeki kırmızı kurdelanın dikişlerin çözülmesini engelleyen birleşim yerinden ibaret olduğunu artık biliyorlar.
Bu kitap, söz konusu uyanışı, bireylerin sosyal adalet algısı kapsamında tartışmaktadır. Bireylere göre bir toplumu adil yapan nedir? İnsanlar neye göre eşit sayılır: Bedenleri, akılları, düşünceleri, duyguları veya umutlarıyla mı? Sosyal adalet tartışması neye odaklanmalıdır? Yeniden dağıtıma mı yoksa kurumsallaşmış eşitsizlik ve baskıya mı?
Bu sorular, neoliberal politikaların bir aracı olan aktif sosyal politikalara katılan bireylerin gözünden karşılaştırmalı bir perspektifle analiz edilmektedir. Türkiye ve İspanya'nın farklı bölgelerinden bireylerin çarpıcı şekilde ifade ettiği sosyal adalet talepleri ile günümüzde göze çarpan küresel değişim talepleri örtüşmekte ve ortak bir zeminde birleşmektedir.
Bu birlik ve ortaklık üzerine düşünmek isteyen ve uyanışını dayanışarak kutlamak isteyen herkes bu kitabı okumalıdır.