Volkan Yilmaz

University of Ulster · School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences

Social policy research examining citizens' welfare knowledge, which offers a gateway to their understanding of the policy context, has remained limited. Adapting the opportunity motivation ability framework borrowed from the literature on political knowledge to welfare knowledge, this article offers an analysis of new data from a nationwide survey...

Health care reforms have always been critical political arenas within which the parameters of citizens' access to health care services and thus the new terms of social bargain that backs social policies are negotiated. Despite the relative success of Turkey in establishing public health insurance schemes and developing a public capacity for health...

The establishment of internal markets for healthcare provision in publicly-funded healthcare systems brings forth a number of new regulatory challenges. During the 2003 healthcare reform in Turkey, universal health coverage (UHC) was implemented concurrently with the establishment of an internal market for service provision, resulting in an increas...

Türkiye’nin Sağlığı: Söylem, Politika ve Deneyimler başlıklı bu derleme kitap; Türkiye’de siyaset, toplum ve devlet arasındaki değişen ilişkileri sağlık alanı üzerinden eleştirel bir sosyal bilimler yaklaşımıyla inceliyor. Yirmi yılı aşkın bir süredir köklü değişimlere sahne olan Türkiye’nin sağlık politikaları, sosyal bilimlerde yeterince ilgi gör...

Sağlık hizmetleri ve siyaset arasındaki bağlantılar nelerdir? Türkiye'nin sağlık sistemi nasıl bu noktaya geldi? Sistemi şekillendiren siyasi dinamikler nelerdir? Kitap, sağlık sisteminde değişimin yönü ile çeşitli siyasi aktörlerin reform hakkındaki düşünceleri, reform ile ilgili çıkarları ve reform sürecinde izledikleri stratejiler arasında bağla...

This chapter maintains that a close look at disability can help us better understand the power and social structures of inequality and discrimination within the framework of the intersectional paradigm. Recognizing the radical diversity that disability entails can also make the intersectional paradigm useful for exploring intersecting disabilities....

The expansion of the private healthcare sector in some low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) has raised key questions and debates regarding the governance of this sector, and the role of actors representing the sector in policy processes. Research on the role played by this sector, understood here as private hospitals, pharmacies and insur...

How do lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or trans persons imagine their own ageing in an exclusionary care regime? How does institutionalised exclusion constrain their ability to imagine ageing in a positive light? How, to what extent and by which means can they contest their exclusion from elderly care? This article presents an analysis of a mixed-method...

Background: The influence of healthcare system factors on treatment pathways for breast cancer has been studied extensively in lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), but in upper-middle-income countries (UMICs), this area is understudied. This article focuses on the experiences of breast cancer patients in Türkiye, a UMIC with a universal healthca...

Bu kitap bölümü seçili ülke örnekleri üzerinden COVID-19 pandemisi ile mücadelede sağlık ve siyaset ilişkisinin, sağlık politikalarının ve sağlık bakım sistemlerinin rolünü tartışıyor. Bunu yaparken pandemiyle etkin mücadelenin göstergeleri olarak farklı ülkelerde alınan politika önlemlerinin uygunluğu, virüse bağlı ölüm oranları ve virüs kaynaklı...

Universal health coverage (UHC) has been elevated to the status of a global policy target, but this was at the expense of losing its aspirational meaning. As a case in point, Turkey has been one of the countries that has achieved UHC, according to the technocratic definition. This article employs a combination of deductive and inductive thematic an...

This chapter offers a critical analysis of select paradigms in contemporary social policy literature: new behaviourism, social investment and new universalism. Relying on a comprehensive review of the recent literature on these social policy paradigms, it uses human rights as a perspective to explore and discuss how the select paradigms either impl...

This chapter offers a comprehensive analysis of recent patterns in health politics and policymaking in Turkey by focusing on nine dimensions of healthcare and public health. These dimensions range from physician politics, the politics of international policy expertise, business politics, the politics of medical humanitarianism, and patient politics...

This article offers a critical examination of the 2006 Turkish mental healthcare reform aimed at deinstitutionalisation and introduction of a community-based approach. Combined with Turkey’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the rhetoric of the reform signified a step towards a rights-based approach. Despite...

Examining medical tourism, especially in countries with publicly funded and organised healthcare systems, offers a gateway into an understanding of the changing role of the state in contemporary societies. Drawing on a comprehensive documentary review, this article examines the evolving role of the state in transforming Turkey into a global medical...

Bu rapor İstanbul’da çalışanların COVID-19 salgının ilk döneminden (Mart ortası ile Mayıs ortası arasında) nasıl etkilendiklerini inceleyen, niteliksel yönteme dayalı, keşifsel bir araştırmanın bulgularına dayanıyor. Bu araştırma ile İstanbul’da çalışanların COVID-19 salgınından ve salgın sürecinde alınan önlemlerden nasıl etkilendiklerine ilişkin...

Bu izleme çalışmasını COVID-19 pandemisinde ülkemizde CSÜS hizmetlerinin durumuna ilişkin bir değerlendirme yapma amacıyla gerçekleştirdik. Pandemide CSÜS hizmetlerinin ne tür değişimlere uğradığını isabetli bir biçimde değerlendirebilmek için izleme kapsamında pandeminin hemen öncesinde bu hizmetlerin durumuna ilişkin kapsamlı bir bilgiye sahip ol...

Kamu politikalarına davranışsal yaklaşım son yirmi yılda önem kazandı ve zaman içinde bu yaklaşımın geniş yelpazede politika alanlarıyla ilişkisi kuruldu. Bir yandan bu yaklaşım iktisadî insan varsayımını sarsmaya ve kamu politikalarına girdi sağlayacak kanıt temelinin iyileştirilmesine olanak sağladı. Diğer yandan ise bu yaklaşımın bireyleri hedef...

Politics around sexual health have been polarised in recent years, but the policy implications of this polarisation have not yet been examined in depth. Therefore, this article explores political challenges to a rights-based approach in sexual health policies in Turkey and England. Its focus is on two domains: The prevention and treatment of sexual...

With the launch of the European Union‐funded Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme in 2016, the cash programme emerged as the central action of the humanitarian response for Syrian refugees in Turkey and an instrument of European migration control policies. This paper offers a contextual analysis of the ESSN by examining the modes of interac...

This article examines disability and employment policy in Turkey after the country’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009 through the perspectives of disability non-governmental organisations (disability NGOs) and policy-makers. Drawing on an exploratory qualitative study, the article anal...

This paper explores the key features of the emerging welfare mix for Syrian refugees in Turkey and identifies the modes of interaction between humanitarian assistance programmes, domestic policy responses and the Turkish welfare system. The welfare mix for Syrian refugees is a joint product of humanitarian assistance programmes implemented by inter...

Turkey undertook a series of social policy reforms in the 2000s, including a large-scale transformation in health care, recalibration of its pension system, the introduction of a new industrial relations regime, reconstruction of its labour market, the launch of a wide range of social assistance programs and alterations in social care arrangements....

Social dialogue is a core value and a key objective of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services also recognizes the value and importance of social dialogue in both policy making and implementation in Turkey. Social dialogue has a proven track record in producing sustainable solutions, including...

Perception on Social Dialogue in Turkey: The Viewpoints of General Public, Employees and Relevant Actors

Bu çalışma ile Türkiye’de “Çalışma Hayatında Sosyal Diyaloğun Geliştirilmesi Projesi” kapsamında 2018 yılında gerçekleştirilmiş olan araştırmanın sonuçları sunulmaktadır. Araştırmanın amacı, kamuoyunun, çalışan kesimin ve çalışma hayatındaki sosyal tarafların sosyal diyalog ve sendikalaşma hakkındaki bilgi ve algılarının ölçülmesi, sosyal diyaloğun...

Türkiye’nin sağlık sistemi 2003 yılında uygulanmaya başlanan Sağlıkta Dönüşüm Programı ile köklü bir dönüşüm sürecine girmiştir. Sağlıkta Dönüşüm Programı öncesi ve sonrası Türkiye sağlık sisteminde kamu sağlık harcamalarının seyrini çıkarmak, gerek Türkiye’de sağlık sisteminin dönüşümü üzerine akademik tartışmayı ilerletebilmek, gerekse Türkiye iç...

This chapter analyses the role of the World Bank in Turkey’s healthcare reform in order to understand how and to what extent the global healthcare reform agenda was able to make its way into healthcare policy circles in Turkey. This chapter investigates the historical and ongoing institutional ties between the World Bank and successive Turkish gove...

This chapter investigates the emergence and subsequent role of private healthcare provider organisations during the reform process. The chapter shows how the inclusion of private hospitals into the public health insurance plan led to the emergence of private healthcare provider organisations as a strong actor in healthcare policy. The chapter exami...

This chapter offers answers to the following questions: How can we understand healthcare politics today? What is at stake, and for whom? An overview of the historical foundations of healthcare policy is followed by an exploration of the political nature of the debates surrounding healthcare policies and an introduction to different theoretical take...

This chapter examines the role of the TTB in the reform, analysing the origins and modes of contestation between the TTB and the AK Party government during the reform. The chapter demonstrates TTB’s alternative approach to healthcare policy, presents its criticisms towards a pro-market approach and explores its strategies to oppose the reform.

This chapter examines the main parameters of Health Transformation Programme in Turkey in the broader context of healthcare reforms in emerging market economies. The chapter illustrates similarities and differences between the healthcare reform in Turkey and healthcare reforms in other emerging market economies including Southern European, Latin Am...

This chapter presents the main puzzle that the book addresses: What political dynamics enabled the introduction of the Health Transformation Programme, Turkey’s healthcare reform? What kind of political conflicts did the reform generate? How and to whose benefit have these conflicts been resolved? The chapter situates these questions within a compa...

This chapter describes the historical legacy of the healthcare system upon which Turkey’s healthcare reform was introduced, situating it against the background of Turkish politics. The chapter reviews the main tenets of Turkey’s healthcare system prior the reform, including financing and delivery structures, and locates it within a comparative fram...

This chapter investigates the role of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the healthcare reform in Turkey. The chapter examines how and to what extent the AK Party exerted its influence on the content of the reform, tackled the political conflicts throughout the reform process, made the reform politically possible and benefited politica...

This book explores the transformation in the healthcare system in Turkey since 2003, which has been portrayed as a benchmark for building universal healthcare systems in emerging market economies. Focussing on healthcare politics in an under-researched developing country context, it fills a significant lacuna in existing scholarship. This study ans...

Türkiye’nin mevcut istihdam yapısı, kadınlara yönelik hâkim toplumsal yargılar ve sosyal refah sistemi kadınların özerk haneler kurabilmelerini ya da gerek duyduklarında var olan bağların dışına çıkarak özerk haneler oluşturabilmelerini zorlaştırıyor. Bu çerçevede erken gençliklerini eski adıyla Sosyal Hizmetler ve Çocuk Esirgeme Kurumu (SHÇEK) yur...

This article explores the main characteristics of social and economic policies for young people in Turkey. Inspired by Tom Chevalier’s typology of youth welfare citizenship designed for Western European countries, the article situates Turkey’s youth welfare citizenship model within a comparative perspective and contributes to the extension of Cheva...

This paper explores the discrimination practices encountered by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in education, income, employment and health care in Turkey. Limited quantitative data on LGBT individuals are available in Turkey. This study collected data from 2,875 LGBT individuals through a web-based survey. The findings su...

PANAMA BELGELERİ'NİN GÖSTERDİKLERİ: VERGİLENDİRİLMEYEN SERVET VE DEMOKRASİ AÇIĞI - Uluslararası Araştırmacı Gazeteciler Konsorsiyumu (ICIJ) tarafından kamuoyuna sızdırılan Panama Belgeleri, giderek birbirleriyle kesişen iki grup haline gelmekte olan süper zenginlerin ve siyasetçilerin vergi kaçırmak amacıyla servetlerini offshore vergi cennetlerin...

The purpose of this article is to explore experiences of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) individuals in three domains of social policies: employment, housing and health care — domains in which LGBT individuals are not openly recognized as equal citizens and anti-discrimination legislation is absent in Turkey. Drawing...

In May 2013, a small group of protesters made camp in Istanbul's Taksim Square, protesting the privatisation of what had long been a vibrant public space. When the police responded to the demonstration with brutality, the protests exploded in size and force, quickly becoming a massive statement of opposition to the Turkish regime. This book assembl...

Türkiye’de gençlerin siyasi katılımına ilişkin Türkiye temsili veri toplama olanağı bulduk. Bu veriler ülkemizde 18-24 yaş grubundaki gençlerin siyasetle ilişkisine yönelik çok sayıda ipucu sunma kapasitesine sahip. Saha çalışmasının Mayıs 2013 tarihinde gerçekleşmiş olması nedeniyle bu araştırmanın bulguları, araştırmanın gerçekleşme tarihinin ard...

Makale LGBTİ (lezbiyen, gey, biseksüel ve trans) bireylerin, çoğunlukla cinsel yönelim ve cinsiyet kimliği temelli ayrımcılık nedeniyle, toplumun çoğunluğundan yüksek oranda karşılaştıkları sağlık risklerini İngilizce alan yazın üzerinden betimlemektedir. Makalede şu alanlara değinilmektedir: LGBTİ bireylerin karşı karşıya olduğu stres faktörleri i...

Çalışmada ruh sağlığı politikaları sosyal politikaların bir parçası olarak değerlendirilmekte ve insan hakları yaklaşımına paralel olarak ruhsal sorunlar yaşayan bireylerin ne tür ruh sağlığı hizmetlerine ihtiyaç duyduklarına, bu hizmetlere eşit yurttaşlık temelinde nasıl ulaşabileceklerine dair değerlendirmeler içermektedir. Yapılan değerlendirmel...

Approaching disability as an administrative category that entitles its holders to particular rights and privileges in the context of capitalist welfare state, this book investigates the contemporary reforms in the domain of social policies targeting disabled people in Turkey while situating them within the history of the category of disability in t...

Welfare regime in Turkey is reminiscent of Southern European counterparts (namely Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal) especially in its corporatist formal social security system lacking formal social safety nets for those outside the formal labour market. In this context, social assistance mechanisms in Turkey have evolved within the last two decade...