"Strengthening the Family" Policies in Turkey: Managing the Social Question and Armoring Conservative-Neoliberal Populism

Even if protecting the traditional family structure has been a permanent feature of political debates in Turkey, the family has become the target of public policies immediately after the Justice and Development Party came to power. The new pro-family social policy agenda of the party does not simply aim to protect the family as it is officially claimed, but endeavors to transform it in line with neo-conservative principles. This article attempts to discuss the historical and political background of these newly initiated policies by evaluating the intrinsic relation among the legitimization of social power of the state, the management of social question, and this family-centered social policy agenda.