Routledge Women in Turkey: Silent Consensus in the Age of Neoliberalism and Islamic Conservatism (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)

Winner of the 2021 Suraj Mal and Shyama Devi Agarwal Book Prize This book provides a socio-economic examination of the status of women in contemporary Turkey, assessing how policies have combined elements of neoliberalism and Islamic conservatism.Using rich qualitative and quantitative analyses, Women in Turkey analyses the policies concerning women in the areas of employment, education and health and the fundamental transformation of the construction of gender since the early 2000s. Comparing this with the situation pre-2000, the authors argue that the reconstruction of gender is part of the reshaping of the state–society relations, the state–business relationship, and the cultural changes that have taken place across the country over the last two decades. Thus, the book situates the Turkish case within the broader context of international development of neoliberalism while paying close attention to its idiosyncrasies.Adopting a political economy perspective emphasizing the material sources of gender relations, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Middle Eastern politics, political Islam and Gender Studies. Review Winner of the 2021 Suraj Mal and Shyama Devi Agarwal Book PrizeThe Prize Committee found the winning book to be highly original in its treatment of the relationship between neoliberalism, religiously structured patriarchy, and gender in Turkey. The authors trace the evolution of Islamist conservative thought, which had initially stood in contradiction to neoliberal policies and values, but has now evolved to incorporate neoliberal values, with deep negative impacts on education, employment and health inequality by gender. About the Author Gamze Çavdar teaches Comparative Politics and Middle East Politics in the Department of Political Science at Colorado State University, USA. Her research interests include Islamist movements, gender, social policy and the politics of food.Yavuz Yaşar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Denver. His research interests include health economics, social policy, development, macroeconomics and political economy.