Paradigm Shift in the Turkish Rural Studies

Abstract

From the early days of Turkish sociology, applied studies in the rural area have been made, and great attention has been paid to studies in this field. The firstterm studies have come to the fore after the First World War as a part of attempts to rescue Turkey, and have been influenced by political developments. Studies in rural sociology have been affected by political practices like statism, protectionism, liberalization, national development, the opening of global markets, local/regional development since the founding of the Republic. In recent period, Turkey steps forward as to be taken into the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union within the framework of the European Union harmonization package. In this context, rural development studies are carried out by social scientists in recent years. In our study, we will focus on rural studies within the framework of changing issues in the Turkish sociology from the beginning up to present.