International Studies Association 54th Annual Convention, California, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, 3 - 06 Nisan 2013
Healthcare is one of the areas of extensive international diffusion. As part of the transformation of welfare systems, healthcare policies have been subject to similar pressures worldwide, and a considerable level of uniformity has been observed in these policies. Such diffusion has also been effective in the recent transformation of the healthcare system in Turkey. The restructuring of healthcare systems in accordance with market reforms has also been subject to international resistance, with transnational social movements emerging in the process. This paper aims to analyze the effects of international diffusion on the transformation of the Turkish healthcare system in both dimensions: the diffusion of neoliberal reforms, and the transnational opposition to them. In the context of resistance, this study focuses on the extent of transnational connections and influences on the opposition to health reform in Turkey, including the professional organizations, trade unions, and the Turkey branch of People's Health Movement. In this way, the study provides a comparison of the two contradictory dimension of international diffusion with respect to their effects on the health sector reform in Turkey.