Social municipalitiy in Turkey: A case study in Batman Municipality

The aim of the thesis is to research the local social policy practices of Batman Municipality, to determine whether social municipality services are implemented and to determine their problematic aspects in the context of social policies developed by local administrations in order to raise the living standards of various social groups defined as disadvantaged. In this context, with the help of sruveys and in-depth interviews conducted with practitioners and beneficiaries, it was aimed to research the level of satisfaction and the provision of social assistance and services. Within the context of the thesis, the Social Welfare State and its applications, history, development, crises, solutions to these crises will be evaluated in the context of fordist, post-Fordist processes, neo-liberal policies and globalization. The local units and social policies -that have become important with some principles such as localization in administration, civil society activity, participation and governance- will be evualated in the context of social municipalism. Batman Municipality's implementations and long/short term plannings will be evaluated after the rewiev of social policies in Turkey, the legal infrastructure and historical development of social municipality. Surveys were conducted with people living in poor neighborhoods and in-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners. As a result of these interviews, the perception and expectations of the public are presented about the social municipal activities in the local area. In the context of findings, problems and problem areas were identified and solutions were presented.