Washington Consensus and Augmented Washington Consensus in Brazil and Turkey

Following the economic crisis of the 1970s, many countries began to implement neoliberal economic policies first under the Washington Consensus Principles in the 1980s and then the Augmented Washington Consensus Principles (AWC) in the mid-1990s. It is argued that Brazil and Turkey have followed different paths in the implementation of these principles. This dissertation aims to analyze the policy differentiations in the implementation of the Washington Consensus and the AWC principles in Brazil and Turkey. This dissertation will draw on the Marxist theory of the state that asserts that the state cannot be conceptualized separately from the economic structure of society. In particular, it will make use of the Open Marxist framework. The main contribution of the Open Marxist framework is that it shows that the neutrality of the capitalist state is only an illusion and the capitalist state exists as a rigidified form of social relations. The capital state depends on the continuation of capital accumulation. Nevertheless, beyond sustaining capital accumulation, the state cannot act as an instrument of capital or function in the best interests of capital. In all class societies, conflicting interests constantly struggle to influence the state and state decisions reflect a particular resolution to conflicting class interests rather than reflecting the national interest. Open Marxist state conceptualization led me to reach certain conclusions. My main argument is that the Washington Consensus and the AWC principles were applied differently in Brazil and Turkey. The main difference is that due to the strength of labor organizations in Brazil these principles were executed in a more labor-friendly manner in this country.