Revisiting neoliberalism and new developmentalism: lessons from Turkey and Argentina

Abstract

This article contributes to ongoing efforts to clarify and differentiate between neoliberal and new developmentalist strategies pursued in the early twenty-first century by shifting the focus of analysis away from the ‘degree’ to the ‘form’ of state activism. Relying on a case-based strategy of enquiry, it compares the development strategies pursued in Argentina and Turkey in the aftermath of the devastating economic crises that erupted in both in 2001. It argues that while both neoliberal and new developmentalist strategies rely on state interventionism, they differ in the role they assign to the state (1) in distributing the social costs linked to the processes of capital accumulation and wealth creation, and (2) in incorporating labouring classes into structures of governance.