Sosyal Demokrasinin Yükselişi ve Düşüşü: Neoliberal Dönemde Sosyal Demokrasi Mümkün Mü?

Year 2021, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 175 - 198, 31.03.2021

Yavuz Yıldırım

https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.802887

Abstract

Fransız Devrimi’nden bu yana güçlenen halk egemenliği ve cumhuriyet kavramlarının demokrasiyle birleşmesi, modern siyasal düşüncenin genel hattı olmuştur. Monarşilerden parlamenter demokrasiye geçişte sosyal demokrasi belirleyici rol üstlenmiştir. 20. yüzyıl başında Marksizm ile yolları ayrılan ve 1945 sonrası dönemde refah devleti kavramıyla güçlenen bu düşünce, değişen kapitalizme uyum sağlama adına yeni sosyal demokrasi ve Üçüncü Yol kavramları ile güç kaybetmiştir. Çalışmada refah devleti kavramı iktisadi analizlerle değil, çalışmanın bağlamı olan sosyal demokrasinin sosyal haklar bağlamında öne çıkardığı siyasal hat olarak ele alınmıştır. Çalışmanın hedefi, Avrupa siyasetinde yeni dönemde sosyal demokrasinin alabileceği rolü analiz etmektir. Bu doğrultuda düşüncenin tarihsel süreçte geçirdiği kritik dönemler ve ülke örnekleri üzerinden gelişimi incelenecektir. Bu açıdan çalışmanın argümanı, sosyal demokrasinin yeniden yükselişe geçmesi için tarihsel köklerindeki gibi temsil edilmeyen geniş halk kitleleriyle temas kurması gerekliliğidir. Gücünü kaybeden sosyal demokrasi, parlamenter demokrasinin yaşadığı temsil krizinden fazlasıyla etkilenmiştir. Sosyal demokrat partiler, sosyal talepleri temsil eden ya da bu taleplerin yöneldiği hat olmaktan 1980’ler sonu ve 1990’larla beraber büyük oranda çıkmıştır. 2000’lere bakıldığında, Avrupa’da sosyal demokrasinin hem kavram olarak etkisini yitirdiği hem de parti gücü olarak gerilediği açıkça görülebilir. Bu gerileme, ABD tarzı siyasetin yükselmesiyle siyasal gücü elinde bulunduramama, tartışmaları yönlendirme kapasitesini yitirme yönünde kendini göstermektedir. Sosyal demokrasinin hataları, tek neden olmasa da, Avrupa’nın siyasal krizine ve devamında hızla yükselen aşırı sağa zemin hazırlamıştır. Bu süreç aynı zamanda demokratik siyasetin neoliberal doğrular bağlamında şekillendiği bir tarihsel seyre tanıklık etmiştir. Bu çerçevede Almanya, Fransa, İngiltere ve İsveç örnekleri üzerinden kavramın tarihsel gelişimini anlattıktan sonra, günümüzde yine Avrupa sathında yaşadığı düşüşe çeşitli ülke örnekleri üzerinden değinilecektir.

Keywords

Demokrasi Teorisi, Refah Devleti, Avrupa Siyaseti, Alman Sosyal Demokrat Partisi, İngiliz İşçi Partisi

The Rise and Fall of Social Democracy: Is Social Democracy Possible in the Neoliberal Age?

Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyze the role that social democracy can take in European politics today. To do so, the development process of the thought will be examined through a historical perspective in terms of the critical periods and country examples. Social democracy had a determining role in the transition from monarchies to parliamentary democracy. At the beginning of the 20th century, social democracy separated ways with socialism and was strengthened by the concept of welfare state in the post-1945 period. However, with the adaptation to capitalism and changing economic order, it lost its impacts with the new social democracy and the Third Way concepts. In this framework, the argument of the study is that for the social democracy to become effective again, it should reconnect to social movements as the voice of the large masses which are not represented. Actually, social democracy is heavily influenced by the representation crisis of parliamentary democracy. Social democratic parties have largely ceased to represent social demands or is not in the line how to these demands are directed after the 1990s. As for the 2000s, it can be clearly seen that social democracy in Europe has regressed both in terms of concept and party power. This decline shows itself in the inability to hold political power and the capacity to direct debates with the rise of US-style politics. The failure of social democracy established a ground for the political crisis of Europe and especially rising extreme right. This process also witnessed a historical course in which democratic politics was shaped in the context of neoliberal truth. In this context, after explaining the historical development of the concept through the cases of Germany, France, England and Sweden, the social democratic decline in Europe will be discussed through examples of various countries.

Keywords

Democracy Theory, Welfare State, European Politics, SPD, Labor Party

References

• Arndt, C. (2013). The Electoral Consequences of Third Way Welfare State Reforms: Social Democracy's Transformation and Its Political Costs, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
• Barbieri, P. (2017). “The Death and Life Of Social Democracy”, Foreign Affairs, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2017-04-25/death-and-life-social-democracy, April 25, 2017, Erişim: 01.02.2020.
• Beech, M. (2009). “No New Vision: The Gradual Death of British Social Democracy?”. The Political Quarterly, 80(4), 526-532. Doi: 10.1111/j.1467-923X.2009.02049.x.
• Berger, S. (2013). Social Democracy and the Working Class: In Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Germany. London: Routledge.
• Berman, S. (1998). The Social Democratic Moment, New York: Harvard University Press.
• Berman, S. (2006). The Primacy of Politics: Social Democracy And The Making Of Europe's Twentieth Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Blair, T., & Schröder, G. (1999). “Europe: Thirdy Way/Die Neue Mitte”, https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/suedafrika/02828.pdf, Erişim: 10.02.2020
• Bremer, B. (2019). “The Political Economy Of The SPD Reconsidered: Evidence From The Great Recession”, German Politics, Doi: 10.1080/09644008.2018.1555817.
• Bröning, M. (2016). “The Rise of Populism in Europe Can The Center Hold?”, Foreign Affairs, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2016-06-03/rise-populism-europe, June 3, 2016, Erişim: 15.02.2020.
• Callaghan, J. (1989). “The Left, s. The Ideology of The Labour Party”, in L. Tivey & A. Wright (Ed.), Party Ideology In Britain, Kent: Routledge, 23-48.
• Callaghan, J. (2002). “Social Democracy And Globalisation: The Limits Of Social Democracy in Historical Perspective”, The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 4(3), 429-451.
• Callaghan, J., & Tunney, S. (2001). “The End of Social Democracy?”, Politics, 21(1), 63-72. Doi, s. 10.1111/1467-9256.00137.
• Castells, M., Bouin, O., Caraça, J., Cardoso, G., Thompson, J., & Wieviorka, M. (Eds.). (2018). Europe's Crises, London: John Wiley & Sons.
• Castles, F. G., Leibfried, Lewis, J., Obinger, H., & Pierson, C. (2010). “Introduction”, in F. G. Castles, vd. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, Oxford: OUP, 1-18.
• Crouch, C. (2013). “Class Politics and the Social Investment Welfare State”, in Keating, M. (Ed.), Crisis Of Social Democracy in Europe, London: Edinburgh University Press.
• Esping-Andersen, G. (1996), “After Golden-Age? Welfare State Dilemmas in Global Society”, in G. Esping-Andersen (Ed.), Welfare States in Transition: National Adaptations in Global Economies, London: Sage, 1-31.
• Fitzpatrick, T. (2004). After the New Social Democracy: Social Welfare for the 21st Century, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
• Haug, F. & The Dialektikfrauen (2012). “The Politics of Die Linke – A Politics of Time”, Socialism and Democracy, 26(1): 143-155. Doi: 10.1080/08854300.2011.645663.
• Garnett, M. (2013). Principles and Politics in Contemporary Britain. London: Andrews UK Limited.
• Giddens, A. (2008). The Third Way: The Renewal Of Social Democracy. London: Polity Press.
• Greve, B. (Ed.). (2013). The Routledge Handbook of the Welfare State. London: Routledge.
• Gutmann, A. (Ed.) (1988). Democracy and the Welfare State. New York: Princeton University Press.
• Harvey, D. (2007). A Brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Iversen, T. (2010). “Democracy and Capitalism”, in F. G. Castles, vd. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, Oxford: OUP. 183-195.
• İçke, M., Engin, C., & Kızılkaya, E. (2012). “Refah Devletinden Rekabet Devletine Dönüşüm Tartışmaları”, İÜ Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Dergisi, 46: 1-24.
• Jackson, B. (2013). “Social Democracy”, in M. Freeden, L. T. Sargent, & M. Stears (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies, Oxford: OUP.
• Jones, O. (2019). “Brexit and Self-inflicted Errors Buried Labour in This Election”, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/18/brexit-labour-election-corbyn-left, Dec, 18, 2019, Erişim: 10.02.2020.
• Kamalak, İ. (2013). “Sosyal Demokrasi’ye Giriş”, Sosyal Demokrasi Notları, İstanbul: Kalkedon Yayıncılık.
• Keating M. ve McCrone D. (2013a). “The Crisis of Social Democracy”, in M. Keating (Ed.), Crisis of Social Democracy in Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 1-13.
• Keating M. ve McCrone D. (2013b). “Conclusion”, in M . Keating (Ed.), Crisis of Social Democracy in Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 228-232.
• Keman, H. (2017). Social Democracy: A Comparative Account of the Left-Wing Party Family. London: Routledge.
• King, D. ve Ross, F. (2010). “Critics and Beyond”, in F. G. Castles, vd. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, Oxford: OUP, 45-60.
• Kitschelt, H. (1994). The Transformation of European Social Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Kitschelt, H. (1999). “European Social Democracy Between Political Economy And Electoral Competition”, in H. Kitschelt, et. al (Ed.), Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 317-345.
• Ladrech, R. (2000). Social Democracy and the Challenge of European Union. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Lavelle, A. (2016). The Death of Social Democracy: Political Consequences in the 21st Century. London: Routledge.
• Lowen, M. (2013). “How Greece’s Once-mighty Pasok Party Fell From Grace”, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-22025714, April 5, 2013, Erişim: 15.02.2020
• Mennen, K. (2019). “Nazis, Violence and the State: Social Democratic Repertoire Discussions in Germany and the Netherlands Around 1930”, in J. Augesteijn vd. (Eds.), Historical Perspectives on Democracies and their Adversaries, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 45-68.
• Merkel, W. (1991). “After the Golden Age: Is Social Democracy Doomed to Decline?”, In Institut de Ciencies Politiques i Socials (Ed.), Socialist Parties in Europe, Barcelona: Institut d'Edicions de la Diputacio de Barcelona, 187-222.
• Merkel, W. (2004). “Embedded and Defective Democracies”, Democratization, 11(5): 33-58. Doi: 10.1080/13510340412331304598.
• Merkel, W., Petring, A., Henkes, C., & Egle, C. (2008). Social Democracy in Power: The Capacity to Reform. London: Routledge.
• Meyer, T., ve Hinchman, L. P. (2007). The Theory of Social Democracy, New York: Polity Press.
• Moschonas, G. (2002). In the Name of Social Democracy: The Great Transformation, 1945 to the Present. London: Verso.
• Nachtwey, O. (2013). “Market Social Democracy: The Transformation of the SPD Up to 2007”, German Politics, 22(3): 235-252, Doi:10.1080/09644008.2013.788153.
• Pasquino, G. (2016). “Renzi: The Government, the Party, the Future of Italian Politics”, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 21(3): 389-398, Doi: 10.1080/1354571X.2016.1169883.
• Powell, M. (2013). “Third Way”, in B. Greve (Ed.). The Routledge Handbook of the Welfare State, London: Routledge, 202-212.
• Przeworski, A. (1986). Capitalism and Social Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Przeworski, A. (2009). “Constraints and Choices Electoral Participation in Historical Perspective”, Comparative Political Studies, 42(1): 4-30. Doi, s. 10.1177/0010414008324991.
• Romano, F. (2007). Clinton and Blair: The Political Economy of the Third Way. London: Routledge.
• Rori, L. (2020). “The 2019 Greek Parliamentary Elections: Retour A La Normale”, West European Politics, 43(4): 1023-1037.
• Ross, G. (2013). “Social Democrats Today: Tribe, Extended Family Or Club?”, in J. M. De Waele, F. Escalona, M. Vieira (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Social Democracy in the European Union, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 593-604.
• Rothstein, B. ve Steinmo, S. (2013). “Social Democracy in Crisis? What Crisis?”, in M. Keating (Ed.), Crisis of Social Democracy in Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 87-106.
• Ryner, M. (2007). “US Power and the Crisis of Social Democracy In Europe’s Second Project of Integration”, Capital & Class, 31(3): 7-26.
• Ventura, S. (2018). “The Italian Democratic Party from Merger to Personalism”, South European Society and Politics, 23(1): 181-196. Doi: 10.1080/13608746.2018.1440483.
• Sorrenson, W. (2019). “Post-Pasokification–Labour’s Modern Tragedy”, The Social Review, www.thesocialreview.co.uk/2019/12/22/post-pasokification-labours-modern-tragedy/, Erişim: 25.02.2020.
• Stewart, H. (2020). “Crushed by Brexit: How Labour Lost the Election”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jan/21/crushed-by-brexit-how-labour-lost-the-election, January, 21, 2020, Erişim: 01.03.2020.
• Taylor-Gooby, P. (2004). “New Risks and Social Change”, in P. Taylor-Gooby (ed), New Risks, New Welfare: The Transformation Of The European Welfare State, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1-28.
• Thompson, P. (2004). “Agenda 2010”, Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 12(1): 9-24, Doi: 10.1080/0965156042000230098.
• Thorpe, A. (2015). A History of the British Labour Party. London: Palgrave.
• Topak, O. (2012). Refah Devleti ve Kapitalizm, İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
• Türkbay, R. (2015). “İngiliz İşçi Partisi’nin İdeolojik Dönüşümü”, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 4(1): 135-156.