Research Article

Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights

Volume: 10 Number: 3 September 27, 2026
TR EN

Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights

Abstract

This article examines the structural effects of the digitalization of public services on social rights within the framework of social policy theory, proposing the concept of "digital citizenship prerequisite" to conceptualize this process. The central argument is that the transfer of public services to digital platforms silently erodes the universality claim of the welfare state (not through legal means but in practice), producing a tacit re-commodification process by conditioning access on digital capacity, without directly privatizing decommodified services. As internet connectivity, smart devices, and digital literacy become de facto prerequisites for exercising social rights, the groups least equipped with digital capacity (those with low incomes, limited education, older age, or rural residence) face structural exclusion from services designed to protect them from market dependence. The article constructs its theoretical framework around Marshall's theory of social citizenship, O'Connor and Gough's class-based welfare state analyses, and Esping-Andersen's decommodification typology. The analytical originality of the concept is demonstrated through systematic differentiation from the digital divide, digital stratification, and conditionality literatures. Four operational criteria are proposed for empirical identification of the prerequisite, alongside institutional design principles to address the mechanisms through which tacit re-commodification operates. The Turkish welfare context illustrates how digitalization interacts with a structurally limited decommodification capacity.

Keywords

References

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  7. Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Princeton University Press: Princeton.
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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Labor Economics and Industrial Relations

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

September 27, 2026

Submission Date

March 25, 2026

Acceptance Date

June 30, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 3

APA
Ertuğrul Yılmazer, I. U. (2026). Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights. Politik Ekonomik Kuram, 10(3), 932-949. https://doi.org/10.30586/pek.1915838
AMA
1.Ertuğrul Yılmazer IU. Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights. Politik Ekonomik Kuram. 2026;10(3):932-949. doi:10.30586/pek.1915838
Chicago
Ertuğrul Yılmazer, Işın Ulaş. 2026. “Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights”. Politik Ekonomik Kuram 10 (3): 932-49. https://doi.org/10.30586/pek.1915838.
EndNote
Ertuğrul Yılmazer IU (September 1, 2026) Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights. Politik Ekonomik Kuram 10 3 932–949.
IEEE
[1]I. U. Ertuğrul Yılmazer, “Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights”, Politik Ekonomik Kuram, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 932–949, Sept. 2026, doi: 10.30586/pek.1915838.
ISNAD
Ertuğrul Yılmazer, Işın Ulaş. “Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights”. Politik Ekonomik Kuram 10/3 (September 1, 2026): 932-949. https://doi.org/10.30586/pek.1915838.
JAMA
1.Ertuğrul Yılmazer IU. Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights. Politik Ekonomik Kuram. 2026;10:932–949.
MLA
Ertuğrul Yılmazer, Işın Ulaş. “Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights”. Politik Ekonomik Kuram, vol. 10, no. 3, Sept. 2026, pp. 932-49, doi:10.30586/pek.1915838.
Vancouver
1.Işın Ulaş Ertuğrul Yılmazer. Tacit Conditionality: The Digital Citizenship Prerequisite and the Transformation of Social Rights. Politik Ekonomik Kuram. 2026 Sep. 1;10(3):932-49. doi:10.30586/pek.1915838

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