Public Budgets as Expressions of Political Culture and Collective Imagination

Year 2025, Volume: 36 Issue: 138, 493 - 516, 22.09.2025

Metehan Cömert

https://doi.org/10.52836/sayistay.1725431

Abstract

This article begins with a suspicion: the presumed neutrality of public budgets
is a well-founded illusion. What is the definition of public budgeting, and what is at
stake when we reduce it to a technical or administrative routine? This study makes
a theoretical intervention into the dominant technocratic approaches by imagining
public budgets as culturally embedded and politically contested practices. Drawing on
Aaron Wildavsky’s writings, I argue that the post-political vision of budgeting –which
frames fiscal decisions as apolitical matters of expertise– obscures the ideological
underpinnings of public budgets. Against this ‘rational’ logic, I propose a politicized
understanding of public budgeting that calls for a radical break from conventional,
depoliticized perspectives. The conclusion outlines emancipatory possibilities that
could transform budgets from tools of control into instruments of collective selfdetermination and democratic reimagination.

Keywords

budget , public budget , politics , culture , political culture.

Politik Kültür ve Kolektif Tahayyülün Dışavurumu Olarak Kamu Bütçeleri

Abstract

Bu makalede, kamu bütçelerine atfedilen ‘tarafsızlık’ iddiasının aslında özenle
inşa edilmiş bir yanılsama olduğu yönünde bir şüpheden hareket edilmektedir. “Kamu
bütçesi nedir?” sorusu ile birlikte, bütçelerin salt teknik ya da idari bir rutin olarak
tanımlanmasının bu süreçlerin ideolojik, kültürel ve siyasal boyutlarını nasıl görünmez
kıldığı sorgulanmaktadır. Çalışmada, egemen teknokratik yaklaşımlara kuramsal
müdahalelerde bulunularak, bütçeleme süreçlerinin kültürel olarak şekillendiği ve
siyasal mücadelelerle iç içe geçtiği savunulmaktadır. Bu çerçevede, Aaron Wildavsky’nin
metinlerinden hareketle, bütçe kararlarını apolitik birer uzmanlık meselesi olarak sunan
post-politik tahayyülün, kamu bütçelerinin ideolojik boyutlarını görünmez kıldığı öne
sürülmektedir. Tarafsızlık iddiasıyla meşrulaştırılan bu ‘rasyonel’ bütçeleme anlayışına
karşı, çalışmada bütçeyi siyasallaştıran bir perspektif önerilmekte ve yerleşik teknokratik
söylemlere karşı teorik düzlemde itirazlar geliştirilmektedir. Sonuç bölümünde ise,
bütçelerin birer toplumsal kontrol aracından kolektif katılım ve demokratik tahayyül
imkânlarını barındıran özgürleştirici araçlara dönüştürülebileceği yönündeki olasılıklar
ana hatlarıyla ortaya konmaktadır..

Keywords

Bütçe , Devlet Bütçesi , Siyaset , Kültür , Politik Kültür

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışmada kullanılan tüm veriler ve analizler akademik etik kurallarına uygun şekilde elde edilmiş ve yorumlanmıştır. Çalışma süresince intihal, tahrifat veya uydurma gibi etik ihlallerden kaçınılmıştır. Kullanılan tüm kaynaklara bilimsel atıf kuralları doğrultusunda yer verilmiştir.

Supporting Institution

Yok.

Thanks

Yok.

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