ABSTRACT

Development agencies have joined the Turkish administrative system in the 2000s. They symbolize the purpose of breaking away from the cumbersome, large-scale, and large-staffed institutions of the conventional public administration approach. They are presented as flexible, dynamic, cost-effective structures with high adaptability to new conditions. The personnel regime of these unique structures is exemplary for flexibilization of the public employment relations. It is designed as small, efficient, core technical staff. It is implemented as an alternative to cumbersome and inefficient human resources in classical bureaucratic structures. Excluding the pilot implementation, since 2010, agency staff, according to the findings of the auditing authorities, have not had a smooth working life. This study examines the development agency personnel regime in its historical-social context. First, it searches for the position of the development agencies in the adaptation process of public services to neoliberal conditions. Correspondingly, it examines the relationship between the flexibilization strategy in the public labor relations and the development agency personnel regime. Finally, it discusses the ten years of experience by comparing the audit and activity reports on the development agencies. It reveals that the ideal of breaking with the classical bureaucracy can lead to deregulation in practice