The Politics of Market Relations in a Nutshell.

In 2000, with the Agricultural Reform Implementation Project (ARIP) initiated by the World Bank in Turkey, the agricultural market entered a liberalization process. However, the ARIP policies were not implemented as envisaged. By means of a case study approach, this paper analyses the reasons for the failure of the ARIP policies in the hazelnut market. The technical reforms introduced by international institutions disregard local lives, as well as the impact of these reforms on the local people. The legislative changes, including the controversies and crises, have met strong resistance at the local level. In light of the local configurations of power and exchange relations, the locality creates the conflict and controversy surrounding the liberalization policies. This study examines the process of liberalization, focusing on the hazelnut market characteristics, the politics of market relations, policy-making, and pricing between 2001 and 2009 in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]