POLICYMAKERS’ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PEASANT SOCIETY: MYTH OR REALITY?

Ilter Turan

Review of Policy Research, 1984, vol. 4, issue 1, 99-109

Abstract: Referring to studies of peasant society and behavior and utilizing information from field research conducted in Turkey, this article examines assumptions national administrators make about rural areas and peasants in the formulation and the implementation of rural development programs. It is observed that national administrators tend to: 1) think of villages in terms of stereotypes which may bear little relationship to those which are targets of policies; 2) treat villages as undifferentiated clusters whereas many programs may produce different consequences for different segments of village society; 3) formulate programs without substantive familiarity w i t h the field; 4) be concerned with only those consequences of policies in which they are interested, whereas others may in fact determine the chances of success or failure of projects; 5) explain failure of peasants to behave in expected directions as being irrational, whereas the lattersl behavior may serve their purposes quite well. It is argued that the modification of these assumptions, which necessitate greater familiarity with peasant thinking, behavior, and the characteristics of village society on the part of administrators, would serve to improve the chance of success of rural development programs.

Date: 1984
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