The objective of this course is to examine the role of public finance within the context of state-society relations through historical, theoretical, and comparative perspectives. The course aims to equip students with the ability to critically assess how public revenues and expenditures influence social structure, class relations, power dynamics, and the concept of citizenship. Key themes such as the welfare state, neoliberalism, fiscal centralization, and decentralization will be explored to understand the transformative role of public finance in shaping society. By the end of the course, students will be able to approach public finance not merely as a technical domain, but as an ideological and institutional component of the state's relationship with society.

This course aims to examine public finance concepts from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In addition to core components such as public revenues, expenditures, borrowing, budgeting processes, and fiscal policies, the course also explores the interactions between public finance and other disciplines. It aims to strengthen students’ analytical thinking skills in developing methods and policies to enhance the effectiveness of the public economy. Furthermore, public finance practices in Turkey will be discussed in a comparative framework with international examples.