The effectiveness of the Southeast Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Project): impact on the socio-economic transformation of the Southeastern region of Turkey

The purpose is to analyze the effectiveness of the implementation of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi – GAP) in the context of its impact on the socio-economic transformation of the Southeastern region of Turkey, to assess the achieved results, to identify key problems and prospects for the further development of the region. The focus is on the effectiveness of GAP as a multi-sectoral instrument of the socio-economic transformation of the region, to consider its main goals and objectives, in particular the development of infrastructure, improving the living standards of the population and stimulating economic growth. The impact of GAP on reducing unemployment, improving conditions for agricultural activities and urbanization processes in the region is analyzed, and the role of irrigation projects and energy initiatives in changing the economic structure of Southeastern Turkey is determined. It is determined that the positive socio-economic effect of the implementation of the GAP project in Southeastern Turkey outweighs the negative. New jobs, industrial clusters have been created, crop production has increased, and the region has become an important producer of electricity. At the same time, the social aspects of the project are not sufficiently developed: unemployment remains high, GDP per capita is not growing, and the infant mortality rate is above the national average. It is indicated that additional challenges include the flooding of monuments due to the construction of dams and difficulties in obtaining compensation. It is proven that, despite a number of problematic issues, GAP is generally a large-scale infrastructure project aimed at developing the region and improving the living standards of its residents. Scientific novelty. The author substantiates that GAP has become not only a means of eliminating the imbalance in the socio-economic development of the South-Eastern region of Turkey, but also a tool for non-violent resolution of problems related to the population of this region. Conclusions. Thus, the GAP Project as a large-scale infrastructure project aimed at the development of the region and improving the lives of the population generally has a positive socio-economic effect for South-Eastern Turkey, but at the same time there are additional challenges associated with the flooding of cultural monuments and difficulties in paying compensation.