The Origins of Turkey’s “Heterodox” Transition to Neoliberalism: The Özal Decade and Beyond

Authors

  • Şahan Savaş Karataşlı Johns Hopkins University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2015.8

Abstract

This article examines the origins of Turkey’s neoliberal transformation in world-historical perspective by highlighting interactions between the crisis of U.S. hegemony, social and political movements in Turkey, and Turgut Özal's political career as the architect of the country’s neoliberal reforms. I argue that Turkey’s neoliberal transition during the “Özal Decade (1980-1989/1993)” was not primarily related to resolving the profitability crisis of the existing national bourgeoisie (Istanbul-based industrial bourgeoisie) or reconstituting class power in favor of this segment of capital. The Turkish neoliberal project was more concerned with establishing a stable political-economic environment that would help Turkey's political society reassert its hegemony over civil society and allow for the penetration of the changing interests of the world-hegemonic power in the region. Because of these social and geopolitical concerns, Turkey's neoliberal reforms (1) contributed to the development of an alternative/rival segment of national bourgeoisie which had the potential to co-opt radicalized Islamic movements, (2) aimed at creating a large middle class society (instead of shrinking it), (3) utilized populist attempts at redistribution to lower segments of society to co-opt the grievances and anger of the masses. As a paradoxical consequence of these dynamics, income inequality decreased during Turkey’s transition to neoliberalism. Neoliberal reforms in the post-Özal period – with similar “heterodox” features – resurrected and further deepened during “the Erdo?an decade” (2002-present) although Erdo?an did not share a single aspect of Özal’s professional career as a neoliberal technocrat.

References

References

Abramowitz, M. 2013. “Remembering Turgut Özal: Some Personal Recollections.” Insight Turkey 15(2):37-46.

Acar, F. 2002. “Turgut Özal: Pious Agent of Liberal Transformation.” Pp 163-180 in Political Leaders and Democracy in Turkey edited by M. Heper and S. Sayari. New York: Lexington Books.

Ahmad, F. 1993. The Making of Modern Turkey. London and New York: Routledge.

Anderson, P. 2011. The New Old World. London: Verso.

Aral, B. 2001. “Dispensing with Tradition? Turkish Politics and International Society during the Ozal Decade, 1983-1993.” Middle Eastern Studies 37(1):72-88.

Arrighi, G. 1994. The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power and The Origins of Our Times. London: Verso.

Arrighi, G., Hopkins, T. K., and Wallerstein, I. 1989. Antisystemic Movements. New York: Verso.

Ataman, M. 2002. “Özal Leadership and Restructuring of Turkish Ethnic Policy in the 1980s.” Middle Eastern Studies 38(4):123-142.

Babb, S. 2001. Managing Mexico: Economists From Nationalism To Neoliberalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press

Birand, M. A., and Yalçın, S. 2001. The Özal: Bir Davanın Öyküsü. İstanbul: Doğan Yayınları.

Boratav, K. 2006. Türkiye İktisat Tarihi 1908-2005. Ankara: İmge.

Boratav, K. 2007. The Class content of the September 12 Regime in Turkey. Retrieved May 1, 2015 (http://www.sendika.org/2007/09/the-class-content-of-the-september-12-regime-in-turkey-korkut-boratav)

Brenner, N.; Peck, J. and Theodore N. 2010. “Variegated Neoliberalization: Geographies, Modalities and Pathways.” Global Networks 10(2):182-222

Brett, E. A. 1985. The War Economy Since the War: The Politics of Uneven Development. London:MacMillan.

Buğra, A. 1994. State and Business in Modern Turkey: A Comparative Study. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Bulutay, T.; Timur, S.; Ersel, H. 1971. Türkiye’de Gelir Dağılımı, 1968. Ankara: Sevinç Matbaası

Çandar, C. 2013. “Turgut Ozal Twenty Years After: The Men and the Politician.” Insight Turkey 15(2):27-36.

Cemal, H. 1989. Özal Hikayesi. Ankara: Bilgi Yayinevi.

Chicago Tribune. 1979. “Turkey: in Iran's Footsteps?” Chicago Tribune, April 26:B2.

Çölaşan, E. 1989. Turgut Nereden Koşuyor? İstanbul: Tekin Yayınevi.

Doğan, K. 1994. Turgut Özal Belgeseli. Ankara: Türk Haberler Ajansı Yayınları.

Dumenil, G., and Levy, D. 2004. Capital Resurgent: Roots of the Neoliberal Revolution. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Dumenil, G., and Levy, D. 2011. The Crisis of Neoliberalism. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Dündar, C. 2012. “Acıyıp bir şans daha vermeyelim.” Milliyet, May 06.

Ersel, H., Kuyas, A., Oktay, A., and Tuncay, M. 2002. Cumhuriyet Ansiklopedisi 1923-2000: 1941-1960. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları.

Ersel, H., Kuyas, A., Oktay, A., and Tuncay, M. 2002b. Cumhuriyet Ansiklopedisi 1923-2000: 1981-2000. Istanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayınları.

Fields, G. 1989. “Changes in Poverty and Inequality in Developing Countries.” World Bank Research Observer 4:167-189.

Günçavdı, Ö., and Bayar, A. A. 2011. “AKP'nin Ekonomi Politikalarının Gelir Eşitsizliği Üzerine Etkisi” BETAM Araştırma Notu 11/122:1-4.

Hale, W. 2013. Turkish Foreign Policy, 1774-2000. New York: Routledge.

Hanieh, A. 2013. Lineages of Revolt: Issues of Contemporary Capitalism in the Middle East. Chicago: Haymarket Books.

Harvey, D. 2005a. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Harvey, D. 2005b. “Neoliberalism and the Restoration of Class Power.” Pp7-53 in Spaces of Neoliberalization: Towards a Theory of Uneven Geographical Development edited by In D. Harvey. München: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Heper, M. 2013. “Islam, Conservatism, and Democracy in Turkey: Comparing Turgut Ozal and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.” Insight Turkey F15(2):141-156.

Ilkin, S. 1994. “Privatization of State Economic Enterprises.” Pp 77-86 in The Politics in the Third Turkish Republic edited by M. Heper, and A. Evin. Boulder: Westview Press.

Jain, S. 1975. The Size Distribution of Income: A Compilation of Data. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Kazgan, G. 2002. Tanzimat'tan 21. Yüzyıla Turkiye Ekonomisi: Birinci Küreselleşmeden İkinci Küreselleşmeye. İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.

Keyder, C. 1987. State and Class in Turkey: A Study in Capitalist Development. Verso: London and New York.

Kolko, G. 1997. Vietnam: Anatomy of a Peace. London: Routledge

Kramer, H. 2000. A Changing Turkey: The Challenge to Europe and the United States. Washington DC:Brooking Institution Press.

Lecaillon, J; Paukert, F; Morrisson, C; Germidis, D. 1984. Income distribution and economic development: an analytical survey. International Labour Office, Geneva.

McMichael, P. 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective. London: Sage.

OECD. 2011. An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities: Main Findings. Washington DC: OECD.

Overbeek, H., and van der Pijl, K. 1993. “Restructuring Capital and Restructuring Hegemony: Neo-liberalism and the Unmaking of the Post-War Order.” Pp 1-27 in Restructuring Hegemony in the Global Political Economy: The Rise of Transnational Neo-Liberalism in the 1980s edited by H. Overbeek. London and New York: Routledge.

Oyan, O., and Aydın, A. R. 1987. İstikrar Programından Fon Ekonomisine. Ankara: Teori Yayınları.

Özal, T. 1994. Turgut Özal'ın Anıları. İstanbul: Gençlik.

Öniş, Z. 2004. “Turgut Özal and His Economic Legacy: Turkish Neo-liberalism in Critical Perspective.” Middle Eastern Studies 40(4):113-134.

Öniş, Z. 1998. State and Market: The Political Economy of Turkey in Comparative Perspective İstanbul: Boğaziçi University Press.

Öniş, Z. 1997. “The Political Economy of Islamic Resurgence in Turkey: The Rise of the Welfare Party in Perspective.” Third World Quarterly 18(4):743-766.

Peck, J. and A. Tickell. 2002. “Neoliberalizing Space.” Antipode 34(3):380–404

Samuelson, R. 1979. “Bankers Talk Turkey, and Turkey's in Trouble.” Los Angeles Times, May 2, 1979:D5.

Silber, J., and Ozmucur, S. 2000. “Decomposition of Income Inequality: Evidence from Turkey.” Retrieved May 1, 2015 (http://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019andcontext=meea)

Silver, B. J., and Slater, E. 1999. “The Social Origins of World Hegemonies.” Pp151-216 in Chaos and Governance in the Modern World System edited by G. Arrighi, and B. J. Silver. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press

SIS. 1987. Household Survey of Income Distribution, Ankara: State Institute of Statistics

SPO. 1973. Income Distribution in Turkey (mimeo). Ankara: State Planning Organization

Steger, M. B., and Roy, R. K. 2010. Neoliberalism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Taşkın, Y. 2012. “The Conservative Populist Misrepresentation of Turgut Ozal: Seeking Legitimacy for the Conservative Elite.” International Journal of Turkish Studies 18(1and2):63-80.

Taşkın, Y. 2013. AKP Devri: Türkiye Siyaseti, İslamcılık, Arap Baharı. İstanbul: Birikim Yayınları

Tugal, C. 2009. Passive Revolution: Absorbing the Islamic Challange to Capitalism. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Tümtürk, Y. 2002. Turgut Özal Belgeseli: En Yakınlarının Dilinden Bir Devrin Anatomisi [Motion Picture].

van der Pijl, K. 1993. “The Sovereignty of Capital Impaired: Social Forces and Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations.” Pp.28-57 in Restructuring Hegemony in the Global Political Economy edited by H. Overbeek. London and New York: Routledge.

Williamson, J., and Haggard, S. 1994. “The political conditions for economic reform.” Pp.527-596 in The Political Economy of Policy Reform edited by J. Williamson. Washington DC: Institute of International Economics

World Bank. 1951. The Economy of Turkey: An Analysis and Recommendations for a Development Program. Washington DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Yavuz, M. H. 2009. Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yavuz, M. H. 2006. “The Role of the New Bourgeoisie in the Transformation of the Turkish Islamic Movements”. Pp 1-22 in The Emergence of a New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Parti edited by M. H. Yavuz. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press.

Yeldan, A. E. 2000. “The Impact of Financial Liberalization and the Rise of Financial Rents on Income Inequality: The Case of Turkey.” UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research Working Papers No.206, .

Yerasimos, S. 2005. Az Gelişmişlik Sürecinde Türkiye -III: 1. Dünya Savaşından 1971'e. İstanbul: Belge Yayınları.

Zürcher, E. J. 2003. Turkey: A Modern History. London: I. B. Tauris.

Downloads

Published

2015-08-31

How to Cite

Karataşlı, Şahan S. (2015). The Origins of Turkey’s “Heterodox” Transition to Neoliberalism: The Özal Decade and Beyond. Journal of World-Systems Research, 21(2), 387–416. https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2015.8

Issue

Section

Special Issue: World-Systems Biographies