Business-Politics Ties in the Rise of Right-Wing Populism: Turkish Case

• In Event: The Roots of Populism in Global Perspective

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of small and medium economic enterprises (SMEO) in the rise of right-wing authoritarian regimes and subsequent symbiotic relations between the two. We argue that SMEO’s have played a major role in supporting the right-wing populist parties in countries where business dependency on the state is high. Previously excluded from the patronage ties to the state and in demand of favorable policies from the state, SMEOs largely supported right-wing parties’ ascendancy to power. In part, this support was based on the expectation that they would benefit from the government-allocated incentives, tax breaks and other incentives to SMEOs. Additionally, we argue, the ideological similarities between SMEOs and right-wing populist parties have enabled the relationship to last longer.

In order to dissect this relationship, we design an original business elite survey in Turkey, targeting high-ranking business leaders of small, medium and large private companies. In addition to the 400 business elite survey responses, we conduct in-depth interviews with 42 business leaders in major business hubs in Turkey (Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, Konya, Gaziantep) and in the capital, Antalya. Our findings suggest that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) helped SMEOs grow over time and that this growth is sensitive to government economic policies. These firms have become accustomed to government incentives, such as tax breaks, assisting social security payments of workers, export incentives and others. Their current competitiveness and recent expansion to markets outside Turkey depend on these government programs. At the same time, business plans for the short and medium run are built on the assumption of continued benefits from the government incentive programs.

The evidence also suggests that this symbiotic relationship persists even under conditions of economic crisis, when SMEOs readily adopt and disseminate the point of view that the crisis can be traced to foreign interests and global geopolitical struggles, absolving the domestic government from responsibility for the onset of the crisis or for diffusing it. Our interviews, conducted during the peak of currency crisis (July-August 2018) confirm this observation. Our business elite surveys suggest that, regardless of industry, firm size, and the firm’s integration in the global supply chain, respondents who are associated with nationalist conservatism and who agree with the idea that Turkey is under economic attack from the West are likely to hold high confidence in the economic policies of the Turkish government.

By focusing on the relationship between SMEOs and the AKP, this manuscript highlights an overlooked dimension of the rise of (populist) right-wing governments. It thus fills a gap left by existing research, which mostly focuses on the rise of such parties through social policies or nationalist and anti-elite discourses, catalyzed by rising inequality that increases uncertainties in the social and economic life of ordinary people. In this respect, this project outlines the political economy of right-wing populist parties in developing countries and calls for further studies on business-party relations.

Authors

• Ekrem Karakoc, SUNY, Binghamton University

• Tatiana Vashchilko, University of Calgary