Yesilbag, M (2016) The mortar of hegemony: The political economy of the construction boom in AKP's Turkey. PhD thesis, State University of New York at Binghamton, USA.
Abstract
This dissertation scrutinizes the political economy of the built environment production scene in Turkey under the rule of AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi- Justice and Development Party) between 2002 and 2016. It offers an analytical framework that addresses the extent, the causes and the economic consequences of the construction drive. The indicators of the construction sector demonstrate that the sector has exhibited a visibly higher performance than previous periods and assumed an increasingly pivotal role in domestic economy, which in overall point at the existence of a construction boom. The underlying factors that rendered the boom possible exhibit a convoluted pattern. In this regard, the achievement of macroeconomic stability and deepening financialization engendered an economic climate particularly conducive for a debt-fuelled construction drive. These were complemented by demand side factors in housing markets. Beyond these, however, the construction boom bears the distinct stamp of the systematic interventions of AKP governments. Resting on the trivet of a major commodification wave in previously uncommodified public land, the transformation of TOKİ (the housing administration) into a super institution, and a persistent stream of mega projects, AKP’s strategic choices played an essential role in the making of the construction boom. The investigation of the leading motivations behind this strategy highlights the political requirements of AKP’s novel hegemonic project that represents a peculiar blend of neoliberalism and Islamism. The accumulation patterns in construction, which are marked by the rapid rise of a new generation of firms with organic links to the party, demonstrate that the sector has been functional in consolidating the power of the Islamic capital fraction within the capitalist class. Furthermore, the construction strategy has been abundantly instrumentalized for manufacturing consent from subordinate classes as well. While the symbolic manifestations of the construction drive have served as the key components of an “Islamist-modernization” ideology, its material outcomes have created a widespread clientele base. These findings suggest that AKP’s construction strategy is not merely a reflection of the rising importance of built environment production in contemporary capitalism, but has also been shaped by the political-ideological requirements of the party’s hegemonic project.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Keyder, C |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Turkey; built environment; manufacturing; markets; political economy |
| Index terms: | strategy, investigation, analytical framework, transformation, housing, markets, land, mortars (material), reflection, construction sector, justice, motivation, stream, political economy, dissertation, stability, built environment, Turkey, neoliberalism |
| Subjects: | research dissemination and communication, water management, industry analysis, economic analysis, construction type, business, structural engineering, building materials, data analysis and analytics, economic theory, legal systems, Geography, economic and policy analysis, psychology, management, infrastructure and transport systems, data collection methods, professional development, real estate economics |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Construction Technology, Legal Issues, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Human Resources, Business Strategy, Information Management, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here