The global political economy

During the period when the Turkish economy was being fully integrated into the world economy, the global system was experiencing one of its historic structural transformations when deep-seated movements and shifts of positions were affecting every single economy in the world. This is what soon came to be known as the global shift: a shift in the hegemonic structures of the world economy – a shift away from North America and Western Europe to the emerging economies of the Global South in Asia, Africa and South America. Drawing on comparative analyses, historians and political economists identify patterns and causes of hegemonic power decline, such as decreasing economic and technological resources relative to those of rising powers (Kennedy 1987; Grygiel 2006; Kupchan 2011). These studies inform contemporary theoretical debates on power transition from the powers in the Global North to the powers in the Global South, mainly based on the analyses of the economic rise of China, the growing assertiveness of Russia or the dynamism of India.

The definition of the global shift used in this book is based on Andre Gunder Frank's 1998 thesis in Re-ORIENT: Global Political Economy in the Asian Age, which offers broad analytical tools that have proven their value in anticipating what is now increasingly acknowledged as a primary shift in the global system towards China and India as dominant emerging powers in the world.

I shall first consider whether, and if so how and with what consequences, the global system in this period has been going through a major shift. I shall then look at the role and position of Turkey, as a medium-sized emerging economy, within this period of global shift.