https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6319-8315
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ABSTRACT
This study explores the slow progress of liberalization of real estate internationalization (REI) in Turkey. Drawing on insights from cultural political economy (CPE), it builds on a qualitative analysis of parliamentary deliberations and argues that real estate acquisition by foreigners in Turkey was highly contentious because of the struggle between competing imaginaries on liberalization, with the neoliberal-transformative imaginaries of the ANAP, the AKP, and their affiliates in the tourism and construction sectors on one side and the national-defensive imaginaries of opposition parties and the bureaucratic elite on the other. By forming a coalition with the Constitutional Court, opposition parties were successful in preventing the adoption of neoliberal-transformative imaginaries for almost thirty years. This policy area could be liberalized only after the 2010 referendum, which allowed the government to restructure the composition of the Court, leading to executive aggrandizement.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Osman Savaşkan and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Büdenbender and Golubchikov, “Geopolitics of real estate,” 75.
2 OECD, Forty Years’ of Experience.
3 Madden and Marcuse, In Defense of Housing, 12.
4 Genç, “Turkey’s Bordering Processes.”
5 Invest in Turkey, “New Turkish Citizenship Rules Encourage Investment,” http://www.invest.gov.tr/en-US/infocenter/news/Pages/new-turkish-citizenship-rules-encourage-foreign-investment.aspx.
6 Buhari-Gülmez, Europeanization.
7 Uzun, Celik Simsek, and Yildirim, “Procedure of Real Estate Acquisition.”
8 Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy.
9 OECD, Forty Years’ of Experience.
10 Kan, “The (Geo)politics of Land”; Ley, “Global China”; Rogers, Geopolitics of Real Estate.
11 Rogers et al., “Politics of Foreign Investment.”
12 Tesser, “East-Central Europe’s.”
13 Rogers, Geopolitics of Real Estate.
14 Rogers et al., “Politics of Foreign Investment.”
15 Tesser, “East-Central Europe’s,” 218.
16 Büdenbender and Golubchikov, “Geopolitics of Real Estate,” 76.
17 Rogers and Koh, “The Globalisation of Real Estate,” and Kan, “The (Geo)politics of Land.”
18 Mirjam Büdenbender and Oleg Golubchikov, “The Geopolitics of Real Estate: How Russia Learned the Political Value of Property,” available at https://theconversation.com/the-geopolitics-of-real-estate-how-russia-learned-the-political-value-of-property-55793 (accessed 04.02.2020).
19 Tesser, “East-Central Europe’s,” 214.
20 Tesser, “East-Central Europe’s”; Rogers and Dufty-Jones,“Australian Housing”; and Ley, “Global China,” 18.
21 Tesser, “East-Central Europe’s.”
22 Ibid.
23 European Commission, 2002 Regular Report on Turkey’s Progress Towards Accession, Brussels, 2002.
24 Village Law 442, 1924.
25 Law 1110 on Military Forbidden Zones, 1927.
26 Law 1062 on Retaliatory Measures against the Properties of the Subjects of States, within the borders of which Turkish Subjects have Properties, 1927.
27 Land Registry Law (2644), 1934. Articles 35 and 36 were about the acquisition of immovable property by foreigners. Article 35 was about the principle of reciprocity, while Article 36 brought limitations for the location and size of acquisition.
28 Öniş, “Turgut Özal.”
29 Öniş, “Power, Interests and Coalitions,” 715.
30 Öniş, “Contesting.”
31 Law 6302 on Amendments to Land Registry and Cadaster Laws, 2012.
32 2/7/2018 tarihli ve 698 sayılı KHK’nin 9uncu maddesi.
33 Öniş, “Power, Interests and Coalitions,” and Ercan and Öniş, “Turkish Privatization.”
34 Agartan, “Beyond Politics of Privatization,” 4–6.
35 Giang and Pheng, “Role of Construction,” 118–20.
36 Ibid.
37 Balaban, “İnşaat sektörü,” 24–30.
38 The involvement of the state in the sector was not limited to these; two public institutions, Toplu Konut İdaresi Başkanlığı (Mass Housing Development Administration, TOKİ) and Toplu Konut Fonu (Mass Housing Fund), which would avail the government in regulating the sector and raising funds for housing projects, were also established in this period.
39 Balaban, “İnşaat sektörü,” 24–30.
40 Yeşilbağ, “Hegemonyanın harci,” 612.
41 Balaban, “İnşaat sektörü,” 24–30, and Gülhan, “Devlet müteahhitlerinden.”
42 Yeşilbağ, “Hegemonyanın harci.”
43 Ibid., 612.
44 Buğra and Savaşkan, “Politics and Class,” 52.
45 Ibid.
46 Buğra and Savaşkan, Türkiye’de yeni kapitalizm; Yeşilbağ, “Hegemonyanın Harci”; and The World Bank, Infrastructure Finance, Featured Rankings, 1990 to 2019.
47 Deutsche Welle (DW), “İstanbul’da yabancı komşu açılımı,” January 20, 2012; Dünya Gazetesi, “İnşaat sektörü, yabancılara konut satışı iznini bekliyor,” December 19, 2011; Yapı Haber, “2010’da Yabancılara Gayrimenkul Satışı Yüzde 40 Arttı,” April 5, 2011; Hürriyet, “23 GYO 10 milyar doları yakaladı, büyümeyi ‘mütekabiliyette’ gördü,” October 17, 2011; and Hürriyet, “Taahhüt ediyorum, sadece ben 2 milyar dolar getireceğim,” May 4, 2012.
48 Türkiye Müteahhitler Birliği, İnşaat sektörü analizi, and BETAM, Research Note 251.
49 Yeşilbağ, “Hegemonyanın harci.”
50 Yeşilbağ, “Hegemonyanın harci,” and Al Monitor, “Turkey’s ‘megaprojects’ off to disappointing start,”May 29, 2017.
51 Dünya Gazetesi, “Yabancılara mülk satışında ‘İspanya modelinin’ Türkiye’de de hayata geçirilmesine dönük protokol, Maliye Bakanlığı ile Toplu Konut İdaresi Başkanlığı (TOKİ) arasında imzalandı,” March 18, 2008.
52 DW, “İstanbul’da yabancı komşu açılımı,” January 20 2012; Dünya Gazetesi, “İnşaat sektörü, yabancılara konut satışı iznini bekliyor,” December 19, 2011; Emlak Haber, “Yabancılar mütekabiliyet yasası ile alıma geçti,” March 11, .2013; and Dünya Gazetesi, “Tapuyu alan yabancıya anında oturma izni,” September 23, 2016.
53 The answer of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to the question of MP Ali Öz, Accessed February 21, 2020. https://www2.tbmm.gov.tr/d24/7/7-23367c.pdf.
54 258,472 immovable properties were sold between 2012 and 2019, 235,411 of which were residences and 34,057 pieces of land. Tapu ve Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü, Türkiye’den İstatistikler, 2020, Accessed February 02, 2020. http://www.yourkeyturkey.gov.tr/statistics.
55 Jessop, “Cultural Political Economy,” 338, and Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy, 3.
56 Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy, 148.
57 Van Heur, “Beyond Regulation,” 434.
58 Jessop, “Cultural Political Economy,” 344.
59 Levy and Spicer, “Contested İmaginaries,” 662.
60 Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy.
61 Mayblin,“Imagining Asylum,” 7.
62 Van Heur, “Beyond Regulation,” 431.
63 Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy, 148.
64 Jessop, “Cultural Political Economy,” 338
65 Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy, 162.
66 Van Heur, “Beyond Regulation,” 434.
67 Ibid.
68 Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy, 162.
69 Ibid., 402.
70 Jessop and Sum, “Putting the ‘Amsterdam School’.”
71 Staricco, “Putting Culture in Its Place?”
72 Van Heur, “Beyond Regulation.”
73 Jessop,“Knowledge-Based Economy,” 151.
74 For party programs: Accessed June 16, 2020. https://acikerisim.tbmm.gov.tr/xmlui/discover?filtertype=subject&filter_relational_operator=equals&filter=Siyasi+Partilerin+Program+ve+Tüzükleri.
75 Özal and Erdoğan avoided giving statements on REI. They explained their views on the issue very rarely. See Tercüman, March 20, 1985, and Yeniçağ, “Babalar gibi sattılar,” July 17, 2007.
76 Jessop,“Knowledge-Based Economy,” 153.
77 Turkish media covered REI widely, referring to both its positive and negative implications. For positive news: Hürriyet, “Yabancıların Gelişiyle Yaşam Kalitemiz Arttı,” January 21, 2005; Milliyet, “Gayrimenkul sektöründe mütekabiliyet bekleyişi,” August 3, 2012; and Hürriyet, “Yalçıntaş: Toprağımızı değil, konutumuzu satıyoruz,” April 25, 2007. For negative news, see Yeniçağ, “Babalar gibi sattılar,” July 17, 2007; Cumhuriyet, “AKP iktidarında yabancılar sahilleri satın aldı,” August 29, 2010; Yeniçağ, “AKP, vatan toprağını satışta … ” 2008; and Evrensel, “Ülke toprakları yabancılara satılıyor,” December 14, 2012.
78 Saldaña, The Coding Manual.
79 İbrahim Fevzi Yaman, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 4, p. 86, May 29, 1984.
80 Ayhan Uysal, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 627, April 17, 1986.
81 Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 107, pp. 128-149, December 28, 2005.
82 Bayram Ali Bayramoğlu, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 800, June 11, 2008.
83 Eska and Ceylan Construction Companies are examples. Gülhan, “Devlet müteahhitlerinden.”
84 Yeşilbağ, “Hegemonyanın harci”; Gülhan, “Devlet müteahhitlerinden.”
85 Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 24, p. 198, July 3, 2008.
86 Yapı Haber, “2010’da Yabancılara Gayrimenkul Satışı Yüzde 40 Arttı,” April 5, 2011; Hürriyet, “23 GYO 10 milyar doları yakaladı, büyümeyi ‘mütekabiliyette’ gördü,” October 17, 2011; Hürriyet, “Taahhüt ediyorum, sadece ben 2 milyar dolar getireceğim,” May 4, 2012; and Sabah, “Yasa çıksın, yarın 10 bin konut satılır,” September 20, 2011.
87 GYODER, Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.gyoder.org.tr/hakkimizda.
88 GYODER, Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.gyoder.org.tr/genel-bultenler/yabanciya-konut-satisi-ve-vatandaslik-alma-sureci-bilgilendirme-toplantisi-basin-bulteni.
89 Mevlüt Akgün, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 258, May 2, 2012.
90 Yılmaz Altuğ, MDP, TGNA Records, Vol. 4, p. 468, June 21, 1984.
91 Ayhan Fırat, SHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 4, p. 646, April 17, 1986.
92 Erdal Karademir, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 107, p. 143, December 28, 2005.
93 Oktay Vural, MHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 260, May 2, .2012.
94 Ali İhsan Köktürk, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 253, May 2, .2012.
95 Faruk Bal, MHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 791, June 11, 2008.
96 Rahmi Güner, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 927, June 12, 2008.
97 Behiç Çelik, MHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 889, June 12, 2008.
98 Neal, National Trauma, 5; Yörük, “Politik psişe olarak.”
99 Yılmaz Altuğ, MDP, TGNA Records, Vol. 4, p. 470, June 21, 1984.
100 “The syndrome refers to those individuals, groups or institutions in Turkey who interpret all public interactions – domestic and foreign – through a framework of fear and anxiety over the possible annihilation, abandonment or betrayal of the Turkish state by the West.” Göçek, Transformation of Turkey, 99.
101 Halil İbrahim Karal, SHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 28, p. 15, April 22, 1986, and Ali İhsan Köktürk, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 781, June 11, 2008.
102 Buhari-Gülmez, Europeanization, 156–7.
103 The mainstream newspapers did not address the issue in their headlines, but they supported the governments’ arguments in their economy sections. The nationalist and leftist newspapers, on the other hand, opposed liberalization but did not discuss it widely. See footnote 78.
104 Göl, “Imagining the Turkish Nation.”
105 Nefes, “Understanding Anti-Semitic Rhetoric,” 575.
106 Halil İbrahim Karal, SHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 28, p. 15, April 22, 1986; Yusuf Halaçoğlu, MHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 285, May 2, 2012.
107 Birgen Keleş, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 107, p. 118, December 28, 2005.
108 Özdoğan, “Turkish Nationalism Reconsidered,” 54–57.
109 M. Seyfi Oktay, SHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 28, p. 52, April 22, 1986.
110 Ayhan Uysal, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 625, April 17, 1986.
111 İlhan Aşkın, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 638, April 17, 1986.
112 Öniş, “Justice and Development Party,” 4–5.
113 Erdoğan Bayraktar, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 588, March 5, 2012; Osman Demir, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 892, June 12, 2008.
114 Erdoğan Bayraktar, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 264, May 2, 2012.
115 Sudi Türel, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 6, pp. 80–81, September 4, 1984; Mevlüt Akgün, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 259, May 2, 2012.
116 İlhan Aşkın, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 638, April 17, 1986.
117 İlhan Aşkın, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 637, April 17, 1986; Ayhan Uysal, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 627, April 17, 1986.
118 Ayhan Uysal, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 627, April 17, 1986.
119 İlhan Aşkın, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 27, p. 638, April 17, 1986; Erdoğan Bayraktar, AKP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, p. 258, May 2, 2012.
120 Ersoy and Üstüner, “‘Liberal Intellectuals”; Hazır, “Narratives.”
121 Heper, “Conclusion,” 140.
122 Heper and Keyman, “Double-Faced State,” 266; Heper, “Justice and Development Party,” 222.
123 Belge, “Friends of the Court,” 656–7.
124 Hasan Celal Güzel, ANAP, TGNA Records, Vol. 36, p. 515, February 17, 1987.
125 Constitutional Court Decisions 1984/14; 1985/7; 1986/18; 1986/24; 2003/70; 2005/14; 2006/35; 2007/48; 2008/79; 2011/74.
126 Birgen Keleş, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 20, pp. 327–328, July 3, 2003; Orhan Sür, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 107, p. 159, December 28, .2005.
127 Reşit Ülker, HP, TGNA Records, Vol. 4, p. 83, May 29, 1984; Erdal İnönü, SHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 36, p. 494, February 17, 1987; and İmren Aykut, MDP, TGNA Records, Vol. 4, p. 84, May 29, 1984.
128 Atila Emek, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 913, June 12, 2008.
129 M. Seyfi Oktay, SHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 28, p. 52, April 22, 1986, and Halil Ünlütepe, CHP, TGNA Records, Vol. 22, p. 925, June 12, 2008.
130 Özbudun, “Secularism in Islamic Countries,” 143.
131 Kalaycıoğlı, “Kulturkampf,” 5.
132 Özbudun, “AKP at the Crossroads,” 156.
133 Saatçioğlu, “De-Europeanisation in Turkey,” 136.
134 Esen and Gumuscu, “Rising Competitive Authoritarianism in Turkey,” 5.
135 The decision can be found at: Accessed June 12, 2020. http://www.kararlaryeni.anayasa.gov.tr/Karar/Content/83a3bded-721f-4619-b599-433c91b7f454?excludeGerekce=True&wordsOnly=False.
136 Sum and Jessop, Towards a Cultural Political Economy, 477.
137 Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, Investment Office, September 22, 018.
138 Milliyet, “Yurt dışı teşkilatı yabancıya konut satışına nefes olacak,” April 13, .2020.
139 Jessop, “Cultural Political Economy.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
H. Deniz Genç
H. Deniz Genç is associate professor of international relations at Istanbul Medipol University. Her resarch has appeared in various journals including International Migration, Turkish Studies, Migration Letters, and Journal of Development and Migration. Her current research is funded by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and it focuses on migrants' access to healthcare services in Turkey.
Günce Sabah Eryılmaz
Günce Sabah Eryılmaz is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Galatasaray University and a research assistant at Bahcesehir University. Her research interests are mainly in the fields of political ideologies, youth studies, and sociology of emotions.