Remaking “Small Business” in Turkey: Critical Assessment of Small Business Politics Under the AKP Rule

Abstract

ABSTRACT The capital accumulation in Turkey was notably bolstered by the substantial involvement of small-scale trade and manufacturing activities yet significant changes in the realm of small business politics have occurred since the 1980s, culminating in the restructuring of small enterprises as a viable business model through a series of socio-political and economic shifts. As for the 2000s, this period has witnessed a heightened emphasis on entrepreneurial rhetoric where sectoral inequalities have affected the model of small businesses through a range of institutional-legal policies and financial adjustments compatible with the consumption-led growth model during the AKP era. While the policies aligned with the demands of global trade have indeed created a favorable environment for capital accumulation, but introduced a range of new competition dynamics and complexities among the sectors and have forged new alliances within the small businesses, alongside giving rise to emerging conflicts.