AKP's National EV Project: Only an Election Promise?
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
AKP’s national EV project: only an election promise? Turkey’s history with national technology development and AKP’s 2023 vision Fuat Kirici Master‘s Thesis in Middle Eastern and North African Studies Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages – MES4590 (30 credits) UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2017 1 2 Fuat Kirici 2017 AKP’s national EV project: only an election promise? Turkey’s history with national technology development and AKP’s 2023 vision http://www.duo.uio.no Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo 3 Abstract What happens when nationalism is the drive-force behind technology development in a country? Development of technology in a modern society is usually perceived as physical developments achieved through scientific research, without any affects on society or the culture of a nation. However, it seems this is not the case for Turkey. Since its foundation two major attempts have been made to develop and produce "national technology," but ending in disappointment, the aircraft factories opened in the 1930s and the Revolution car project in 1960. These technology initiatives that later was discarded by the politicians seems to have formed an understanding on how technology development is understood in Turkey. And this understanding seems to have had an important role for how the AKP has promoted its technology initiatives to the people. AKP has constantly based its politics in an utopian future that they call the 2023 goals or "The New Turkey." By promoting technology projects in the light of the past failures from the mentioned technology initiatives and the utopian future they are argue that Turkey will regain its "lost" glory. One of the initiatives in order to achieve this has been their national EV project. The project was first announced in 2011, but has often been "hot" at election times, something that has caused discussion of it being a tool for AKP to gain popular support, namely populism. This study discusses the implications of nationalist rhetoric on how technology development is perceived in Turkey, through the country's history on technology development and AKP's national EV project. Through the national EV project I discuss how nationalist rhetoric becomes and impetus for technology development in Turkey. I argue that technology development has significant influence on people, but also something leading to it being a tool to be used by politicians to mobilize popular support. 4 Acknowledgments After two hard but pleasant years at this master's degree, I finally submit my thesis. I feel that this master study on Middle East Studies has really enriched me as a person, and widened my understanding of actual events. I almost gave up on my way to finish this thesis, but in the end I managed to finish it and it is a big relief to finally be done. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the help support of persons dear to me. I wish to first of all direct a special thanks to my supervisor, Brynjar Lia, for an incredibly rewarding cooperation when I was writing my Master's thesis. This study would not have been the same without your feedback and guidance. I hope we can continue with the exciting discussions on EVs and renewable technology in the Middle East. Big thanks to both friends and family for their support through this process. Especially my family's moral support has been very valuable through this difficult time. You pushed me, but also encouraged me to finish my thesis. 5 Abstract ............................................................................................................................ 4 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. 5 Abbreviations: .................................................................................................................. 8 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 10 1.2 Research question ............................................................................................................... 11 2. Theoretical framework ................................................................................................ 12 2.1 Technological nationalism .................................................................................................. 12 3. Methodology-working with sources ............................................................................. 15 3.1 Challenges on working with sources .................................................................................. 16 4. History of technological development and the national car ......................................... 17 4.1 From producer, to consumer: Turkey´s history with high-tech development .................... 17 4.2 The environment in Turkey before the national car project .............................................. 20 4.3 Revolution cars ................................................................................................................... 21 4.3.2 Why was the project discarded, even though the cars were produced? ............................... 23 5. The new national car project during the AKP period ................................................. 25 5.1 AKP .................................................................................................................................... 25 5.1.2 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ........................................................................................................ 26 5.2 R&D developments and activities, and the Turkish society´s automobile culture ............. 27 5.3 We shall have our own car: AKP´s national car project, 2011-2014 .................................. 28 5.4 From fossil cars to EVs, 2014 - present .............................................................................. 29 5.4.1 Creating a brand or producing the EV? ............................................................................... 31 5.5 The public and opposition´s view on the national EV project ............................................ 33 5.5.2 The disappointment from previous technology projects ...................................................... 34 5.5.3 Would the national EV be bought? Technical difficulties and, economic patriotism ...... 35 5.5.3 Possible policies and incentives: .......................................................................................... 37 5.5.4 Economic patriotism ............................................................................................................ 37 5.5.4 Is the national EV project an example of populism? ........................................................... 39 5.5.5 Private sector on the national EV, the “babayigit” .............................................................. 40 5.6 The environmental and economical factors of an EV for Turkey ...................................... 40 5.6.1 Turkey´s problem with air pollution .................................................................................... 40 5.6.3 Turkey´s price for oil ........................................................................................................... 41 5.7 When technology becomes much more: Technological nationalism and its three functions ................................................................................................................................................. 41 5.7.1 Technology as unifying factor in a politically fragmented society ...................................... 42 5.8 The 2023 vision and “new Turkey”: The utopian future ................................................... 45 5.8.1 Technological projects for 2023 vision: Technological independency ................................ 46 6. Consequences on the use of nationalist rhetoric .......................................................... 47 6.1 Difficulties of producing a national EV .............................................................................. 48 6.2 When ideology forms the research on science and technology ........................................... 49 6.3 Populism? ........................................................................................................................... 50 6.4 An anachronistic understanding of technology development? ........................................... 53 6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 54 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 57 Indicators: ................................................................................................................................ 57 Sources: .................................................................................................................................... 57 Attachments ............................................................................................................................. 66 7 Abbreviations: * I have primarily translated the statements of the politicians, as it didn’t exist any official translation. CHP: Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi) 8 Economic patriotism: New academic field and many definitions, but in this thesis it is used as a term to explain a type of “financial protectionism” and people’s economic “intervention” for the country. MHP: The Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi)