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TÜSIAD's identity
TÜSİAD, established
in 1971, is an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to the sound development
of a competitive market economy and a democratic society in Turkey. Because of the
size and quality of its voluntary membership, and its outspoken policies, TÜSİAD
has become the voice of big business. Thus, it has established itself as one of the
country's key economic organisations. The Association's financial independence ensures
its political independence. Empowered by such independence, TÜSİAD promotes
universal business ethics, market competition and rapid industrialisation through
technological innovation and international economic integration. Consequently, TÜSİAD
represents the leading edge of free enterprise in Turkish society, and has assumed
the responsibility of monitoring the direction of economic and social progress in
the country. In support of these aims, TÜSİAD communicates its views and recommendations
directly to the parliament, the government, to foreign states, international organisations
and to the public at large through the mass media.
TÜSİAD was built
on the principle that a social accord between the private sector, wage-earners and
the government in the quest for national development was compatible with the goal
of making Turkish business fully competitive in the global economy. At the time of
TÜSİAD's birth, Turkish society was suffering from political and social instability,
hence its project found resonance in important sectors of the public.
TÜSİAD-government relationship
TÜSİAD's relationship
with successive governments is the story of 25 controversial years. The lack of any
institutional relations between government and business compelled TÜSİAD to
rely frequently on the mass media to act as a pressure group.
Two theoretical approaches
are usually offered to explain the role of professional business organisations in
the political *arena. The first is the liberal-pluralist approach where business
organisations are excluded from the political decision-making process and can only
exert pressure on the government through lobbying activities; the second is the corporatist
approach whereby business and labor collaborate with the government before macro
decisions are made.
Since Turkey has inherited
the strong centralised state tradition of the Ottoman Empire , the political elites
have never considered business to be an equal partner in the whole policy-making
process. Consequently, most of the major legislation is initiated by the political
elite without seeking prior consultation with business on the form and content of
legislation. On the contrary, rather than being responsive to their demands, the
Turkish government corporatized most business organisations in order to control them.
The lack of institutional channels to the legislature, coupled with the quasi-absence
of a politically influential civil society, explain the continuing importance of
personal relations and an extensive use of the mass media.
TÜSİAD's new mission
The Second Article
of the TÜSİAD Statute, stating the objectives of the Association, was modified
during the 26th General Assembly. The new mission reassesses the role of TÜSİAD
from an historical perspective.
The dominance of the
state in the economy was ideologically challenged by TÜSİAD from its foundation
until the 1980s. For ten years, TÜSİAD has advocated the implementation of a
private sector market economy to improve economic efficiency and foster economic
development. By the mid-1980s, successsive governments adopted the principles of
a market economy. Financial markets and the foreign exchange regime were liberalised
under important structural reforms. Nevertheless, the institutional and legal arrangements
of the market economy have yet to be worked out, especially in view of Customs Union
with Europe and the need to further close the structural gaps with the European Union.
Consequently, the new
mission statement of the Association heavily underlines the leadership role that
the business community should assume to help speed up the economic and social progress
of Turkey and to consolidate democratic rule for Turkish society.
A period of transition for TÜSİAD
In 1987, TÜSİAD
became a member of the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe
which speaks for the European Business and Industry. The year 1987 also punctuated
the beginning of a new era of young TÜSİAD presidents. This is the second generation
gradually succeeding the founding fathers of the Association. Looking from an historical
perspective, the post-1987 period reflects a fresh approach characterised by a new
and radical criticism of the governments in place, and the introduction of European
principles to the macro management criteria in the quest for economic and social
stability.
In spite of the important
structural reforms implemented in the country during the 1980s, such as the opening
up of the economy to foreign trade and the liberalisation of the financial system,
successive governments pursued unstable macro economic management policies which
have produced excessive public deficits and a high rate of inflation. TÜSİAD's
criticism of economic policies was severe and uncompromising, clearly at odds with
the formerly more prudent tradition of discourse.
This oppositional stance
from TÜSİAD was vindicated by the the severity of the 1994 economic crisis and
the macro economic imbalances that the country suffered from in 1995 while completing
the Customs Union with the European Union. TÜSİAD's criticism was supported
by the general public, and warnings from academic circles.
TÜSİAD is a unique
Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), representing the Turkish private sector from
an entirely independent political standpoint. The complexity of Turkey's geopolitical
situation led recently to the fragmentation of the political scene following the
December 24th general elections last year. In an appeal to the public TÜSİAD
argued that the parliamentary arithmetic offered the opportunity for a compromise
between center right political forces. Only in this way is it possible to create
an atmosphere of national reconciliation to solve the urgent problems of the economy,
to carry out economic and social reforms, to harmonise policies and regulations for
Customs Union and to reach a solution to the problem in the South-East.
The restructuring of
TÜSİAD over the last years is characterised by a conscious effort to reshape
the Association from being purely a "think-tank" to being a sophisticated Confederation
of Industry and Services. This way it will have a positive influence on the legislature
and political process in Turkey through an institutionalised government-business
relationship. |
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