View article

Etatism** was the official economic policy in Repubiican Turkey in the 1930-1950 period. After the ineffective attempts at development through economic liberalism seemed to fail during the previous decade, and the full effects of the Great Depression set in, Turkish leaders started searching for new methods and policies. A major change of course in economic policy was first hinted at by Prime Minister İsmet İnönü in a speech delivered on 30 th August, 1930 at Sivas on the occasion of the inauguration of the Sivas-Erzurum railrood. In this speech Primier İnönü introduced and discussed the term'etatism'and praised its' virtues'.(Interview with İsmet İnönü, February 26, 1970) This,'announcement'led to heated debates in the Turkish National Assembly, between the deputies of the recently established opposition Free Party and the ruling Republican Peoples' Party (RPP)(Boratav, 1962; Weiker, 1973). The debates were continued between the factions of the RPP after the short-lived Free Party (August-November 1930) dissolved itself, thus ending a second unsuccessful attempt at two-party politics. Therefore, the politics of the so-called'etatist'decade of 1930-1939 was dominated by the RPP as the single party.