Local champions and change of governments: a longitudinal analysis of firms’ political ties in Gaziantep, Turkey

Abstract

Abstract This article examines business–politics ties during a shift from multi-party politics to competitive-authoritarian rule in Turkey. We conducted a longitudinal investigation of the political ties and performance ranking of top manufacturing firms in a provincial industrial centre, Gaziantep. The analysis demonstrates that major power transitions in centre politics elicited variegated local responses and intra-group contestations. The leading business elites sustained political capital through a multi-scalar diversification of political ties. Using an agent, network, and institutions framework, we highlight the political dynamics behind sub-national growth trajectories, and contribute to scholarship on urban party politics and elite localism in economic geography.