Relational geographies of emerging market finance: The rise of Turkey and the global financial crisis 2007

Abstract

Some European emerging markets appear to be weathering the global financial crisis better than others. Countries such as Turkey continue to enjoy robust economic growth due to ‘strong’ domestic demand, a ‘solid’ financial sector and an elevated geo-political ‘significance’. All these factors contributed to the robust performance of the Istanbul Stock Exchange in 2012. The recent crisis is in this respect ‘special’, since some emerging markets are now re-imagined as ‘safe havens’ in comparison with volatile Western economies, and consequently their financial markets are seen as attractive investment opportunities. However, how can the changing attractiveness of places such as Turkey be explained? In this paper I suggest that the appeal of Turkey and its financial markets is not simply a consequence of Turkey’s domestic dynamics. Reminiscent of recent debates about the links between territorial and relational spaces, I show that Turkey’s emergence as an attractive destination for financial capital is the consequence of the territorial as well as the relational dynamics of global capitalism and the power of financial actors to shape (as well as being shaped by) economic geographies. I explain how Turkey is currently been discursively framed as an alternative destination for portfolio investments through a reassessment of its geo-political and economic assets in the light of the recent financial crisis.