Two decades of Central banking: institutional change in Türkiye’s political economy

Abstract

This thesis argues that two seemingly conflicting theories of institutional change, the ones on critical junctures and the ones on gradual institutional change, are not mutually exclusive. Based on a qualitative research design and a single-country study, this thesis examines the two different periods of institutional change that the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye has gone through, first in 2001 and second after the 2010s. It compares and contrasts these two periods for comparative insights. Then, it makes a historical analysis of the latter change under four dimensions: principles, objectives, procedures, and instruments. I argue that these four dimensions have undergone four modes of change that are drift, conversion, layering, and displacement. It also compares the effects of endogenous constraints and exogenous pressures. The thesis ends with comparative insights that Türkiye is not a unique case.