Description
How does the West-China rivalry shape the transformation of development paradigms in emerging powers? This paper offers an answer to this question through an examination of the lending offered by multilateral development banks (MDBs) as well as foreign direct investment (FDI) in renewable energy infrastructure in Turkey. The Turkish government has had multiple foreign policy crises with the United States and the European Union in the past decade. It has also built closer economic and security ties with Russia and China. Several scholars argued that Ankara has been experimenting with authoritarian state capitalism. Finally, Turkey produces more than 50% of its electricity from renewable energy sources making it the eleventh biggest in the world. Against this backdrop, this paper’s tentative argument is that emerging powers see the growing rivalry between the West and China as an opportunity to diversify their economic options and attain greater autonomy. The Turkish government has strived to attract investments from both its traditional Western partners as well as China. The argument is supported by a self-compiled dataset of foreign direct investment and MDB lending in renewable energy projects in Turkey in the 21st century. In terms of FDI, European companies were the first to invest in the Turkish renewables market, while China has increased its share in the past decade. In terms of development finance, traditional Western donors such as the EBRD and the EIB are recently joined by the China-led AIIB in providing lending for renewables. The Turkish case demonstrates that emerging powers will benefit from the hybridity in development paradigms and selectively engage with the investors and the MDBs. The findings have implications for the contestation and convergence in the paradigms of development for other countries in an age of geopolitical and geoeconomic competition.
