The flow of progress: The Kayseri Sümerbank Textile Factory and the politics of water in 1930s statist Turkey

This thesis examines the economic and environmental history of Turkey during the early Republican period (1923-1950), with a focus on the years 1929-1935, marked by the implementation of statist policies and the First Five-Year Industrial Plan (FFYIP). The FFYIP represented a significant shift in Turkey's economic policy, focusing on state-led industrialization to address the challenges of the period. The thesis explores the debates on statism from the highest political elite to the small town of Bünyan, highlighting the impact of state factories on local resources and social dynamics. The case of the Sümerbank Kayseri Textile Factory illustrates the positive effects of state factories on regional development, but also the complexities in the use and sharing of local natural resources, as seen in Bünyan. The thesis studies social actors relevant to the statism debates and Kayseri Sümerbank Textile Factory in a hierarchical structure.