Defying the odds: a political economy analysis of Turkey’s defence industry within the systemic vulnerability framework

Turkey is widely regarded as a case of relative failure in terms of the developmental impact of its state-led initiatives, yet its defence industry yielded surprising political, military, and economic gains. What explains Turkey’s relative success in the defence industry? This study argues that a confluence of global, regional, international, and domestic factors enabled and motivated Turkey’s policymakers to genuinely make progress in the defence industry. The analysis enriches systemic vulnerability framework by providing a deeper understanding of how it functions for a non-hegemonic power to leverage niche strengths in asserting agency within an increasingly multipolar yet uncertain global order.