25 Şubat 2017 Cumartesi

Graham Greene's 'The Quiet American'


Introduction
Henry Graham Greene (1904-1991)[1], better known by his pen name Graham Greene, was an English novelist, journalist and playwright regarded by some as one of the great writers of the 20th century. Through 67 years of writings, Greene wrote 25 novels[2] and became an influential person in the Western world as an author who discusses modern moral and political issues often from the perspective of a British Catholic. He was shortlisted two times, in 1966 and 1967 for the Nobel Literature Prize and never won the award. He also had a reputation for his interest in the espionage-intelligence affairs and his novels reflected the political struggles of the Cold War period. His most famous works include The Confidential AgentThe Quiet AmericanOur Man in HavanaThe Human FactorThird ManBrighton RockThe Power and the GloryThe Heart of the Matter, and The End of the Affair. Interestingly, Greene’s novels and stories were later adapted to the screen and became very successful.[3]

Graham Greene

Biography[4]
Graham Greene was an English novelist, short-story writer, playwright and journalist whose novels dealt with the contemporary moral issues in the context of political settings. Greene is one of the most widely read novelist of the 20th century and an excellent storyteller. In his novels, adventure and suspense were the constant elements and many of his books have been later put turned into very successful films. Greene was a candidate for the Nobel Prize for the Literature two times, but never received the award. Graham Greene was born on October 2, 1904 as the fourth child of Charles Henry and Marion Raymond Greene. He was the son of a father who had a poor academic record, but later he became the headmaster of Berkhamsted School. Charles Greene had a brilliant intellect. Originally he had intended to become a barrister. He later realized he had liking for teaching and he decided to stay at Berkhamsted. Greene was educated at Berkhamsted School and Balliol College, Oxford. He had a natural talent for writing, and during his three years at Balliol, he published more than sixty poems, stories, articles and reviews. Most of those were the one’s which appeared in the student magazine Oxford Outlook and in the weekly Westminster Gazette. In 1926, his conversion to Roman Catholicism led him to explain, “I had to find a religion... to measure my evil against”.[5] However, during his career Greene complained about and hated being called as a “Catholic novelist”. He couldn’t escape this situation because of the critics that focused on his religious belief.

1926 was the year in which Greene moved to London. He worked for the Times of London from 1926 to 1930 and later for The Spectator, where he was a film critic and also a literary editor until 1940. In 1927, he married with Vivien Darrell-Browning. But their marriage did not last long. After the end of this marriage, Greene had several relationships. In the 1950s, he had a short relationship with the Swedish actress Anita Björk, whose ex-husband was also a writer, Stig Dagerman, who had committed suicide a year earlier. Greene worked in a job, during the World War II, which he was later send in an intelligence capacity for the Foreign Office in London directly under Kim Philby, who was a future defector to the Soviet Union. They became good friends and pen pals.[6] Greene has been in West America for the mission he took, but he did not find much excitement in his isolated relocation that he wrote to London and said “This is not a government house, and there is no larder: there is also a plague of house-flies which come from the African bush lavatories round the house”.[7] In the end, Greene returned to Britain in 1942. He met his old friend, Philby, after his return, in the late 1980s in Moscow. After the war, he traveled widely as a free-lance journalist, and lived in Nice, French Riviera, for long periods. With his anti-American comments, Greene gained access to such Communist leaders as Fidel Castro and Ho Chi Minh, but the English writer Evelyn Waugh, who knew Greene well, assured in a letter to his friend that the author is a secret agent on their side. Since Greene had an experience in the British foreign office in the 1940s and lifelong ties with British Secret Intelligence Service agent, his novels were partly based on those experiences.

As an agent and a writer Greene is a link in the long tradition from Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson and Daniel Defoe to the modern day writers John Le Carré, John Dickson Carr, Somerset Maugham, Alec Waugh and Ted Allbeury. Furthermore, most of the Greene’s family members had similar lives and adventures. For instance, his uncle Sir William Graham Greene helped to establish the Naval Intelligence Department and his oldest brother Herbert served as a spy for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the 1930s. Also Graham’s younger sister Elisabeth joined MI6 and recruited his Graham into the regular ranks of the service. Graham Greene published two volumes of autobiography, A Sort of Life (1971) and Ways of Escape (1980). Greene died in Vevey, Switzerland, on April 3, 1991. If we were to discuss Greene in terms of his writing style, it would not be wrong to say that, as a writer Greene was very creative and flexible. He wrote five dramas and screenplays for several films based on his novels. In the 1930s and early 1940s, he wrote over five hundred reviews of books, films, and plays. His novels and plays were brilliant because they were correct in grasping the political realities of the epoch. Since he was a journalist and somehow intellectual, Greene knew about world politics and political struggles between countries. Being British in the 20th century was also an advantage for Greene since United Kingdom was the world’s dominant political power and intellectual center until the 1950s. Greene also knew about intelligence affairs and his friendship to people like Kim Philby helped him a lot in learning the insight world of espionage.

Greene’s Works
Greene’s first published book was Babbling April (1925). It was a collection of poetry. Two novels in the style of Joseph Conrad followed it. Therefore, it can be said that his style was Conradian.[8] Conrad’s work builds up a basic synthesis between a psychological narrative and a political adventure story. However, towards the end of his career he accepts the romantic love story style including a background of political plot. Greene’s religious convictions did not become obviously apparent in his fiction until the Brighton Rock (1938), which depicted a teenage gangster Pinkie with a kind of demonic spirituality. Religious themes were explicit in the novels The Power and The Glory (1940), The Heart of the Matter (1948), a story of a man trapped between the emotional demands of two women, which Greene characterized as “a success in the great vulgar sense of that term” and The End of the Affair (1951), which established Greene’s international status. In the story, depending on his own experiences, Greene described a lover, who is afraid of loving and being loved. These novels were compared with the works of such French Catholic writers as Georges Bernanos and François Mauriac. “At a stroke I found myself regarded as a Catholic author in Britain, Europe and America - the last title to which I had ever aspired” Greene later complained.[9]

In 1953, Greene told Martin Shuttleworth and Simon Raven that the group of these novels were ‘now finished’, and that his next (which would be The Quiet American) would not deal primarily with Catholic themes at allTherefore, it would not be wrong to suggest that Greene with this novel entered into a mature political era. “The Quiet American is a more secular narrative dealing with a crisis of conscience in the political world, Greene by no means abandons Catholicism” (Pendleton, 1996: 110). In his review of The Heart of the Matter, George Orwell attacked Greene’s concept of 'the sanctified sinner': “He appears to share the idea, which has been floating around ever since Baudelaire, that there is something rather distingué in being damned; Hell is a sort of high-class nightclub, entry to which is reserved for Catholics only”.[10]

In brief, Greene’s works are characterized by vivid detail, a variety of settings (Mexico, Africa, Haiti, Vietnam) and a detached objective portrayal of characters under various forms of social, political or psychological stress. In later novels, a dimension of moral doubt and conflict is added to the terror and suspense. Graham Greene also combined satire with metaphysics, which could be regarded as the study of the nature of existence.

The Quiet American (2002) trailer

The Quiet American: Summary
After criticizing Graham Greene’s core ideologies on the style of his novels and other works, I would like to continue with the novel The Quiet American.[11] I would also take help from Philip Noyce’s 2002 movie adaptation of the novel.[12] It would not be wrong to say that the Asian setting stimulated Greene’s book The Quiet American (1955), which is about the American involvement in Indochina or Vietnam. Greene’s structure, his simplicity and complexity together and the thematic importance of this novel, helps it to become a classic. The chronologies and commentaries upon the foreign involvement in Indochina/Vietnam are both valuable and they give a very brief summary about the situation, to make it clear to understand.

The story focuses on the murder of Alden Pyle (the American in the title). The storyteller, Thomas Fowler, a tough-minded, opium-smoking journalist, arranges to have Pyle killed by the local rebels. Pyle has stolen Fowler’s girl friend, Phuong, and he is connected to a terrorist act, which was a bomb explosion in a local café. The Quiet American was considered sympathetic to communism and Soviet Union and a play version of the novel was produced in Moscow. The story is built upon three main characters; Alden Pyle, who is an employee in American Embassy, Thomas Fowler, who is the English journalist and Phuong, the Vietnamese mistress of Fowler. Pyle is a quiet American from Boston; he is an idealistic person graduated from Harvard and has a sense of national morality. He has come to Saigon with a duty at the American economic aid during the Vietnamese struggle for liberation against the French colonialists in the 1950s. Fowler’s mistress, Phuong leaves him and goes with Pyle, who can promise her youth and marriage. Fowler starts to irritate with this new rival, who not only becomes a good friend of his, but also saves his life without his will. Fowler discovers a short while after his mistress leaves him for Pyle, that Pyle’s real mission in Saigon is to form a ‘Third Force’, a national democracy, which he believes, being free from Communism and the ruin of colonialism, will succeed in hitting the Vietminh. For this mission, Pyle hires General Thé, who according to Fowler is “a shoddy little bandit with 2000 men and a couple of tame tigers” to direct this force, thinking that he would be the exact person who could do this. As a result, General Thé abuses Pyle’s innocence and his explosives and in return forms a basis for Pyle to be assassinate. After the Saigon bomb in the Place Garnier near the Continental Hotel, which kills innocent people, Fowler decides to corporate with Mr. Heng, a communist trying to get rid of all the war and the General Thé matter in Saigon in order to help them kill Alden Pyle. When Pyle dies, Phuong returns to Fowler as if nothing has ever happened. Fowler accepts this calmness with no objection, since in years he has learned to deal with the oriental sense of pragmatism that Phuong has; a thing that Pyle could not have learned because of his childish attitudes and naivety. After Pyle’s death and Phuong’s return, Helen, Fowler’s wife in Britain agrees to a divorce after a long resistance and so Phuong has her marital security at last. Everything seems to be as it was before Pyle came to Saigon for Fowler; however “… only the heart decays…” because of the guilt he feels deep inside.

Fowler is a character that is lost in his own talent and creation. He has the feeling of insecurity and in order to hide it, he is always acting arrogantly, especially towards Pyle, to whom he feels more insecure than anybody else. He runs away from Britain to Vietnam, in order to get rid of the love confusion he has with his wife, but finds himself in a place of massacre and misery and to avoid the disturbance this would cause he starts smoking opium on a regular basis, although he knows that it gives him serious physical and sexual damage. This indifference makes him a self-possessive, self-destructive person and he somehow manages to close his inner world to all the slaughter around him. “This is the life of the wanderer, the man who has fled his family rather than traveling as a responsible representative of it” (Hill, 1999: 203). While Fowler is such a lost man with all the wisdom he has, the reader is introduced to Pyle, an American with no experience but with a lot of backing. He is like the contrast of Fowler, a very disciplined, responsible and respectful man, lacking the life experience. Pyle is sent as a representative of a community, his father is world known professor, an underwater scientist and we learn about his mother by the Economic Attaché. He is a very good example of the perfect American life, which the British are always having fun of. In fact, in Greene’s book we feel the impact of this despise towards the American people. “Pyle, the callow, quiet, idiotic American; the American girls, silly and myopic; and Bill Granger, the loud, equally stupid, obnoxious American have all been cut out of British cartoons” (Hill, 1999: 203). 

Pyle’s lack of interest in what he has caused makes the reader feel like he is in a kind of opium hell, in which he is surrounded by unlimited foolishness. This dialog makes the reader believe that Alden Pyle is unthinkingly cruel to the innocent people; from this aspect it would not be wrong to claim that in this book Greene is trying to scorn the American foreign policy. Pyle is interested in literature whereas he makes the mistake of believing to the theories of York Harding, who thinks that a third natural power (USA) should be brought in order to solve the problems in Indochina. Pyle also believes in democracy, wants to fight with communism and claims that he knows the needs of Vietnam. He argues that USA will bring a totally new ideology instead of colonialism and he suggests the old European powers are to be blamed for what they have done to their former colonies. In addition, he adopts other people’s beliefs and political views very easily just as in the example of York Harding. Alden Pyle character in the novel is merely someone carried away by “impersonal imperialism”. Alden Pyle’s spiritual emptiness is described in the beginning of the book. Pyle has no sensitivity to other people, to Fowler or to the Vietnamese, or even to Phuong whom he loves. Pyle is bound to Western ideology with hard ties. In other words, he is committed to the ideology of West and never dares to question it, even when he is in danger in a small hut with Fowler he spends the evening discussing the aspects of the ideology with Fowler.

On the other hand, Fowler likes Indochina, which is his real home, and also its people. Thus, he thinks that Vietnam should be independent from the colonial powers. However, he doesn’t want to get involved in politics, especially in the war that he is reporting about. Nevertheless, he has developed his own political idea. Fowler is a straightforward realist, who believes only in what he sees, so he doesn’t believe in God and theories like “ocracies and isms”. Unlike Pyle, he suggests that Vietnamese are interested neither in communism nor in democracy, but they only want enough to eat, to be left alone and to become independent. Therefore, he argues that Vietnam should be left for itself and Western forces have to keep out. Towards the end of the book, we see that Fowler becomes aware of the misery around him and he somehow starts to worry about it. As the storyteller, he starts to give wide descriptions of the dead bodies, the extreme poverty and the hunger that he sees around. This may be due to his increasing consciousness to what Pyle is dealing with. He tries to stop him in a way and while trying to do so he realizes that he has been close to the world outside for a long time.

The female character is another key point. Phuong seems as a Vietnamese girl, unaware of everything going around. She is a naïve girl and she does not know anything about the war, reasons of it or who the Europeans and Americans are and what they are trying to do in Vietnam. However, she also has a strange power on both Fowler and Pyle, unconsciously she causes them to fight against each other. She also has a selfish side, leaving Fowler for Pyle, a man that could offer her a better future with money, marriage and kids. Although she seems to be the weak side in both relations she has, she somehow manages to keep the control on her hands. “There is also an ironic sense of sexuality and motherhood fused in the women of Greene’s works. The men are old enough to be fathers to their women but they frequently present themselves as frightened children who need these females to comfort and nurture them” (Kelly: 1992, 61). To analyze the book in a correct way, we should also understand the historical background of Vietnam. The French called South Vietnam Cochin China. The north becomes known in the west as Tong king, while Annam is the name used for the center of Vietnam and for the whole country. The years between 1858 and 1883 are known as the years of the conquest of Vietnam by France and this decision of invasion, was made by Napoleon III in 1857. It aimed to extend the French colonialism in order to satisfy the need of overseas markets. The Vietnamese mandarins sign a treaty that makes Tong King and Annam protectorates of France. It intended to transform Vietnam into a source of raw materials (especially coal and rubber), which were needed for French industries. The French also built factories in Vietnam, but the aim of these investments was not to develop the country; they were only building for the immediate high profits. The main outcome of such a thing is that only the French and a small group of rich Vietnamese people benefited from the economic progress in the colony. In other words, a wealthy middle class to buy French products did not develop. Capitalism appeared to Vietnamese as a product of foreign rule. These facts together with the lack of democratic culture influenced the nature and the orientation of the national resistance movements. When the years come to 1946-1954, the First Indochina War occurred and France gave Vietnam the status of free state within the French Union. However, at the end, the cooperation finished and France wanted to reestablish the colonial rule whereas Hanoi wanted total independence. On November 23, the war began with bombardment of Haiphong. Vietminh started a successful guerilla war. The war was so bloody that in one-day more than 6000 civilians died. Graham Greene had been in Vietnam between 1952 and 1955 and he wrote this book there while also reporting the war.[13] In this book the analysis on war are very live and it makes the reader feel as if he was there. Greene manages to give the misery and pain that the people in Vietnam are facing during the war in a very effective way. In this book, Greene succeeds in combining the pressure of the European countries on Vietnamese and the struggle these people have to give because of the war in a very efficient way. “Political evil is important in a novel because, it gives historical setting and the characters of a novel an additional important dimension” (Gordon, 1997: 37). The dimension is that, according to Greene, all political communities that he came into contact with, pursue and deserve the highest good without lowering the standards. Political evil does not only destroy the basis of justice, but also it blocks the emergence of excellence of the new beginning. If the world consists of evil, it certainly includes political evil. As participants we are responsible for evil’s continuation, if we make no attempt to stop it. In other words, if we do nothing to end the progress of the evil that exists, we are fleeing our responsibility and our freedom, which are the birthrights of our humanity. As Heng (the killer of Pyle) says to Fowler, “sooner or later one has to take sides. If one is to remain human”.

The Quiet American: Analysis
While reading The Quiet American, one may often feel in his heart the main irregularity in many democracies. Members of armed forces, and of the police, those who are employed to guard and protect human freedom, are very often betrayers of their basic trust. They conceal this betrayal under coverage of protecting the regime against so-called enemies. However, these people are only concerned with their own careers. Greene shows that performers of political evil have lost all sensitivity to the sufferings, to the feelings, or to the feelings of other human beings. It would not be wrong to point out that The Quiet American was written before the United States involvement in the war in Vietnam, where US made a matchless destruction. This indiscriminate destruction murdered and attacked millions of innocent Vietnamese, Cambodians and others. Greene seems to have had clear insight into such historical events. Through the wicked deeds of the “innocent” Alden Pyle, Greene reveals the intensions of the policy-makers to dominate all of the Indochina by force. “Greene had a strong condemnation of the political evil of the leaders in Paraguay and Haiti” (Gordon, 1997: 34).

When the issue comes to real-life politics of today, which is similar to the relationship of characters in the novel, the British journalist Fowler and the American Pyle, it would not be wrong to say that Fowler and Pyle are friends; because they are away from home and at the beginning they believe that they are searching the same thing (peace and process for Vietnam), therefore they needed each other. However, the love of Phuong in a way made them enemies. Similar to the relationship between USA and United Kingdom, for the interests of their own country, they have worked together. In other words, they mutually benefited from each other just like the two countries still do thanks to their “special relationship”.[14] However, because of the historical experiences they have, in the core of their relationship lies a bit of hatred. In some sense, these good fellows can become enemies if the competition arises between these two. Just as Fowler said, "sometimes we have a kind of love for our enemies and a hate for our friends". The alliance and hostility between Pyle (younger rising force similar to USA after the Second World War) and Fowler (older experienced force similar to UK) is very similar to that of their countries, USA and Britain. In the movie, this was brilliantly reflected by old and charismatic Michael Caine and young and energetic Brandon Fraser difference.

From the beginning until now, these two counries always have had a different kind of or a special type of political relationship. At the beginning, USA was a colony of the United Kingdom, and they had an enmity-based relationship since American nationalists were trying to gain their country's independence. Up until the mid-20th century, Britain was the world's hegemonic power controlling most of the countries around the world either by political, military or economic means. UK had numerous colonies in the African and Asian continents. However, after the WW I and WW II, Britain started to lose its dominant position in the world politics, while USA was becoming the most powerful Western country both economically and politically. Even though they seem to be enemies due to history, in today’s politics, just like in 1950s, US and UK look like two strong allies. However, this does not mean there is no competition or disagreements between two countries on certain issues. The novel reflects this special but somehow problematic relationship very well with two main characters and their fight for glory symbolized by Phuong.

Conclusion
Graham Greene, in his book The Quiet American implicitly points out the danger of allowing people to guide themselves only by ideology and schools of academic thought to be responsible for intelligence fieldwork. In this book, he tries to point out a political fact, which is the endless interpretation of world powers to the political conflicts around the world. Even before the war in Vietnam has occurred, he had the foresight of what will happen in Vietnam, with the involvement of USA. Even from a politics based literature book, it is possible to understand that the world powers -at least their security people- are not primarily interested in helping the small countries to get prosperity, peace and welfare in their country; but rather they are seeking to increase their own interest. This is a clear sign of Realism, which claims that national interests matter more than values when it comes to make business with Westerners.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Ozan ÖRMECİ



BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] For information about Graham Greene, see; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Greene.
[4] Summarized from various internet sources and Archana Srinivasan’s Biographies 20th Centuries Writers book.
[5] Smith, Zadie. “Shades of Greene”, The Guardian. 2004. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/sep/18/classics.grahamgreene.
[6] Allis, Sam. “Cold War pen pals: Red spy Kim Philby, Graham Greene”. The Baltimore Sun. 1999. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-04-17/news/9904170347_1_kim-philby-graham-greene-spy-kim.
[7] “Graham Greene”. American Society of Authors and Writershttp://amsaw.org/amsaw-ithappenedinhistory-100203-greene.html.
[8] See; Pendleton, Robert. Graham Greene’s Conradian Masterplot: The Arabesques of Influence, London: Macmillan Press, 1996.
[9] “Graham Greene, 86, Dies; Novelist of the Soul”. The New York Times. 1991. http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/02/20/specials/greene-obit.html.
[10] “Critics on Graham Greene:”. http://greeneland.tripod.com/critics.htm.
[11] Greene, Graham. The Quiet American, Middlesex, Britain: Penguin, 1962. Available at: https://tr.scribd.com/doc/95034097/Quiet-American-The-Graham-Greene.
[12] “The Quiet American” movie. Director: Philip Noyce. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258068/.
[13] “Graham Greene’s Prescient War-Reporting from Vietnam Predicted How Badly It Would Go”, https://newrepublic.com/article/119243/graham-greene-reports-vietnam-war-vietnam.

Characteristics of Developing Countries


Introduction
Various terms have been employed in order to define developing countries.[1] Using Alfred Sauvy’s terminology, “Third World” (tiers monde)[2] was a very popular term in defining developing countries during the Cold War. “Non-alignment” was also a similar term that became influential together with the emergence of “Non-Aligned Movement”[3] in 1955 Bandung Conference. More recently, terms like “underdeveloped countries” or “emerging markets” have also been used interchangeably in addition to “developing countries”, since the old “Third World” term became archaic[4] especially after the end of Cold War.[5] The term “underdeveloped countries” was not preferred, since it might offend developing countries. Thus, “developing countries” became the official title for countries that have been struggling to catch up developed countries.

Criteria
Which criteria to be applied in order to classify countries has always been a controversy in “Third World” discussions. The most important issues can be listed as; military power, nuclear energy and nuclear power, economic size (GDP), economic development (GDP per capita), membership to international organizations (EU, NATO), education level, democratic quality and human development. A country like China could be very developed in some aspects (economic size, military power), but could be seen as underdeveloped in some other aspects (GDP per capita, democratic quality). Likewise, a country like Switzerland could be defined as the best country in terms of economic development, democratic quality and human development, but could not be very influential in terms of military and nuclear power. Saudi Arabia and Gulf states are other interesting examples with their poor democratic development but good performance in terms of economy. Thus, both hard power and soft power issues should be taken into consideration in classifying countries.

Characteristics
B.C. Smith, in his book Understanding Third World Politics[6], tried to determine the basic characteristics of developing countries.

1-) Political independence: Most of the developing countries have colonial backgrounds and their political independence is relatively new especially compared to developed countries. Colonialism and imperialism had mixed consequences over developing countries; the exploitation of resources and labor force as well as cultural domination on the one hand, better health services and a bureaucratic knowledge and experience (the case of British effect in Indian bureaucracy for instance) on the other.

2-) Average incomes: Average incomes in developing countries are low compared to developed countries. This can be measured by GDP per capita statistics[7]. Stagnation, inflation and unemployment are common problems in developing countries in addition to poor life standards due to low average incomes.

3-) Industrialization: Developing countries’ industrialization level is low and their economies are often based on agricultural production and services. Labour intensive jobs are more common and technological production is almost non-existent.

4-) Integration into the world economy: A developing country is typically characterized by a high level of dependence on the export of a very small number of commodities. Their markets are dominated by products from developed countries and their share in the world economy is very low. Thus, developing countries are placed at the periphery of the world economy.

5-) Social well-being and human development: Social well-being and human development is low in developing countries. There is also a big gap between rich and poor and their ability to take advantage of social qualities. UNDP human development index[8] is a clear proof of development level between developed and developing countries.

6-) Militarization: Militarization is also a common problem in developing countries. Militaries of developing countries might have traditionally important roles as in the case of Turkey and this might create additional problems after transition into democracy. High military spending and militarist culture might also be a serious problem in developing countries.

7-) Religious fundamentalism: Religious fundamentalism fueled with hatred towards the Western and their colonial background create a very dangerous combination in developing countries. In the Islamic world, this might create terrorist organizations like ISIS or Al Qaeda or fundamentalist governments. In various other developing countries, anti-imperialist Marxist guerilla movements became very popular in the same vein.

8-) Mixed economy: Developing countries often implemented both capitalist and socialist methods of development in order to differentiate themselves from first world (capitalist) and second world (socialist) countries during the Cold War. One crucial aspect that directed developing countries to use ISI (import substitution industrialization) policies is the lack of capital in local bourgeoisie. Thus, state-led initiatives had considerable success and place in developing countries’ economies. As they get more developed, these countries became more liberal and decreased the stateness level in the economy. For instance, after a series of privatizations in the 1990s, Turkey’s former and first female Prime Minister Tansu Çiller said that “they were able to make the last communist state to collapse”.

9-) Anti-imperialism: Anti-imperialism has been a common characteristic of developing countries. Since most of these countries had been colonized or subjected to imperialism in the past, they often have strong anti-imperialist legacy in their popular national ideology and foreign policy traditions. However, during the Cold War many of these countries are sided with USA or USSR and their anti-imperialist tradition have changed considerably.

10-) A new international order: Many of the developing countries are pushing for a new international order as they are not happy of the current structure of the UN Security Council having 5 permanent members (USA, Russia, China, France, United Kingdom). The lack of permanent member countries from South American, African and Oceania continents is the major problem in their perspective.


Assist. Prof. Dr. Ozan ÖRMECİ


SOURCES
  • Canbolat, İbrahim S. (2013), Gelişmekte Olan Ülkeler: Küresel Politik ve Ekonomik Çıkar İlişkilerindeki Konumları, Alfa Aktüel Yayınları.
  • Smith, B. C. (1996), Understanding Third World Politics, Macmillan Press Ltd.
[1] Prepared as a course document for undergraduate students.
[5] İbrahim S. Canbolat (2013), Gelişmekte Olan Ülkeler: Küresel Politik ve Ekonomik Çıkar İlişkilerindeki Konumları, Alfa Aktüel Yayınları.

24 Şubat 2017 Cuma

İran-Suudi Arabistan Gerginliği: Jeopolitik Mi, Yoksa Mezhepçi Bir Sorun Mu?


Harvard Üniversitesi’nin Politika Enstitüsü (Harvard IOP) tarafından 29 Şubat 2016 tarihinde düzenlenen “The Iran-Saudi Rift: Geopolitical or Sectarian?” (İran-Suudi Arabistan Gerginliği: Jeopolitik Mi, Yoksa Mezhepçi Bir Sorun Mu?) adlı panel[1], son dönemde giderek daha fazla konuşulmaya başlanan Suudi Arabistan-İran ilişkilerine ışık tutan faydalı bir akademik girişim olmuştur. Panele katılan konuşmacılar Princeton Üniversitesi Yakın Doğu Çalışmaları Profesörü Bernard Haykel ve Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uzmanı Karim Sadjadpour’dur. Panelin moderatörlüğünü ise Harvard Kennedy School Profesörü Meghan O'Sullivan yapmıştır.

Panelin kaydı

İlk konuşmacı olan Bernard Haykel, olaya daha çok Suudi Arabistan perspektifinden bakmaktadır. Haykel’e göre; Suudiler İran’ı İslam Devrimi öncesi ve sonrası olarak iki dönemde incelemekte ve buna bağlı olarak iki farklı bakış açısı geliştirmektedirler. Şahlık dönemi İran’ı, ABD’nin bölgedeki en yakın müttefiklerinden birisi ve askeri ve siyasi açıdan dominant ama düşman olmayan bir ülkeyken, 1979 İslam Devrimi sonrasında oluşan İran, Şii İslam’ı bölge ülkelerine ihraç etmek isteyen -Suudiler için- daima emperyal bir ülke ve bir istikrarsızlık kaynağı olmuştur. Suudi rejimine göre, devrim sonrası İran, devlet dışı aktörleri ve hatta terör gruplarını kullanarak kendi rejimini ihraç etmeye çalışmaktadır. 2003 Irak işgali sonrasında İran’ın bölgedeki gücü daha da artmış ve İran, yakın çevresindeki Lübnan, Suriye, Irak ve hatta Yemen gibi ülkeleri kontrol eder hale gelmiştir. Buna karşın, ABD’nin nükleer anlaşma ile İran’la bir yakınlaşma sürecine girmesi, Riyad için saldırganlık ve radikal İslam’ın bir anlamda ödüllendirilmesi anlamına gelmiştir. Suudi perspektifinde, Filistinliler dışında bölgedeki devlet dışı terör gruplarının tamamı Şii ekseninde siyaset yapmaktadır. Bu nedenle, Suudiler, İran’ın etkisini bölgede ve tüm dünyada azaltmak istemektedir. Haykel’e göre; iki ülke arasında giderek derinleşen bu rekabet temelde bir jeopolitik rekabettir, ancak mezhepçi rekabet de bu işin ambalajını oluşturmaktadır. Ayrıca mezhepçi ambalaj, iki ülkenin de giderek daha fazla sayıda insanı mobilize etmesi ve sorunu halklara haklı gerekçelerle sunması açısından işlevsel bir faktör haline gelmektedir. Humeyni tarafından 1970’lerde geliştirilen “velayet-i fakih” ideolojisi, İran’ın kendisini bölgede diğer ülkelerin üzerinde konumlandırmasına ve İran’daki Dini Lider’in (şimdilerde Ali Hamaney) kendi ülkesi içerisinde tüm hâkimiyeti elinde bulundurmasına yol açmaktadır. Dahası, İran Dini Lideri, kendisini tüm Müslümanların temsilcisi bir otorite olarak da görmektedir. Suudiler ise, genel olarak Şiilik mezhebi dışında, bu özel Şiilik yorumuna da kesinlikle karşıdırlar.

Paneldeki ikinci konuşmacı olan Karim Sadjadpour ise, konuya daha çok İran perspektifinden yaklaşmaktadır. Konuşmasına bir Afrika atasözü olan “Filler tepiştiğinde çimenler ezilir” sözünü hatırlatarak başlayan Sadjadpour, gerginliğin 3 boyutu olduğuna dikkat çekmektedir. Bunlar; etnik (Arap vs. Fars), mezhepsel (Sünni vs. Şii) ve jeopolitiktir (Suudi Arabistan vs. İran). Sadjadpour’a göre, mezhepsel ve etnik rekabetler kalıcıdır ve işin daha önemsiz ve “yumuşak” boyutunu oluşturmaktadır. Ancak jeopolitik rekabet, kanlı olaylara neden olan işin tehlikeli ve “sert” tarafıdır. Dolayısıyla, Sadjadpour da -Haykel gibi- meselenin özünün jeopolitik rekabet olduğunu ve bu durumun mezhepsel ve etnik rekabeti körüklediğini ifade etmektedir. Suudi Arabistan, İran için ABD hegemonyası ve İsrail’in kurulmasıyla birlikte Ortadoğu’daki en öncelikli ve önemli sorunlardan birisidir. Günümüzde de Dini Lider’in konuşmaları incelenirse, IŞİD’in ABD tarafından kurulduğu ve Suudi Arabistan’ın ABD’nin piyonu olduğu gibi düşünceler, İran’da yaygın kamuoyu görüşleri haline de gelen güçlü düşüncelerdir. Bu bağlamda, Suudi Arabistan’ın bölgesel istikrarı bozan bir aktör olduğu fikri Tahran’da hâkimdir. IŞİD konusunda da iki ülkenin görüşleri taban tabana zıttır. İran, IŞİD’in Vahabi (Selefi) köktendinciliğinin ve bölgeye yönelik Amerikan politikalarının doğal bir sonucu olduğunu düşünürken, Suudi Arabistan, bunun Beşar Esad rejiminin baskıcı yapısı nedeniyle oluştuğu algılamasına sahiptir.

Bernard Haykel, ikinci tur konuşmasında, iki ülke arasındaki rekabetin son dönemde hiç olmadığı kadar arttığına dikkat çekmektedir. Bunun nedeni ise, son yıllarda Irak’ta yaşananlardır. Suudilerin uyarılarına rağmen Amerikalıların Irak’ı işgal etmesi ve sonrasında kurdukları çarpık düzen, net bir şekilde İran’ı ve bölgedeki devlet dışı aktörleri güçlendirmiştir. ABD’nin önceki Başkanı Barack Obama’nın nükleer anlaşma ve sonrasında attığı adımlarla İran’la yakınlaşması da Suudi Arabistan’ı son dönemde çok rahatsız etmiştir. ABD’nin bölgedeki 1 numaralı müttefiki olan Suudiler, İran’a karşı bu denli sıcak bir yaklaşımı tasvip etmemekte ve Amerika’yı şiddetle eleştirmektedirler. Bu nedenle, Suudi Arabistan’ın, İran karşıtı konuşmalarıyla dikkat çeken yeni ABD Başkanı Donald Trump’a sıcak bakması ve destek vermesi yüksek bir ihtimaldir.

Karim Sadjadpour ise, ikinci tur konuşmasında, 1990’larda Haşimi Rafsancani’nin etkisiyle İran’la Suudi Arabistan arasında bir yakınlaşma yaşandığını, ama son dönemde bu durumun tamamen tersine döndüğünü söylemektedir. Sadjadpour’a göre; yüzde 85’i Sünni Müslüman olan İslam dünyasında, mezhepçi rekabet aslında Suudi Arabistan’ın lehinedir, çünkü demografik yapı İran’ın aleyhinedir.[2] Bu nedenle, İran’ın rekabeti anti-emperyalizm ve ABD karşıtlığı temelinde ideolojik bir zemine oturtması daha akıllıca olacaktır. Ancak bu noktada, Suriye iç savaşı İran açısından çok olumsuz bir gelişme olmuştur. Zira bu ülkede Alevi-Nusayri azınlık üzerine kurulu bir rejimin İran ve Rusya’dan aldığı silahlar ve askeri destekle Sünni çoğunluğa yönelik katliam politikalarına yönelmesi, Arap ve genel olarak Müslüman dünyasında İran’ın etkisini kısmen azaltmış ve bu ülkenin dış politikasına yönelik olarak gelişen “mezhepçi” algısını güçlendirmiştir. Bu nedenle, İran ve Esad Suriye’de sahada kazansalar bile, Arap ve İslam dünyasında algı yönetimi açısından Suriye’de kötü bir sınav vermişlerdir.

Konuşmanın giriş bölümündeki bu argümanları karşılaştırmak ve değerlendirmek gerekirse, her iki konuşmacının da vurguladığı şekilde, Suudi Arabistan-İran rekabetinin temelinde bu iki ülke ve daha büyük bir perspektifte ABD ve müttefikleri ile Rusya-İran-Çin ekseni arasındaki jeopolitik bir mücadeleden söz etmek doğru olacaktır. Konuşmacıların görmezden geldiği önemli bir konu ise, her ikisi de anti-demokratik rejimlere sahip bu ülkelerin, bu rekabet sayesinde halklarını rejime bağlı tutabilmeleridir. Ayrıca Batı ve Rus savunma sanayilerinin de bu rekabetin gelişmesi ve derinleştirilmesinde hatırı sayılır bir payı olduğu bu noktada dürüstçe söylenmelidir.


Yrd. Doç. Dr. Ozan ÖRMECİ


[2] Burada tüm İslam dünyasındaki oranlara bakılarak hatalı bir değerlendirme yapıldığı iddia edilebilir. Çünkü meseleye Şii nüfusun fazla olduğu ülkeler içerisinde (Irak, Lübnan, Umman, Yemen ve Bahreyn) etkili olma bağlamında yaklaşılırsa, mezhepçi politikalar İran’a bugüne kadar büyük faydalar sağlamıştır sonucuna varılabilir. Zira İran'ın bölgesel etkisi, İslam Devrimi sonrasında ciddi oranda artmıştır.

22 Şubat 2017 Çarşamba

TÜSİAD Sanayi 4.0 Raporu



1971 yılında İstanbul merkezli endüstri ve hizmet kuruluşlarını temsil eden önde gelen gönüllü Türk sermayedarlarınca kurulmuş olan Türk Sanayicileri ve İşadamları Derneği (TÜSİAD)[1], Türkiye’nin en önemli sivil toplum örgütlerinden ve baskı gruplarından birisidir. Yeni Başkanı Erol Bilecik olan TÜSİAD, 2016 Mart ayında “Türkiye’nin Küresel Rekabetçiliği İçin Bir Gereklilik Olarak Sanayi 4.0: Gelişmekte Olan Ekonomi Perspektifi” adlı çok önemli bir rapor yayınlamıştır.[2] Bu yazıda, bu raporun önemli bölümleri özetlenecek ve bazı kavramlar açıklanarak, rapor, siyasal açıdan daha anlaşılır hale getirilmeye çalışılacaktır.
 
TÜSİAD logosu

64 sayfalık ve Burak Tansan, Aykan Gökbulut, Çağlar Targoray ve Tevfik Eren imzalı rapor, toplam 5 bölümden oluşmaktadır. Raporun “Sanayi 4.0 Nedir?” başlıklı birinci bölümü, Sanayi 4.0 veya Endüstri 4.0 kavramını (İngilizce Industry 4.0) açıklamaktadır. Teknolojik devrimler, üretim modellerini, ülkelerin yönetim şekillerini ve hatta halkların yaşam biçimlerini bile etkileyebilen çok önemli tarihi sıçramalardır. Nitekim 18. yüzyılda buhar teknolojisi, 20. yüzyıl başlarında elektrik teknolojisi, 1970’lerden itibaren elektronik ve bilgi teknolojileri ve 21. yüzyıl başlarında internet teknolojisi, insanların hayatlarında ve ülke ekonomilerinde kalıcı değişikliklere yol açan çok önemli teknolojik devrimlerdir.

Sanayi Devrimi aşamaları

Bu bağlamda, günümüzde ülke ekonomilerini şekillendiren 4 ana akımdan söz edilebilir:

1. Bölgesel akımlar: Ülkeler arasındaki sosyal etkileşim ve ticaretteki artış, ülke ekonomilerini biçimlendiren en önemli akımlardan birisidir. Bir ülkenin en önemli ekonomik partnerleri, o ülkenin dış politikası ve kültüründe de zamanla daha büyük bir ağırlığa sahip olmaya başlayabilir. Örneğin, Türkiye’de son dönemde artan Alman nüfuzunu ve yükselen İslamcı popülist siyaseti, Türkiye’nin Almanya ve Körfez ülkeleriyle yaptığı yoğun ticaretin doğal bir sonucu olarak düşünmek doğru olabilir. 

2. Ekonomik akımlar: Yükselen yeni güçlü ekonomiler ve finansal kaynak akışları ile artan küreselleşme, ülkeleri ekonomi politikaları ve dış politikada belli kararlar almaya zorlayabilir. Rakiplerin çoğalması ve küreselleşmenin derinleşmesi, ekonomide ülkeleri daha da acımasız ve rekabetçi bir düzene doğru sürüklemektedir. Nitekim Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti ve Asya ekonomilerinin ucuz işgücü ve büyük pazarları sayesinde son yıllarda güçlenmesi, Batı ülkelerini farklı politikalara yönlendirmektedir.

3. Teknolojik akımlar: Artan bağlanabilirlik ve platform teknolojilerinin gelişmesi, ekonomilerin şekil değiştirmesine ve birçok alanda öncü teknoloji ve sektörlerin oluşmasına neden olmuştur. Bu trende uyum sağlayan devletler hızla ilerleme yaparken, diğerleri geride kalmaktadırlar. Yeni teknolojilerin zamanla ekonomide ağırlığının artacağı da düşünülürse, teknolojik akımlar, küresel ekonomi açısından en belirleyici faktörlerden birisidir. Batı ülkelerinin küresel ekonomi içerisinde görece avantajlı pozisyonları korumaları da ancak bu sayede mümkün olabilecektir. 

4. Meta akımlar: Giderek kıtlaşan kaynaklar ve dünya genelinde çevre ve güvenlikle ilgili artan kaygılar da ekonomiyi ve siyaseti yakında ilgilendirmektedir. Devletler, bu gibi küresel konularda işbirliği eğilimine daha yatkındırlar ve realist çıkar odaklı yaklaşımdan ziyade liberal yaklaşıma uygun adımlar atabilirler.

Raporun “Sanayi 4.0 Neden Günümüzde Mümkün?” adlı ikinci bölümü, sanayide yeni yeni kullanılmaya başlanan büyük veri gruplarından faydalanan analiz yöntemlerinin etkilerini saptamakta ve bu bağlamda Sanayi 4.0’ın gerekliliğini ortaya koymaktadır. Akıllı robotlar, bu konuda incelenen ilk unsurdur. Çeşitli sektörlerdeki üreticiler, operasyonlarında uzun zamandır robotlardan faydalanmaktadırlar. Ancak otomasyon ve robotlaşma, eski tip işlerin kaybına neden olabileceği için istihdam azalmasına ve siyasal sorunların artmasına da neden olabilir. Üç boyutlu simülasyon yöntemi de, son dönemin en popüler yeni teknolojilerindendir. Simülasyon yöntemi sayesinde, ülkelerde ve şirketlerde denenecek bir yenilik öncelikle sanal alanda test edilmekte ve başarı/performans kriteri doğrultusunda karar verilmektedir. Dikey ve yatay sistem entegrasyonu ise, bilgi teknolojilerini entegre etmek için kullanılmaya başlanan yeni bir teknolojidir. Nesnelerin interneti adı verilen bir diğer yeni teknoloji ise, daha fazla sayıda cihazın, hatta yarı mamullerin bile, standart teknolojilerle birbirlerine bağlanarak tümleşik veri işlemeden faydalanmasına izin verecektir. Bu bağlamda bir diğer önemli kavram ise “Sibergüvenlik” olacaktır. Sibergüvenlik, şirketler ve ülkeler için giderek daha da önemli hale gelecek ve internet güvenlik teknolojilerinde atılım yapmak zorunlu olacaktır. Bulut teknolojisi, bu alanda bir diğer önemli gelişmedir. Şirketler, daha şimdiden bazı kurumsal ve analitik uygulamalar için bulut tabanlı yazılımlar kullanmaktadırlar. Ancak bu durum giderek yaygınlaşacak ve gelişecektir. Eklemeli üretim ve zenginleştirilmiş gerçeklik, raporun ikinci bölümünde vurgulanan diğer teknolojik yeniliklerdir ve yeni dönemde sanayiye yön verecek gelişmelerdir.

Raporun “Sanayi 4.0 Türkiye İçin Neden Yaşamsal Öneme Sahip?” başlıklı üçüncü bölümü, Türkiye’nin kaçmakta olan Sanayi 4.0 trenine neden aceleyle yetişmek zorunda olduğunu analiz etmektedir. Raporda, Türkiye ekonomisi için yapılan temel tespit şu şekildedir (sayfa 33): “Türkiye, lojistik avantajı sağlayan coğrafi konumu sayesinde ve esnek, düşük maliyetli üretim yapabilmesini sağlayan görece düşük maliyetli işgücünü kullanarak, küresel değer zincirinde oldukça rekabetçi şekilde konumlanmıştır. Üretim ücretleri, verimlilik, enerji maliyetleri ve döviz kurlarını dikkate alarak oluşturulan BCG Global Üretim Maliyeti Endeksi’nde, Türkiye 98 ortalama birim maliyet ile üretim yaparken, ABD 100, Almanya ise 121 ortalama birim maliyetle üretim gerçekleştirmektedir. Diğer bir deyişle, Türkiye’deki ortalama doğrudan üretim maliyetleri Almanya’nın % 23, ABD’nin ise % 2 altındadır. Bu analiz, Türkiye’nin küresel değer zincirinden pay almak ve ihracat platformunu güçlendirmek için sahip olduğu rekabet avantajının altını çizmektedir.”

Rapora göre; Türkiye, küresel ekonomi içerisinde mevcut rekabetçi pozisyonunu korumak ve sağlamlaştırmak için çeşitli yapısal zorluklarla karşı karşıyadır. Bunlar şöyle sıralanabilir:

İhracat için ithalata yüksek bağımlılık: İhracat amacıyla yapılan ithalatın oranı yapısal olarak yıllardır yüksek seyrediyor.

Katma değerli ürünlerin toplam üretim içindeki düşük payı: Katma değerli ürünlere olan talep dünya çapında artmasına rağmen, Türkiye’nin ihracatında ileri teknoloji kullanılan ürünlerin payı yalnızca % 4 düzeyindedir.

Sınırlı işgücü yetkinlikleri: Yetkinlikleri sınırlı olan işgücü ve ekosistemler, yeni teknolojilerin benimsenmesini yavaşlatmaktadır.

Çalışanların yüksek işten ayrılma hızı: İşgücünün sanayiden hizmet sektörüne doğru kayması, üretim sektöründe çalışanların işten ayrılma hızını arttırmaktadır.

Bu yapısal zorluklarla mücadele edilebilmesi için, ivedilikle Sanayi 4.0’a geçilmesi zorunludur. Zira diğer ülkeler hızla bu yeni düzene eklemlenirken Türkiye’nin bunun dışarısında kalması, ülkenin rekabetçilik seviyesini daha da düşürebilir. Raporda, Sanayi 4.0 dönüşümüne örnek model ülke olarak Almanya seçilmiştir. Sanayi 4.0’ı uygulamaya başlayan Alman üretim sektörünün verimlilik kazancı, toplam üretim maliyetinin % 5-8 düşmesi ile beraber, önümüzdeki 10 yıl içinde 90-150 milyar Euro (Avro) arasında gerçekleşecektir. Özetle, Türkiye’nin karşılaştırmalı küresel rekabetçiliğinde yaşanacak olası bir zayıflama, küresel pazar payının da düşmesine yol açacak ve beraberinde artan işsizlik ve azalan işgücü kalitesini getirecektir. Bunun tam zıttı şekilde, kararlı Sanayi 4.0 yatırımları ile küresel rekabet gücünde çığır açacak değişiklikler yaratmaya çalışılırsa, küresel değer zincirinden daha fazla pay alınarak, kaliteli işgücü istihdamında artışa zemin hazırlanacaktır. Bu nedenle, Türkiye, kısır siyasi tartışmaların ötesine geçmek ve Sanayi 4.0’ı hayata geçirmek zorundadır.

Raporun “Sanayi 4.0’ın Türkiye Üzerindeki Potansiyel Etkisi” başlıklı dördüncü bölümü, Sanayi 4.0 devriminin gerçekleştirilmesi durumunda Türkiye’de yaşanacak pozitif gelişmeleri de analiz etmektedir. Rapora göre, Türkiye’nin Sanayi 4.0’a geçmesi durumunda yaşanacak pozitif gelişmeler şöyle sıralanabilir (sayfa 41):

* Küresel rekabet gücünün artması:
-          Yüksek maliyet verimliliği,
-          Yüksek üretim hızı ve esneklik,
-          Yüksek kalite ve düşük fire oranı,
-          İleri teknoloji platformları, know-how, yüksek nitelikli insan kaynağı.

* Küresel değer zincirinden alınan yüksek katma değerli ürünler payının artması:
- Ortaya çıkan verimlilik ve yetkinlikler ile şirketlerin küresel rekabette konumlarını korumaları ve güçlendirmeleri.

* İşgücü profilinin gelişmesi:
- Üretim, müşteri ilişkileri ve destek birimlerinin gelişmiş bir bağlanırlık düzeyine erişmesinin yeni iş olanakları yaratması ve nitelikli işgücü tarafından yapılabilecek yeni iş tanımlarının oluşması.

Rapor için Türkiye’de 6 farklı sektörde faaliyet gösteren toplam 25 Türk imalat şirketiyle/grubuyla detaylı görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiş ve bu görüşmeler sonrasında yapılan hesaplamalar doğrultusunda aşağıdaki tablo hazırlanmıştır. 

Sanayi 4.0’ın Türkiye’ye olası etkileri

Şu da belirtilmelidir ki, Türkiye’de halihazırda birçok sektörde Sanayi 4.0 zaten uygulamaya geçmiş durumdadır. Sanayi 4.0’ın özellikle verimlilik, büyüme, yatırım ve istihdam alanında Türkiye ekonomisine büyük katkıları olacağı düşünülmektedir. Otomotiv sektöründen örnek vermek gerekirse; Sanayi 4.0, montaj hatlarının otomasyonu ve esnekleşmesi sayesinde üretim kalitesi ve hızını arttıracaktır. Beyaz eşya sektöründe, parçaların ve ekipmanın içerisine yerleştirilen sensörler sayesinde stok yönetimi daha kolay hale gelecek ve tasarım süreci birden çok ürün döngüsüne yayılabilecektir. Tekstil sektöründe, prototip hazırlamak için gelişmiş simülasyonların daha fazla kullanılması ve Ar-Ge ile ürün geliştirme birimlerinin dikey veri entegrasyonunun yapılması, işbirliği düzeyini artıracak ve şirketlerin yeni “premium” ürünleri daha hızla geliştirmesine yardım edecektir. Kimyasallar alanında, muhasebe, üretim ve envanter sistemlerinde gerçekleşecek olan uçtan-uca veri entegrasyonu, üreticilerin küçük hacimli üretim yapabilmelerini ve daha seri bir operasyon yürütmelerini mümkün hale getirecektir. Yiyecek-içecek sektöründe ise, üretim, lojistik ve satış sistemlerinden toplanan büyük veri setleri gelişmiş seviyede analiz edilerek, şirketlerin pazar talebini daha doğru tahmin etmelerine yardımcı olacaktır. Bu durum, pazarın doğru ürünü, doğru zamanda, doğru yere tahsis etmesini sağlayacaktır. Son olarak, makine sistemlerine bakıldığında, Sanayi 4.0 sayesinde prototip üretiminde ve test sistemlerinde kullanılan gelişmiş simülasyonlar, kalıp tasarımını ve ürün geliştirme süreçlerini iyileştirecektir.

“Sonuç: Türkiye İçin Bir Yol Haritası” başlıklı raporun beşinci ve son bölümü, raporda saptanan bulguları özetlemektedir. Sonuç olarak, rapora göre, Sanayi 4.0, Türkiye’de de gelecek için temel bir öncelik olarak görülmektedir. Ancak bu durum, başka faktörlerle tamamlanmalı ve desteklenmelidir. Bu noktada, üreticiler ve siyasetçiler arasında bir işbölümü ve işbirliği yapılmak/tanımlanmak zorundadır. Üreticiler, Sanayi 4.0’ı hayata geçirmek için önceliklerini saptamalı ve buna uygun bir düzeni siyaset yapıcılardan talep etmelidirler. Bu aşamada, planlar, uzun vadeli ve günlük çıkarların ötesinde bir vizyonla yapılmalıdır. Siyasetçiler ise, sanayicilerle ortaklaşa bir şekilde ülkenin eğitim sistemi ve ekonomi politikalarını Sanayi 4.0’ın ihtiyaçları doğrultusunda şekillendirmelidir. Böyle olursa, Türkiye, çok kısa bir sürede yeniden yükselişe geçebilir. Ancak aksi bir durumda, Türkiye’nin küresel rekabetteki konumu daha da kötüye gidecektir.


Yrd. Doç. Dr. Ozan ÖRMECİ



[1] Web sitesi için; http://tusiad.org/tr/. Hakkında bilgiler için; https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%9CS%C4%B0AD.
[2] Rapora buradan ulaşılabilir; http://www.tusiad.org/indir/2016/sanayi-40.pdf