What Türkiye must do regarding national, economic security

Earlier this week, the U.S. "National Security Strategy Document" was published by the White House. This document is published once per presidential term and announces the White House administration's approach to national security. Since it is the U.S., each line of the document and the content in the document are important in every sense. When I read the document, some paragraphs in it reminded me that I needed to revisit the issue of economic security today.

The approach of "Economic security is national security" in the document published by the former US President Trump in 2017 actually summarizes the change in the security paradigm. The military and law enforcement elements that come to mind when one thinks of "security" are now being replaced by concepts such as cyber security, financial security and economic security. Of course, the conventional security approach is also used to take precautions against the current security threats, but we are in a period where the way for them to be sustainable is through economic security. In other words, countries that cannot establish economic security cannot sustainably provide the resources they need to establish their national security.

In this article, I will not go into the technical aspects of the subject. I will not bore you with the concepts and definitions in the relevant literature. But I will include a few definitions to explain why we should not think only of military elements when it comes to security.

According to the general approach, security; It is the absence of any threat to the values that have been achieved and the absence of fear of an attack against these values. Being secure also encompasses the ability to defend oneself against such attacks. On the other hand, if a threat is encountered, it must be fended off at a rational cost.

From this point of view, security; If it's defined as the elimination of threats to reduce the living standards of people living in a country, serves to protect the physical, social and economic well-being of individuals living in that state. As you can see, security is a multidimensional concept. Today, the most important dimension is “economic security”.

In the book titled "Economic Security" that I wrote in 2020, I defined economic security as "protecting the values obtained that will ensure the sustainability of the living standard of the citizens of a country and removing the obstacles to the acquisition of potential values that can increase the standard of living."

The U.S. is a liberal country. In other words, it prioritizes the market economy and II. With the system he established after World War II, he imposed neoliberal policies on other countries, especially in the economy. However, the country that favors this free market economy immediately activates the state apparatus when it comes to its own economic security.

For example; In the recently published National Security Strategy Document, the Biden administration states that they have identified and invested in key areas where the private sector does not act on its own to protect the interests of the US for national security and economic security.

Meanwhile, all American institutions develop policies and act to establish economic security. When it comes to economic security, the U.S. has undertaken the mission of bringing liberal democracy to the world; it declares wars, plots coups and implements protectionist trade policies.

One of the closest and clearest examples of the role of the state in economic security is Japan. Japan passed a law titled “Economic Security Act” last May. Afterward, the “Ministry of Economic Security” was established and finally, a Minister of Economic Security was appointed. Policies regarding Japan's economic security will now be produced and coordinated directly by a ministry.

Türkiye is a developing economy. Developing economies have some vulnerabilities due to their nature. Some of these can be managed by monetary and fiscal policies. However, vulnerabilities and sensitivities in certain areas need to be addressed from an economic security perspective. When you think of security, do not think of police measures. Economic security is established through the implementation of an institutional understanding of the protection of the country's interests. It contains many elements from reducing foreign dependency on energy to agricultural policies, from the domestic defense industry to the financial system that allows savings to be turned into investments. Prevention of currency attacks, minimizing dependence on hot money, ensuring the healthy functioning of the banking system, and finally eliminating negative non-economic factors affecting the economy are also matters of economic security.

In a nutshell, at a time when wars and competition in the world are conducted over economic interests, it is obvious that Türkiye should prepare an "Economic Security Action Plan" that prioritizes its own interests and includes all its institutions without exception.