Network industries in Turkey: A historical approach

The aim of this introductory chapter is to put the development, the governance, and both the regulation and deregulation of the different Turkish network industries into a historical perspective. The chapter distinguishes between five phases: the (late) Ottoman empire period; the phase of the early Republic (1923-1950); the first steps of a liberalizing economy yet with still state-owned enterprises (1950- 1980); the liberalization period, with a strong US inspiration (1980-2000); and the last 20 years, inspired by EU-style reregulation. Finally, we summarize the main arguments of the 24 chapters contained in this volume.