“The Gang is Bigger Than Five”: A Critical Analysis of State–Capital Relations in Turkey

This article develops a historical materialist account of state–capital relations in Turkey by combining Poulantzas’ concepts of the power bloc and class fractions with Robinson’s theorisation of the transnational capitalist class. In this re-conceptualisation, the “gang of five” conglomerates (Cengiz, Limak, Kalyon, Kolin, Makyol) are not considered anomalies of clientelism but integral actors in the reorganisation of state–capital relations under global capitalism. From a Poulantzasian perspective, the Turkish state is conceived as a contradictory terrain where rival fractions negotiate accumulation strategies and restructure hegemony, while Robinson’s approach illuminates how nationally embedded groups are simultaneously integrated into global circuits of capital, revealing the transnational character of Turkish capital. Mainstream analyses that oppose “crony” and “rational” bourgeoisies obscure the historical and structural unity of capitalist fractions, whose competition and convergence are mediated within a transnationalised power bloc. Empirically, the rise of the gang of five is situated within the conjunctures of neo-liberal restructuring after the 1980 coup and authoritarian consolidation, demonstrating how accumulation, rent distribution, and global integration are organised within the power bloc. Ultimately, if any segment of the capitalist class in Turkey is to be described as a “gang,” then the “gang” is bigger than five.