Kadro


Kadro was an influential leftist magazine published in Turkey between 1932 and 1934.

Profile

Kadro believed that a Turkish revolution would occur in two stages: the battle to achieve political sovereignty, achieved in the Turkish War of Independence, and an ongoing battle to "liberate" the economy and society from "imperialist" influence. To this end, the Kadro theorists borrowed heavily from Marxist theory, particularly elements of Soviet central planning, and also to a limited extent from south-west European fascism. Importantly, the Kadro theorists never accepted either of these ideologies, believing that they were creating a third development theory that would be essentially Turkish.
The theorists advocated absolute state control of the economy, believing that Turkey could overcome the problem of class conflict if the state never developed a middle and upper class. If the state was in charge of development, class conflict would not arise, as capital would be in the hands of the state, not specific classes.
Kadro was important as it sought to provide Kemalist Turkey with a solid theoretical underpinning. Although Kadro policies were never absolutely adapted, Turkey did pursue a state-centered development strategy.
Although supportive of the government, the magazine was shut down in 1934: economically liberal figures in the government worked against the Kadro theories, which they found far too leftist.
Kadro translates from Turkish as "cadre".