CAPITAL, POWER AND THE CITY: UNDERSTANDING THE POLITICAL-ECONOMY AND SPATIALITY OF USURY IN SİİRT

Abstract

Usury, which is lending money at high rates of interest to generate income, is an irregular money flow system widespread especially in undeveloped economies. In systems where there is a large influence of usury in domestic economies, economic fragility increases, and political economy is shaped according to the wishes of the ones who own capital. Despite this powerful effect, there are not any studies which analyze the structure of usury with a holistic approach. In order to fulfil this need, in this study, the usury system in Siirt, where operations on usurers are intensified, is analyzed. Based on in-depth interviews in this context, the actors of the usury mechanism, relationships among the actors, emergence, functioning and effects of the system have been put forward. At the end of the study, it has been found that usury stems from inequal distribution of all kinds of capital and its power among ethnic groups, that it deepens differentiation among these groups and that through this way; it forms socio-spatial structures and relationships.