The Great Challenge

TÜRKİYE'S PERFORMANCE
IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL COMPETITION

"Unsuccessful people are those who battle with life. If you never take action, you can never truly fail. But fight you must—and yes, at times you will fail—yet at the end of this long and exhausting journey, you will finally succeed."

When measuring success, whom or which countries do we compare ourselves to? Is the system were part of designed more for failure than success? Why have we fallen behind the West in so many fields? Has Türkiye been spinning its wheels for the past three centuries? Why hasn't our share in the global economy changed? What must be done for Türkiye to produce a world-renowned brand? How does a creative class emerge? Who is a genuine intellectual? What is expected from young people? And why does brain drain occur so frequently?

Adnan Dalgakıran, a prominent figure in the business world, examines Türkiye's struggle to reach the levels of developed countries over the past three centuries, not limiting his perspective solely to economics but addressing a comprehensive range of issues, from education and law to governance, history, and culture. He identifies all factors contributing to the trap of mediocrity and demonstrates, through graphs and data, how chronic legal, structural, and systemic shortcomings have hindered efficiency and progress. With clarity and narrative fluency akin to a novel, Dalgakıran analyzes the recent performance of businesses, civil society, and state institutions. Reflecting on what countries that overcame the mediocrity trap have achieved, he offers numerous ideas and solutions, compelling Türkiye to urgently confront its realities.

The Great Challenge is a profound and comprehensive report written by a mind deeply passionate about his country, urging a society that has always sought easy solutions without truly confronting the harsh truths known to all but rarely acknowledged.