Abstract
In the 2000s, Turkey has reformed its public administration system in line with New Public Management (NPM) principles towards a more decentralized system. Although the initial aim of the reform process is set to achieve a decentralized and more efficient public management system, the empirical data and official statistics cast doubt on whether this outcome will ever be achieved. Analyzing local government legislation, the discretion of central government in local governance, and the changes in the status of local government in public governance, the article presents the evolution of the local government system in Turkey during the Justice and Development Party government.
Introduction
Turkey, a profoundly centralized state, has enacted various local administration reform acts in the years 2003–05. The functions, roles, and responsibilities of local governments have been extended with new legislation. Public services, which used to be carried out by the central government, in health, tourism and culture, forest and environment, agriculture and village affairs, social care and child protection, youth and sports, industry and public works have been devolved to local government. The administrative and financial autonomy of the local government is recognized, and local government has obtained increasing discretion in economic activities and fiscal borrowing.
Conclusion
Turkey has experienced an extensive public management reform in the 2000s and restructured its public administration system according to New Public Management principles. An identifying characteristic of the reform process was decentralizing the central authority towards local government. The decentralization of the central authority was not only initiated to empower the local government but also to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery. To assess the impact of local government reforms, the article focused on the changes in the central government’s discretion in local governance and in local government’s position vis-a`-vis the central government in public governance. The findings point out that despite the increasing administrative and financial autonomy of the local government, the central government still upholds its influential position in local governance. Ten years after the initial decentralization reforms, the overall assessment of local government does not indicate a significant improvement in the local government’s role in public governance in comparison to the pre-reform period.
