MERC presents: Fatih Akbulut

European Union, especially expanding its borders after 1990s and intensifying its integration process within the union, gives great importance to local and regional administrations around the principle of subsidiarity and perception of democratic governance. EU demands all of the candidate member states to harmonize their national laws and regulations with EU directives. Turkey, started its membership negotiations as a candidate member state in 2005, had already launched reforms on local and regional administrations in 2002. For the last thirty years, different Turkish governments have made some attempts to reform public administration in general and local government administrations in specific. However, reforms in the last decade have been the most successful ones to make public administrations more accountable and to empower the local authorities to deliver local services better at the local level. These reforms are triggered by both internal dynamics such as the change in the structure of the Turkish economy, rapid urbanization, increasing demand for more democracy and development of civil society; as well as external dynamics such as globalization and European Union (EU) membership process. European Union, especially expanding its borders after 1990s and intensifying its integration process within the union, gives great importance to local and regional administrations around the principle of subsidiarity and perception of democratic governance. EU demands all of the candidate member states to harmonize their national laws and regulations with EU directives. Turkey, started its membership negotiations as a candidate member state in 2005, had already launched reforms on local and regional administrations in 2002. For the last thirty years, different Turkish governments have made some attempts to reform public administration in general and local government administrations in specific. However, reforms in the last decade have been the most successful ones to make public administrations more accountable and to empower the local authorities to deliver local services better at the local level. These reforms are triggered by both internal dynamics such as the change in the structure of the Turkish economy, rapid urbanization, increasing demand for more democracy and development of civil society; as well as external dynamics such as globalization and European Union (EU) membership process. Pizza lunch will be served.