CouvFocalesN7_GB_Mise en page 1 30/07/12 14:49 Page1 [ July 2012 ] Decentralisation in Turkey Since 2004, the government of Turkey has undertaken a number of “decentralisation” reforms. A number of laws have been passed that give increased autonomy and resources to regional and local authorities and aim to reorganise the division of tasks and the relationships between these 07 authorities and the central government. These reforms represent substantial change, since there had previously been practically no intermediate level between the central government and the citizens, and the decision-making centres in Ankara constituted serious bottlenecks that were regularly circumvented. The reform process raises a number of questions. What rationales led to the implementation of these reforms? Did the reforms result from the opening of negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the European Union, in 2005, or were domestic political processes also a factor? What real changes did these reforms introduce? What impact have they had on adjustments in the levels of government and the connections among them, and, more generally, on the Turkish political July 2012 scene? Decentralisation in Turkey AUTHORS Ulaş BAYRAKTAR Mersin University, Turkey Élise MASSICARD Institut français d’études anatoliennes (IFEA), Istanbul CONTACT AUTHORS Réjane HUGOUNENQ Ulaş BAYRAKTAR Research Department, AFD
[email protected] Mersin University, Turkey Élise MASSICARD Decentralisation in Turkey Decentralisation Institut français d’études anatoliennes (IFEA), Istanbul 07 FocalesN7_GB_Mise