Analyzing External Relations of Turkish Local Administrations: Rethinking the Interaction Between Core and Periphery

Abstract

Despite the fact that external relations of local administrations have been increasing all over the world ranging from Brazil to China and from Canada to Iran, mainstream International Relations literature has so far neglected to include these relations to its analyses. The basic aim of this article is to shed light on discourses and external practices of Turkey’s local administrations from a theoretical perspective and by comparing them with international case studies. This paper, aiming to examine foreign relations of local administrations and the interaction between center and periphery, argues that external relations of Turkish municipalities differ from the Western city diplomacy practices in three ways: First, the cultural element is dominant in the Turkish cases. Second, they reproduce the discourses and practices of the center; and third, there is no emphasis on peace initiatives.

Keywords

Local Diplomacy, Paradiplomacy, Center-Periphery Relations, Turkish Foreign Policy, Discourse Analysis.

Citation

Demirtaş, Birgül, “Analyzing External Relations of Turkish Local Administrations: Rethinking the Interaction Between Core and Periphery”, International Relations, Volume 13, Issue 52, 2016, pp. 151-173.

Affiliations

• Birgül DEMİRTAŞ, Prof. Dr., Department of Political Science and International Relations, TOBB ETÜ