Local as a Pseudo Concept

Abstract

In this study, the locality of local institutional structures-including local gov-ernments-are questioned in the case of Turkey. The transcendental position given to the term “reform” leads to the claim that participatory practices in laws and regulations may erode centralism. Mainstream discussions perceive central-local relation as a contradiction and define local governments as au-tonomous units from central government. But these concepts symbolize the integrity of the territorial organization of the nation-state rather than a contradiction as the mainstream favors. The territorial organization of the nation state could be rescaled, and the importance of local institutional agents in the neoliberal restructuring process could be raised. However, the increase in the economic, political and administrative functions of these units does not diminish centralism, otherwise market-oriented centralization processes could be realized with the help of local institutional structures. In this study, economic, political and administrative outcomes of local government reforms which were thought to provide decentralization will be re-questioned in the context of central-local integrity, at theoretical and practical level in the case of Turkey after 2000s. The main purpose of the study is to overcome the transcendental attribution to the position of center-local contradiction. © 2019, Yerel Yonetim Arastirma Yardim ve Egitim Dernegi. All rights reserved.