From Top to Down or Central to Local: Transformation of the Neighborhood Units as a Policy Tool of Presidential System in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, neighborhood administration and mukhtarship which have grown in importance in recent years in Turkey are analyzed in light of the discussions on presidential system. President of the Republic paid great importance to the mukhtars during legislative efforts for presidential system and often hold meetings with the mukhtars. Discourses coming to forefront during these meetings imply the levels that mukhtarship and neighborhood administration will evolve. In this study, speeches of the President during meetings with mukhtars were subject to discourse analysis to draw conclusions. In addition, interviews were made with mukhtars from different provinces and the results of the research were supported by these findings. Mukhtarship can be regarded to have evolved as an important policy tool from top to down or central to local in Turkey which is on the edge of a new centralization process in particular.