Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Political Science and International Relations (English)

POLI206

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF TURKEY

Course Code
POLI206
Semester
Fourth Term (Spring)
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
6
Course TypeCompulsory Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study2
SemesterFourth Term (Spring)
ECTS6
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Gain the ability to empirically relate specific manners in which fundamental concepts of political science and public administration have been implemented and structured within the admınistrative context of Turkey;
  2. Become capable of analytically engaging with the fundamental logics of democratic public administration and their implementations in the Turkish administrative system;
  3. Identify roles and responsibilities of central administration, local administrations and different public institutions and relationships among them;
  4. Critically assess and evaluate the structuring and operationalisation of administrative machineries on the basis of the principles of democratic public administration;
  5. Analyse various aspects of administration in Turkey by empirically drawing from a wide range of legislation and academic sources; and
  6. Improve their career opportunities by advancing their knowledge on subjects of public personnel examinations.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsThere is no recommended optional programme component for this course.
Course DescriptionThis course aims to cover the main concepts, institutionalization and workings of Turkey?s public administrative system. It introduces specific manners through which key principles of democratic public governance (i.e. rule of law, responsibility, accountability, responsiveness, transparency and efficiency) are identified and operationalized within the structuring of the Turkish state and bureaucracy. To that aim, the course begins with introductory lectures to familiarize students with the basic concepts, logics and issues underlying contemporary democratic public administrative systems and structures. It focuses on the vital role of institutions (central governments, bureaucracies, local governments, etc.) and law on the identification and characterization of public administrative systems in national contexts. The second part of the course focuses on the logic of centralisation in the structuring of Turkey's administrative system. We will elaborate the historical formation of institutions, powers and authorities of central administrative institutions (the state). We will also cover the current central administrative structuring of Turkey by looking at (i) the capital administration; and (ii) provincial administration. Following that, we will begin in the third part studying decentralisation as the second constitutive logic of Turkey's administrative structure. We will focus first on local administrations (special provincial administration, municipalities, metropolitan district municipalities, and villages) and then on the role of public institutions in Turkey's administrative structure. The importance of international politics, especially Turkey's EU integration process to carry out administrative reforms in the country will be covered at the end of the course.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introducing Course Syllabus
2nd Week Politics and Administration + Principles of Democratic Administration
3rd Week Administration and Law
4th Week History of Public Administration and Bureaucracy in Turkey
5th Week Administrative Reforms under Parliamentary System
6th Week Quiz 1 + Central Administration I: Capital Administration
7th Week Mid-Term Exam
8th Week Central Administration II: Provincial Administration
9th Week Submission of Assignment 1 + Special Provincial Administration
10th Week Village Administration
11th Week Municipalities
12th Week Metropolitan and District Municipalities
13th Week Quiz 2 + Public Institutions
14th Week Administration and the EU: International Politics and Administrative Reforms
Recommended or Required ReadingLevitan, D. M. (1943) Political Ends and Administrative Means Public Administration Review (3:4), pp. 353-359.
Üstüner, Y., and N. Yavuz (2018) Turkeys Public Administration Today: An Overview and Appraisal International Journal of Public Administration (41:10), pp. 820-831.
Güriz, A. (2020) Sources of Turkish Law in Ş. T. Ansay, D. Wallace Jr., and I. Önay (eds.) Introduction to Turkish Law (7th edition) (The Hague, and Ankara: Kluver Law International, and Seçkin Yayıncılık), pp. 1-20 (esp. pp. 5-10, and 15-18).
Güran, S. (2020) Administrative Law in Ş. T. Ansay, D. Wallace Jr., and I. Önay (eds.) Introduction to Turkish Law (7th edition) (The Hague, and Ankara: Kluver Law International, and Seçkin Yayıncılık), pp. 49-89 (esp. pp. 54-75, and 79-89).
Heper, M., and A. Ü. Berkman (2009) Bureaucracy in the Ottoman-Turkish Polity in A. Farazmand (ed.) Bureaucracy and Administration (Boca Raton, London, and New York: CRC Press), pp. 65-82.
Kapucu, N., and H. Palabıyık (2008) Turkish Public Administration: from Tradition to Modern Age (Ankara: USAK), pp. 75-82.
Gül, H., and H. M. Kiriş (2015) Democratic Governance Reforms in Turkey and their Implications in A. R. Dawoody (ed.) Public Administration and Policy in the Middle East (New York: Springer), pp. 25-59.
Gül, H. (2018) The Presidential Government System: New Model of Government in Turkey in R. Efe et. al. (ed.) Social Sciences Researches in the Globalizing World (Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridsky University Press), pp. 24-39.
Yilmaz, B. (2018) The Presidential System of Turkey: Opportunities and Obstacles (New York: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 43-73 (esp. 57-68). Ömürgönülsen, U., and M. K. Öktem (2009) Is There Any Change in the Public Service Values of Different Generations of Public Administrators The Case of Turkish Governors and District Governors Journal of Business Ethics (88:1), pp. 137-156.
Çiner, C. U. (2014) Reconsidering the Role of Prefects in Turkey: Public Policies and Metropolitanization International Journal of Public Administration (37:8), pp. 445-455.
Çetin, Z. Ö. (2015). The Transformation of Special Provincial Administration System in Turkey Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, (6:3), pp. 138-149.
Kapucu, N., and H. Palabıyık (2008) Turkish Public Administration: from Tradition to Modern Age (Ankara: USAK), pp. 137-142.
5302 Law on Special Provincial Administration.
Yetişkul, E., N. Aydın, and B. Gökçe (2021) Governing the Rural: The Case of Izmir (Turkey) in the Post-2000 Era Journal of Rural Studies (88), pp. 262-271.
Kapucu, N., and H. Palabıyık (2008) Turkish Public Administration: from Tradition to Modern Age (Ankara: USAK), pp. 160-168. 442 Village Law.
Bayraktar, S. U. (2007) Turkish Municipalities: Reconsidering Local Democracy Beyond Administrative Autonomy European Journal of Turkish Studies.
Polatoğlu, A. (2000) Turkish Local Government: the Need for Reform Middle Eastern Studies (36:4), pp. 156-171. 5393 Municipality Law.
Eliçin, Y. (2018) Metropolitan Municipality Reform: Rescaling of Municipal Service Delivery in Turkey in I. Kori et. al. (eds.) Evaluating Reforms of Local Public and Social Service in Europe: More Evidence for Better Results (eBook: Palgrave Macmillan) pp. 297-314. 5216 Law on Metropolitan Municipalities.
Özel, I. (2012) The politics of de-delegation: Regulatory (in)dependence in Turkey Regulation & Governance, (6), pp. 119-129.
Zenginobuz, E. Ü. (2008) On Regulatory Agencies in Turkey and their Independence Turkish Studies (9:3), pp. 475-505.
Parlak, B., M. Z. Sobacı, and M. Ökmen (2008) The Evaluation of Restructured Local Governments in Turkey within the Context of the European Charter on Local Self-Government Ankara Law Review (5:1), pp. 23-52.
Çelenk, A. A. (2009) Europeanization and Administrative Reform: the Case of Turkey Mediterranean Politics (14:1), pp. 41-60.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Questions/Answers
  • Discussion
  • Presentation
  • Other
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 30
Assignment 2 15
Quiz 2 15
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 1.5 1.5
Preparation for Quiz 2 7 14
Individual or group work 14 3 42
Preparation for Final exam 1 35 35
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 30 30
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 1.5 1.5
Homework 2 8 16
Total Work Load182
Total Work Load / 30 (h)6.06
ECTS Credit of the Course6
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
K1
K2
K3
K4 X X X
K5
K6 X
K7
K8
K9 X X X
K10 X
K11 X
K12
K13