Türk Yerel Yönetimlerinin Uluslararası İşbirlikleri

Abstract

In unitary states like Turkey, international relations traditionally are not within the interests of local governments. As a matter of fact, international organizations and states are the main actors in this field. However, developments in the international field and Turkey’s European Union membership perspective has enabled local governments to engage in international activities. Within this context, local administrations can develop international cooperation with foreign state’s local and regional administrations in their fields of competence, providing that it is not contrary to national foreign policy. This international cooperation is not a special competence of local administrations, but it is a special method that local administrations can execute their local competence given by national legislation. This study tries to explain the legal sources, features and the legal tools that Turkish local administrations use and can use in international cooperation within this framework. The aim of the study is to evaluate the usability of two partially new institutional cooperation tools based on European Law by Turkish local governments, by giving point to that the unitary state structure does not prevent local administrations from developing international cooperation.