Abstract:

Local governments are defined as local and customer management units established in order to meet the needs. But today, the tasks and responsibilities of local governments have exceeded the local needs and have hindered the establishment of international relations. The relations of friendship and confidence, which are sometimes not established by national policies, are built through cities and municipalities, the ground is prepared for national policies, the economic, commercial, cultural and social relations are developed by formations such as mutual cooperation, sharing of experience. Theme-focused, project-based, temporary and non-term cooperation, development and emergency assistance in local governments' international relations, etc. Although various studies are being carried out, more brother-city relations and agreements are on the forefront in this area. Brother-city relations, which began in the 1950s, have gained intensity since the late 1980s, with the development of all kinds of communication opportunities, urbanization, globalization, localization and democratization flow increasing and diversifying after the 2000s. In Turkey, a similar process has occurred, and in the same years the reform in the area of local governments and the closer approach to the European Union has given the momentum to this process. The implemented international relations are changing according to the scale of the local government unit, but it has become an important strategy in metropolitan cities. Istanbul is the most attractive city in our country in terms of internationalization. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, which continues its work with the claim to be a global city, expresses its great importance to the issue of international relations. In our article work, the activities of international relations of local governments in our country are explained, and the work of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has been preferred as an area of examination. The main international relations work carried out by the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul is defined as membership to international organizations with brother city agreements, cooperation protocols, agreement signatures and goodwill letters. The basic theory of our article study is that the work of local governments on international relations is continued by a process in which central management policies are ultimately determining. In addition, as the main question of the article, the answer to the question of the manager is possible to carry out an international relationship activity without the approval of the central administration of a municipality. According to this; the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, while determining the direction of its external relations, prefers the city governments with the potential to contribute to Istanbul or the city municipalities of countries that provide historical, cultural and geographical proximity. The reason for this is to recognize qualified examples in terms of urban services and to ensure the continuity of good relations with the countries that provide historical, cultural and geographical proximity. But like all the municipalities in our country, the main factor determining the direction of international relations of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is the policies followed by the central administration. It does not seem possible for a municipality to carry out international relations contrary to the central administration policies or to continue a previously started relationship. As a result of political tensions between Turkey and the Netherlands, the cancellation of the Brother City Agreement signed in 2015 between Istanbul and Rotterdam is the best example of this situation.

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