EVOLUTION AND POLITICAL INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF ADJACENT AREA REGULATION IN TURKEY AS A PRIMITIVE FORM OF ANNEXATION PRACTICE

Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The aim of this study is to shed some light on the historical evolution of the implementation of the adjacent area regulation in Turkey as a form of annexation practice with particular reference to both its role as a tool of party politics and the struggle between different levels of local government units, and also the inherent tension between the legislative and political processes. For this purpose, the evolution of the adjacent area practice in Turkey is analyzed by examining all the approvals made by the Ministry of the Environment and Urban Development within a historical perspective drawn with the help of pivot tables and correspondence analysis. What is particularly evident from this study is that although adjacent areas as a primitive form of annexation practice have been actively employed in order to secure the geographical unity required for the administration and planning of metropolitan regions and growing cities in Turkey, respective practice has been an active arena of party politics leading to instrumentalization of the adjacent area regulation beyond its elaborative technical purpose.