The aim of this course is to enable students to evaluate the emergence, historical development, and role of local governments within modern public administration through their political, social, and economic dimensions. Within the scope of the course, students are expected to gain an understanding of fundamental concepts such as local democracy, participation, governance, subsidiarity, and demopedia, and to analyze the historical transformation of local government institutions through the examples of Europe, the Ottoman Empire, and Turkey. Furthermore, the course aims to develop students’ ability to evaluate local governments from a critical and comparative perspective by examining their functions within the processes of urbanization, social change, centralization–decentralization relations, and neoliberal transformation.

his course examines the historical development of local governments, the conditions of their emergence, and their place within modern public administration through political, social, and economic perspectives. Within the scope of the course, fundamental concepts such as local government, decentralization, subsidiarity, governance, participation, local democracy, and demopedia will be discussed, while the role of local governments in democratization processes, civic culture, and public participation will also be analyzed. The first part of the course focuses on the historical development of municipalities and local government institutions in Europe within the context of medieval towns, the rise of the bourgeoisie, industrialization, the formation of the modern state, and the transformation of capitalist relations of production. Subsequently, the course examines urban administration in the Ottoman Empire, including the vakıf system, guild organizations, the institution of the qadi, and the municipal reforms introduced during the Tanzimat period. In the context of Republican Turkey, the development of municipalities, special provincial administrations, and village administrations will be discussed in relation to centralization–decentralization dynamics, planning policies, urbanization processes, and local government reforms. The course will also address the modes of service provision by local governments, their relationship with social inequalities, and their changing roles within neoliberal transformation processes. In this way, the course aims to enable students to evaluate local governments not merely as administrative structures, but as historical and political institutions deeply intertwined with democracy, social participation, economic transformation, and urbanization processes.