How local governance influences democracy: the case of the Republic of Türkiye

In terms of accessibility, local politics stand as the nearest avenue for citizens to participate and experience politics. Even though democracy studies often concentrate on national-level politics and institutions, local governments are also an important cornerstone of the democratic experience. From crafting participation to helping political actors access larger stages of politics, local governments can include meaningful practices of democracy and politics. With a careful focus on Türkiye’s recent local and democratic experience until 2024, I aim to explore how subnational governance interacts with the democratic trajectory of a country. Methodologically, the work employs a process-tracing approach, examining the timelines of specific events. Informed by the secondary accounts, research, and legislation, it also follows with a descriptive statistical showcase to portray the interactions of our suggestions. Findings of the work suggest that opposition-led municipalities in Türkiye demonstrate good capacities and political results for democratic practices; however, they are organically vulnerable to central interference in terms of structure amidst erosion. Therefore, it is observed that both how central inference on the subnational level can be regarded as an indicator of democracy, and how local governance can still articulate democratic practices at its level.