1st Edition
Europeanisation, Good Governance and Corruption in the Public Sector The Case of Turkey
When and to what extent external actors, especially the EU, contribute to induce legal and administrative changes and help domestic authorities address the disconnect between good governance standards and corrupt practices? Comparing external promotion of anti-corruption norms and provisions in civil administration, public finance management and public procurement in Turkey this book identifies the domestic conditions under which external actors can affect real-world outcomes. Providing a comprehensive, empirical account of Turkey’s fight against corruption, the book’s cross-sectoral analysis explores the power relations between major political actors and bureaucratic state elites, and examines how structural administrative factors filter external pressure for anti-corruption reforms and determine the prospects for institutional change in the Turkish public sector. This welcome addition to literature on Europeanisation and external good governance promotion makes an important contribution to the academic and policy debate regarding the "politics" of anti-corruption reforms in Turkey.
- Introduction
- When do external actors help countries to fight against corruption? Developing a theoretical framework
- International anti-corruption regimes and their implications for Turkey
- Plagued with corruption? Overview of corruption and anti-corruption in Turkey
- Initial misfit and institutional change in Turkey’s fight against corruption: Mapping divergent outcomes in the public sector
- Turkey’s fight against corruption: External incentives and domestic politics
- Europeanisation and good (and bad) governance in Turkey: A cross-sectoral assessment in the public sector
Concluding remarks
Biography
Digdem Soyaltin is Assistant Professor in Political Science at Istanbul Kemerburgaz University. Previously she worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Stockholm University Institute of Turkish Studies (SUITS) and a consultant in projects conducted by Transparency International, Council of Europe and European Union on good governance and anti-corruption policies and judicial sector reforms in Turkey. She received her PhD from the Department of Political Science at Freie Universitat Berlin and worked as a research fellow at the Research College on Transformative Power of Europe (KFG) during her PhD studies. Her main research interests are Europeanisation and domestic change, public policy and governance, Turkish politics and more specific policies of fight against corruption.
"This book sheds new light on the important question of whether international institutions have the power to promote reforms in individual states. It does so through a careful and nuanced examination of a decidedly tough case: anti-corruption reforms in Turkey. In the process, the book makes important contributions to the literature on Europeanisation and to our understanding of the conditions under which international actors can or cannot compel good governance reforms." - Paul T. Levin, Director, Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies.
"Soyaltin effectively and authoritatively analyzes a major problem in contemporary Turkish politics. The book represents a valuable contribution to the literature on external promotion of anti-corruption policies for good governance. It should be of interest particularly to those interested in the phenomenon of political corruption and its preventation, the potential role of the EU in fostering domestic policy change, and Turkey’s experience with corruption and reforms designed to undermine its practice in the public sector. This imporatant volume has no rivals in English." - Sabri Sayari, Emeritus Professor, Sabanci University, Istanbul.
"What explains the gap between the anti-corruption norms consistently promoted by the EU in its relations with Turkey and the patchy record of successfully adopting such norms domestically and, more importantly, adhering to those? This carefully crafted cross-sectoral analysis of the effects of the EU’s promotion of anti-corruption norms in civil administration, public finance management and public procurement in Turkey helps to answer this important question. This is a significant and timely contribution to the literature on Europeanisation and EU external governance. Soyaltin presents a clear, insightful and convincing analysis of how Turkey’s political elites, bureaucratic state elites and structural administrative factors have shaped the direction and content of institutional change in the Turkish public sector when it comes to anti-corruption norms and practices." - Aneta B. Spendzharova, Assistant Professor, Political Science Department, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
