The Relationship Between Transnational Networks and Its Member Cities: Turkey


Ersavaş Kavanoz S., Erdem N.

SIYASAL-JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCES, vol.33, no.1, pp.87-109, 2024 (ESCI)

Abstract

Transnational Municipal Networks have taken their place in international relations as policy actors that facilitate cooperation. The fact that cities increase their effectiveness in the field of global politics with the developments accompanying globalization and localization policies has increased the importance of these networks as a structure describing inter-city cooperation. This study aims to evaluate transnational networks from the cities’ perspective and provide an explanation of the relationship between the characteristics of member cities and their participation in these networks. To achieve this, we create a new data set by content coding the transnational networks involving Turkish municipalities in terms of their purposes, functions, and memberships, as well as the member municipalities in terms of their population size, level of development, and institutional unit condition. This data set reveals that the institutional structure of municipalities, the level of urban development, and population are significant determinants of transnational network membership. Additionally, the study describes the link between membership structures and the functions of transnational networks. Our findings have significant implications for urban politics research.