Local government in the context of the concepts of democracy and democratization: the example of the Municipality of Malatya in the republic period

In this study which was conducted as a PhD thesis at the İnönü University Institute of Social Sciences Public Administration Department, Democratization of Local Governments in Turkey: The Example of the Municipality of Malatya in the Republic Era has been examined in detail in terms of Law and Public Administration. This thesis study is a study that analyzed law, science, public administration, democracy, Turkey's political history, political science and local governments as a combination. The Malatya Municipality, which has grown up with the contributions of non-governmental organizations and associations, has emphasized the efforts made to keep up with the timely developments and made it possible for the people to take part in the administration with the help of City Councils and Agenda 21. Malatya Municipality's preference for this study was useful, and the fact that the sociocultural changes and developments that they experienced were reflected in the current events, additionally contributed to this study. As a result of the developments in the meaning of democracy in our country and in the world, the understanding of the direct participation of the people in the governance gained importance. In this context, taking the the fact that local administrations exist for people into consideration, it has become increasingly important recently that they present their services by taking the local people's thoughts and wishes into consideration. Although the findings of this work have reached the conclusion that the city councils have taken into account the demands of people and that they directly contribute to the development, participation and development of local democracy, they have been understood to be inadequate in terms of the activities and working groups they have. Key Words: Democracy, Democratization, Public Administration, Local Governments