Administrative capacity in public administration findings from Turkey

The functions, position, and field of activity of the state are redefined as the public administration evolves in tandem with global changes. This process should be assessed as a situation to which the state is exposed. However, as discussed in the thesis, the concept has been identified as an intervention tool, particularly by international organizations. Administrative capacity is a term that different people, states, and international organizations use for different purposes at different times. In this context, the meanings of the concept that we encounter at different times correspond to different international organizations. In post-World War II national development policies, and after 1987 sustainable development policies the United Nations (UN), and administrative capacity policies, as the implementer of the mentality developed after 1990, were primarily carried out with the European Union (EU). The World Bank and IMF apply the concept to fragile and post-conflict states in a state-building context. This thesis investigates this foundation through the lens of new public management- a theoretical reflection of the new right ideology on public administration theory- and document analysis. According to this claim, policy transfer is the technique that makes it possible to use the concept as a tool for intervention. The EU takes different positions for different country groups on the concept of administrative capacity, which it offers as a condition for membership, and emphasizes that the concept is also valid for the post-membership process. OECD follows common policies with the EU. In Turkey, the concept was built on strengthening administrative capacity as a reform requirement in the EU candidacy process. Three processes are used to reflect the concept of public administration. These are administration improvement, EU membership conditions, and the achievement of sustainable development goals with the help of the UN. As a result, the source of the concept of administrative capacity, which characterizes the state that has changed in accordance with neoliberal policies, is international organizations that use it as an intervention tool for underdeveloped and developing countries. Turkey legitimizes the post-2000 reform process with international organizations, particularly with the EU. The reflection of the concept of administrative capacity in today's Turkish public administration emphasizes a shift in direction. This reflection expresses the orientation toward sustainable development goals, in which institutional capacity takes precedence over administrative capacity. While resource management is the most emphasized dimension of administrative capacity in Turkey's EU candidacy process, it turns into institutional capacity building for the impact of the UN and sustainable development goals in the post-2016 period.