Local diplomacy activities in combating wicked problems: The example of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality

Cities are increasingly conducting more active activities internationally. Local diplomacy goes beyond the states, which are the traditional actors of international relations, and is the whole of the relations established by local governments with many actors such as cities, non-governmental organizations and international organizations. Local diplomacy activities can be carried out in different ways depending on the local government actors with whom relations are established, their objectives and the way the relationship is established. The basis for the realization of these relationships are the problems faced by cities. These problems can be classified as simple and wicked. Simple problems are often problems that local governments can solve without the need for international actors. Wicked problems are problems that do not have a single definition, require more than one actor to solve, and use different solution strategies. In this context, the aim of the study is to try to understand the place of local diplomacy activities of local governments, which are the unit closest to the problem, in approaching the solution of wicked problems, as the increasingly wicked problems in cities transcend national borders. For this purpose, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality was selected as a sample in the study. In the study, the municipality's activity reports were accepted as the main source and international activities between 2010 and 2022 were examined. The data obtained was analyzed and grouped according to local diplomacy tools. In order to obtain more detailed information about the grouped activities, interviews were held with relevant organizations, especially different units of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, using the interview technique. The questions prepared for the interviews were divided into two groups; in the first group, it was aimed to learn the approach of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality to local diplomacy activities, while in the second group, it was tried to understand the functionality of the local diplomacy tools used by Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality to solve wicked problems. As a result of the study, the place of each of the local diplomacy tools in solving wicked problems with a different solution strategy is revealed and explained through the example of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality.