City diplomacy; increasing importance of cities in international politics the and case study of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Today, the understanding of city diplomacy has had an important place in international relations after the change in the understanding of diplomacy. The main purpose of this study is to explain and investigate city diplomacy in the case of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. In the study, literature review method has been used. According to the results obtained it the potential is not used sufficiently in terms of city diplomacy. While Istanbul has been using town twinning projects extensively in terms of city diplomacy, it has been described as a city that should make progress in terms of cultural differentiation, tourism, migration, global and local location which are the other main themes of diplomacy. Obtaining these results with one method constitutes the limitations of the study. Key Words: Diplomacy, City diplomacy, International politics, Istanbul