Relationship between local government and political communication: Example of MUBIM project implemented in Antalya province

This study examines the reflection of the new "representation" role given to the mukhtars (headman), who have become prominent actors of contemporary politics in Turkey since early 2015. The analysis will mainly focus on the application of this "representation" role given within a central political discourse by the mukhtars at the local administration level. For this, we will be using the example of the Mukhtar Information Centre (MUBIM), which is a public relations project presented to the mukhtars so that they can utilise this "representation" role. Developed by the Metropolitan Municipality of Antalya as a first in Turkey, the MUBIM project enables the mukhtars report the demands of the locals to the central government by means of phone and internet. The MUBIM project's importance for this study lies in the fact that it allows us to argue that the "representation" role has been given to the mukhtars as a result of a designed model of political communication. The main point of this argument is that this project will serve as an efficient means of feedback in the political communication process. This project is an important example of an innovative political communication approach. A network established under this project between the highest ranking political actor and the lowest ranking political actor is remarkable both in terms of receiving feedback on the effects of the given messages as well as rapid implementation of the related services. This is also important as a public relations activity based on political communication. Therefore, the ultimate aim of this study is to reveal the reflections of the rendering mukhtars a "political actor" through central political discourse on the local political discourse. To that end, local newspapers will be examined as they reflect the local political discourse on the MUBIM project and the mukhtars who have become a part of local administration under this project, and news stories about the mukhtars and MUBIM featured in the selected local newspapers will analyzed. By examining these reports, we will attempt to determine the extent to which the central political discourse affects the local political discourse and whether the mukhtars, seen as representatives of both the government and public in the discourses, have adopted the idea of serving as a "bridge" between the state and the people.