The Turkish Model of decentralization in Cultural Heritage

Since 2003, under the moderate Islamist government of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP), Turkey has experienced rapid economic growth and the introduction of New Public Management rhetoric as part of an effort to modernize its public administration. These reforms have also reached Turkey’s the cultural heritage sector, where until recently the state central administration not only managed museums and archaeological sites but also ran all related commercial activities. In the last decade, some management responsibilities for museums and sites have been devolved to municipalities, while the number and prominence of museums outside the state sector has increased . This chapter assesses the impact of three major outsourcing contracts signed since 2009 : the Istanbul Archaeology Museum development project, the national contract for museums and ruins gift shops, and the national contract for museums and ruins ticket sales and operations.