Local policies in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic : Ankara and Rome Municipal Councils’ decisions

Hamza Çelikyay, Hicran (author), Küçük Bayraktar, Hülya (author)

Purpose and methodology: This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic is included in municipal councils’ decisions and investigates the local policies developed through these decisions. Ankara and Rome Municipalities were selected as study samples. Turkey and Italy are both unitary states and their local government structures are similar because their local government systems are part of the Franco group, as defined by Hesse and Sharpe. Both cities have gained the status of metropolitan cities under the legal regulations adopted in recent years. For this reason, Ankara and Rome present similarities in terms of both the areas they serve and the responsibilities of being the capital. The decisions of their municipal councils were reviewed from March to December 2020. The decisions were analysed within the framework of the relevant commissions and application areas, and the local policies implemented in the fight against COVID-19 were put forward. Findings: According to the analyses, the Ankara Metropolitan Municipal Council intensified its decisions on economic support, social assistance, cleaning, public health, and local diplomacy, while the Rome Metropolitan Municipality’s policies focused on security, education, economic support, social assistance, cleaning, and transportation services. As a result, both municipalities brought their COVID-19 proposals to the agenda of the council. Municipal assemblies played a vital role in helping their countries fight the pandemic as administrative units that provide the legal basis for implementing local policies. Strengthening local assemblies and expanding their mandate and responsibility in times of crisis could also support the success of central government policies. The findings reveal that fast and effective solutions delivered by local governments through local policies successfully curbed the pandemic that had spread around the world. Practical Implications: The policies implemented by local governments were impressive and complementary to central government policies, providing a valuable guideline for policymakers.

• Language: English
• Keywords: local policies, COVID-19, Ankara, Rome, local government
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 103-133
• Numbering: Vol. 20, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-137141
• UDC: 352:616-036.21(450)(560)
• ISSN on article: 2591-2240
• DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2022.1.05
• COBISS.SI-ID: 110098435

Note

Povzetek v slov. na koncu publikacije, str. 169-170.

• Publication date in RUL: 21.06.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Central European public administration review
• Publisher: Fakulteta za upravo
• ISSN: 2591-2240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293849600

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.
• Licensing start date: 31.05.2022

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Lokalne politike v boju proti pandemiji covida-1 : odločitve mestnih svetov Ankare in Rima

Abstract

Članek proučuje vključenost vprašanj, povezanih s pandemijo covida-19, v odločitve mestnih svetov in analizira lokalne politike, oblikovane na podlagi teh odločitev. Za primer sta bili izbrani občini Ankara in Rim. Turčija in Italija sta unitarni državi s podobnimi lokalnimi strukturami, saj sta njuna sistema lokalne uprave del Francove skupine, kot jo opredeljujeta Hesse in Sharpe. Obe mesti sta po predpisih, sprejetih v zadnjih letih, pridobili status metropolitanskih mest. Zaradi tega sta si Ankara in Rim podobna tako glede območij, ki jih pokrivata, kot tudi dejstva, da sta oba prestolnici. V raziskavo so bili zajeti sklepi mestnih svetov, sprejeti med marcem in decembrom 2020. Avtorja analizirata sklepe v okviru zadevnih odborov in področij uporabe ter predstavita lokalne politike, ki so se izvajale v boju proti covidu-19. Analize kažejo, da je mestni svet v Ankari sprejel več odločitev o gospodarski pomoči, socialni pomoči, čiščenju, javnem zdravju in lokalni diplomaciji, medtem ko se je politika mestne občine Rim osredotočila na varnost, izobraževanje, gospodarsko pomoč, socialno pomoč, čiščenje in prevozne storitve. Obe občini sta tako na dnevni red sveta uvrstili svoje predloge za boj proti covidu-19. Kot upravne enote, ki zagotavljajo pravno podlago za izvajanje lokalnih politik, so imele občinske skupščine ključno vlogo pri spopadanju svojih držav s pandemijo. Krepitev lokalnih skupščin ter razširitev njihovih pooblastil in odgovornosti v času krize sta prispevala tudi k uspehu vladne politike. Izsledki kažejo, da so pravočasne in učinkovite rešitve, ki so jih sprejemale lokalne oblasti, pripomogle k omejevanju pandemije. Uspešne lokalne politike so tako dopolnjevale vladne politike in lahko služijo kot vodilo za oblikovalce politik.

• Keywords: lokalne politike, covid-19, Ankara, Rim, odločitve mestnega sveta