Local governments have played a crucial role with their immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are in the frontline as the closest governing body to citizens and their needs. In this policy note, Assoc. Prof. Ulaş Bayraktar elaborates on the local government practices during the COVID-19 pandemic from a comparative perspective with a focus on Turkey. Based on “fellow citizens law” Bayraktar examines the management of the pandemic in terms of the distribution of social aids, dissemination of information, the participation of citizens to the decision-making process, the sustainability of socio-cultural relations in the global level; and offer policy recommendations for local governments in Turkey.

(The policy note is available only in Turkish.)