State-Led Participatory Governance in Practice: Heritage Management Planning in Türkiye

Heritage management planning is an integrated, holistic, strategic, communicative, and participatory approach to heritage conservation. This governance process incorporates power relations among partners, necessitating the examination of motivations and regulations for practicing a well-rounded and effective engagement within a structured system. The approach was legally introduced to Türkiye in 2004, and the heritage management plans for thirty-two heritage sites have been prepared so far. This article investigates if the desired outcomes for improved participatory conservation are achieved through the management planning and if the level of effectiveness of participatory governance is either a structural or a practical matter in the Turkish context. This qualitative research, which investigated governance systems in 17 heritage sites through the analysis of legal papers and archives, as well as semi-structured interviews, found that the design of legal structures generally aligns with theoretical premises despite some drawbacks, but the practice has failed to establish a real governance environment. In a few circumstances, qualified results or attitudes are observed, implying that the roots of the effectiveness rest with actor’s abilities, attitudes, and capacities, which are primarily affected by the quality of the networking environment.