Digitalization Process and Metabureaucracy Approach in Turkish Public Administration

Abstract

This article analyzes the structural and functional transformation of the Turkish bureaucracy in the period extending from the Ottoman Empire to the present day. Starting from the classical Weberian definition of the concept of bureaucracy, the basic characteristics of the traditional bureaucratic structure in the Ottoman Empire were considered in a historical context and the effects of factors such as hierarchical order, understanding of merit, centralization policies in this structure on the bureaucracy of the Republican period were evaluated. In the post-1980 period, the transformations experienced in Türkiye's understanding of public administration with the impact of neoliberal policies and globalization have been examined in the context of concepts such as “new public administration” and “post-bureaucracy”. Finally, it is argued that developments such as digitalization, e-government applications, artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making have transformed the bureaucracy and evolved into a new management concept called “MetaBurocracy”. The article provides both a historical depth and sheds light on contemporary theories of public administration. In particular, it reveals the increasing impact of technological infrastructure in today's public administration practices and how this change is reflected in the roles of public officials, decision-making processes and relations with citizens. With the MetaBurocracy concept, a theoretical framework for the future of Turkish public administration is presented, and traces of transformation are followed without breaking away from bureaucratic tradition.