Abstract
Regional policy planning did not exist in Turkey until the 1970s. Even afterwards, when the collection of data slowly began, the military conflict that opposed Turkish army to the local Kurdish guerrilla had a major impact on regional policies.
The South-East region, the most poorly developed one in Turkey, has clearly suffered from the military rule that was in place until the end of 1990s. Even though the collection of data is still a problem, the available national data suggest that regional disparities in Turkey are very important and that the poorest areas are situated in the South-East.
In the paper I offer the assessment of the Turkish experience with regional programs. As an example of one regional development program, the GAP Regional Development Plan (GAP-RDP) is a clear choice for analysis.
Controversial since the beginning, the project only progressively took some elements of sustainable development. Moreover, its positive influence on the region is far from clear.
There are several possibilities for improvement. First of all, the relevant data collection must be ensured.
The relatively new and still fully unexploited Development agencies could play a role in this process as they are responsible for elaborating regional development priorities. However, the legislative change may be necessary in order to oblige the Turkish local statistical units to collect the data.
As an example of an attempted regional cooperation, the Town Twinning conference that took place in Ankara from 14th to 16th of April 2014 is analyzed. It is a relevant example of best-practices' sharing between the EU regions and Turkey.