Why is corruption still prevalent in Turkey although successive governments have adopted a massive amount of reforms in the last decade? Departing from the gap between formal change in the laws and administrative changes in the practices this paper challenges the transformative power of Europe brining domestic policy change in different national settings. The paper highlights two features of Turkish political and administrative system, namely, “strong politicians and weak bureaucrats” and “central and local level distinction”, and demonstrates how they shape the domestic incentives and capacity to promote fight against corruption. It maintains that the anti-corruption efforts in Turkey led to more continuity rather than transformation.
