Local Europeanization Istanbul’s Resistance Under Mayor İmamoğlu

This article examines Istanbul under Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as a site of resistance to Turkey’s broader de-Europeanization. While national-level adoption of EU norms stalled, Istanbul emerged as a subnational actor upholding democratic principles through governance reforms, symbolic discourse, and city diplomacy. Using qualitative case-study methods, the study assesses how İmamoğlu’s administration retained and projected elements of Europeanization. Findings demonstrate the resilience and fragility of municipal Europeanization under authoritarian pressure, with İmamoğlu’s 2025 imprisonment illustrating limits of subnational resistance. The article contributes to Europeanization literature by highlighting how cities can operate as arenas of oppositional politics in illiberal contexts.