Abstract
This article aims to elaborate the current stage of institutionalization of cross border cooperation programme between Turkey and Bulgaria using the theoretical tools of new institutionalism. The geographical focus is on the Edirne- Kırklareli border region on the Turkish side of the border. It is argued that new institutionalist approaches provide different perspectives that shade light on different aspects of cross border cooperation and at the final stage they help to establish a coherent framework for understanding the institutionalization of cross border cooperation in the region. Drawing on interviews conducted with 49 cross border cooperation related people including public officials, civil society and business representatives and civil servants; this study conducts an institutional ethnographic analysis with a new institutionalist perspective to grasp the institutionalization process of cross border cooperation in the region. The literature review part of the article consists of two chapters: first new institutionalism theory and the different perspectives its three strands, rational choice, sociological and historical institutionalism provide; and second the scientific literature on new institutionalism in the field of cross border cooperation and border regions are elaborated. After the literature review, the article analyses the current condition of cross border cooperation in the Edirne- Kırklareli border region by using the tools new institutionalism theory provides. Finally the conclusion chapter discusses how the three strands of new institutionalism can be brought together to develop a comprehensive understanding of the institutional structure of cross border cooperation in the region.
