The politics of megaprojects in Istanbul through a critical analysis of the Kanal Istanbul project

The article argues that the unconstructed megaprojects can be a powerful tool for generating revenue, legitimacy, and political power through focusing on the Kanal Istanbul project. While the existing literature primarily addresses completed megaprojects, insufficient attention has been paid to unconstructed projects as instruments of intra-state rivalry and political consolidation. Focusing on the Justice and Development Party (JDP) era, the article shows how megaprojects have been transformed from development initiatives into strategic governance instruments that reproduce central state hegemony. Based on a qualitative case study, analysing zoning plans, tenders, legal regulations, and media data, the findings show that the central government bypasses local administrations by transforming planning and law into exceptional governance tools, redefining the urban space as a financial asset, and using postponement as a technique of power. The article argues that Kanal Istanbul is a functioning power project despite being unfinished and reveals how megaprojects are sustained under centralised governance through the management of time, uncertainty, and expectation. The article concludes that the impact of megaprojects on democratic governance and urban policies should be analysed not only through construction processes but also through planning and postponement regimes that sustain neoliberal governance under conditions of strong political centralisation.