The Politics of Syrian Refugees in Turkey: A Question of Inclusion and Exclusion through Citizenship

Akçapar, Şebnem Köşer; Şimşek, Doğuş

doi:10.17645/si.v6i1.1323

Cited by 71 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on January 7, 2017, that some Syrian (and Iraqi origin) refugees could be granted Turkish citizenship if they passed specific screening processes (Al Jazeera, 2017). The granting of citizenship was also subject to conditions by the Turkish government, such as higher education, adequate language skills and no criminal record (Köşer Akçapar and Şimşek, 2018). Based on these stipulations, the number of Syrian refugees who acquired Turkish citizenship in 2018 was estimated at around 52,000 (Dost, 2018, p. 113).…”

Section: Social and Humanitarian Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aiding Syrian refugees in Turkey: International approaches and domestic policies

Gibárti¹

2021

Security and Defence Quarterly

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After the breakout and the escalation of the Syrian civil war and because of its humanitarian consequences, Turkey now hosts the largest refugee community worldwide. This paper attempts to investigate the role of the international community in assisting Syrian refugees in Turkey. Beyond looking at the main elements of the Turkish government policies, this study focuses on the Emergency Social Safety Net Programme of the European Union, the World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent. It also reviews the Turkish aspects of the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan of the United Nations. The primary purpose of the study is to provide a comparative analysis of the two programmes alongside the main objectives, results and difficulties. Beyond reviewing the essential international literature, the examination of this issue is principally based on data analysis of the reports of relevant international organisations. The Turkish government plays an important role in this crisis and the actions of international organisations complement the country's domestic policies. Two international aid programmes are compared and a conclusion is reached that the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan tries to balance urgent humanitarian needs with durable solutions, while the Emergency Social Safety Net Programme is determined by humanitarian aspects. Nonetheless, both initiatives address the challenges to the Turkish host community which are posed by the protracted refugee issue. While acknowledging the remaining gaps, challenges and the obvious complexity of the refugee situation in Turkey, it can be concluded that the aid initiatives discussed have developed innovative solutions to address this protracted crisis.

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Section: Social and Humanitarian Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aiding Syrian refugees in Turkey: International approaches and domestic policies

Gibárti¹

2021

Security and Defence Quarterly

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“…In 2016, Erdogan revealed the citizenship agenda on a moral discourse underlining that this policy was necessary for the wellbeing of Syrian brethren. The message to be given was that Syrians who are mostly Sunni Muslims are ‘proper’ migrants to be accepted as citizens due to their religious background (Akcapar and Simsek, 2018: 180). However, the idea of citizenship to Syrian refugees was not welcomed by the public including the ossified supporters of the AKP.…”

Section: Co-production Of Services and Citizenship Discoursementioning

confidence: 99%

Turning crisis into opportunity? The Syrian refugee crisis and evolution of welfare policy for refugees in Turkey from a public choice theory perspective

McCarthy

2020

Critical Social Policy

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The Turkish Government is under pressure to accommodate the Syrian population in its territories. Several strategies including devolution, co-production of public services and finally institutionalisation of social welfare for non-citizens have been employed by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to respond to the needs of nearly four million Syrian refugees. This article explores political discourses in the presentation of these strategies from a public choice theory perspective. Accordingly, the main question is how social policy for refugees is justified to the public by the AKP. It is found out through a discourse analysis that instrumental interest to sustain political power is the driving force of policy making for refugees rather than humanitarian concerns in Turkey. The AKP continues populism in welfare policy formation for Syrian people and this is evident in its rhetoric evolving from religious fraternity to economic opportunism. In that context, this article brings the contradictory dynamics of social policies for Syrian refugees into light and uncovers the twists and turns of relevant political discourse.

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“…Shortly after Erdoğan’s speech in Kilis, two laws related to migration were changed (Koser Akcapar and Simsek, 2018: 179). The first change in August 2016 concerned new regulations for the integration of the international labor force through a point-based and employer-led system.…”

Section: Citizenship Nationalism and Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first change in August 2016 concerned new regulations for the integration of the international labor force through a point-based and employer-led system. It introduced the Turquoise Card, which enabled permanent work permits for people considered of strategic importance in relation to their level of education, professional experience and investments in Turkey (Koser Akcapar and Simsek, 2018). The second change was made in the citizenship law through an amendment in December 2016, which included exceptional citizenship criteria on the basis of investments in Turkey and contribution to science, economy, social and cultural life, sports and arts in Turkey (Koser Akcapar and Simsek, 2018: 180).…”

Section: Citizenship Nationalism and Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Being able to obtain citizenship rights constitutes a key issue for the integration of refugees (Koser Akcapar and Simsek, 2018: 177–179). On 2 July 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a statement about giving qualified refugees citizenship rights in his talk at an iftar dinner in Kilis, a small city in Turkey’s Syrian border:I tell my Syrian brothers/sisters 1 that we see you as brothers/sisters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bottom-up nationalism and discrimination on social media: An analysis of the citizenship debate about refugees in Turkey

Bozdağ

2019

European Journal of Cultural Studies

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This study analyzes social media representations of refugees in Turkey and discusses their role in shaping public opinion. The influx of millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey has created heated debates about their presence and future in the country. One of these debates was triggered by President Erdoğan’s statement that Turkey would issue citizenship rights to Syrians in July 2016. Due to a lack of critical voices about refugee issues in Turkey’s mass media sphere, social media has become a key platform for citizens to voice their opinions. Through a discourse analysis of tweets about the issue of refugees’ citizenship, I will map different perceptions of refugees in Turkey. I argue that despite contesting discourses about Syrians, the debate on social media reinforces nationalism and an ethnocentric understanding of citizenship in Turkey. As the number of refugees and migrants increases rapidly worldwide, they become the new ‘others’ of national imagined communities. Social media becomes a key communication space where the nation is discursively constructed in a bottom-up manner through manifestations of ‘us’ and ‘them’. The analysis shows that social media contributes to trivialization and normalization of discrimination and hatred against Syrian refugees through disseminating overt discourses of ‘Othering’. Social media also enables more covert forms of discrimination through ‘rationalized’ arguments that are used to justify discrimination through the basis of false/non-verified information. Thus, Twitter becomes a space for critical, bottom-up, yet nationalistic and discriminatory statements about refugees.

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The Politics of Syrian Refugees in Turkey: A Question of Inclusion and Exclusion through Citizenship

Cited by 71 publications

References 12 publications

Aiding Syrian refugees in Turkey: International approaches and domestic policies

Aiding Syrian refugees in Turkey: International approaches and domestic policies

Turning crisis into opportunity? The Syrian refugee crisis and evolution of welfare policy for refugees in Turkey from a public choice theory perspective

Bottom-up nationalism and discrimination on social media: An analysis of the citizenship debate about refugees in Turkey

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