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Turkey’s New Draft Law on Asylum: What to Make of It?
Abstract
In the context of Turkey’s accession to the EU, the issue of potential migration from Turkey and its impact upon European labor markets became one of the concerns of the EU, considering Turkey’s growing population and young labor force. In 2011, half a century after the bi-lateral agreement between Turkey and Germany on labor recruitment in 1961, migration plays a key role in relations of Turkey with the EU and will even increase its significance – not necessarily for the next fifty years but certainly for the next decade. This book touches upon various aspects of the ongoing debate about the effects of Turkey’s accession to the EU upon the migration flows and sheds light on various dimensions of current panorama, addresses policy implications as well as future challenges and opportunities.
... Understanding how Turkey ended up with a human rights-oriented asylum policy still remains a challenging issue due to the relatively long length of the process, the complex nature of interactions between domestic and external actors, and the recent unprecedented flow of refugees. One of the most significant contemporary discussions in asylum policy-making in Turkey is one in which actors were effective in shaping this policy and how they exerted an impact (Kirişci, 2012;Eroğlu, 2015). Data from several studies suggest that this process coincided with Turkey's accession process to the European Union (EU) and thereby the creation of reforms and diffusion of human right norms is driven by the impact of the EU (İçduygu, 2007;Baklacıoğlu, 2009;Bürgin, 2016;Bürgin and Aşıkoğlu, 2017). ...
... During the policy-making period that started in 1997, interventions and activities of several external organisations (i.e., the EU, UNHCR, IOM, and CoE) have considerably helped Turkey to transform its piecemeal asylum system into a functional policy that aligns with international institutions and norms. These developments represent a 'paradigm change' in the asylum governance structures which led to the evolution of current asylum policies in Turkey (Kirişci, 2012;Seyhan, 2014;Öner and Genc, 2015). This policy-making process did not follow a straightforward policy lifecycle but was rather a complex process due to the changing actors, interests and processes within Turkey, and the power balances in the relationships between Turkey and the IOs. ...
... Previous research findings into the emergence of a new asylum policy in Turkey have been inconsistent and contradictory. Although there is a consensus on a 'paradigm change' from the security-oriented approach to a humanitarian and norm-oriented approach (Kirişci, 2012;Seyhan, 2014), the actual dynamics and main explanations for policy-making have remained a controversial topic. The most straightforward approach by which to examine the formation of a policy would be to look at domestic policy-makers. ...
Turkey has recently developed a comprehensive legislation and domestic institutions with a view to aligning its asylum policies with international norms of the refugee regime. This incipient development represents the outcome of a complex process of policy-making that consists of a transformation from a traditional security-oriented approach towards refugees to a human rights-oriented policy while Turkey is becoming a host country to the largest number of refugees in the world.
The aim of this study is to determine an explanation for the emergence of this new asylum policy in Turkey. Existing studies tended to explain the external driving power of the EU to explore this process by focusing on conditionality and socialisation mechanisms. Arguing that the new policy is a result of the interplay between international and domestic actors, this thesis questions the role of existing actors and mechanisms and seeks to explore alternative explanations of UNHCR, IOM, CoE and domestic actors. To this end, this research investigates the implications of the interactions between these international and domestic actors on the evolution of asylum policies in Turkey. In this context, the main focus is on the transnational influencing mechanisms of these actors. Seeking to find evidence to explain the asylum policy-making process, this thesis employed a systematic and comprehensive analytical framework and conducted a process-tracing analysis by drawing on the qualitative interview data and document research.
The findings showed that initial reform- and strategy-building processes of the early 2000s were strongly induced by the EU’s coercive bargaining mechanism, while the reform-implementing process of 2009-2013 was shaped by a lesson-drawing mechanism spearheaded by domestic bureaucrats. A combination of state-level factors such as institutional settings and individual-level factors such as strategic entrepreneurship of the bureaucrats significantly affected the degree and the way in which domestic outcomes in asylum policy have been shaped by international sources. External organisations’ influence in the asylum area can be mobilised by domestic factors through vertical-policy making, which in turn can empower domestic actors’ position in policy-making. The interaction dynamics between these two levels allow the creation of a transnational advocacy network that would exert influence in both the outside-in and inside-out directions.<br/
... Apart from that, strengthening cooperation between Turkey and UNHCR is also due to the status of refugees; UNHCR must move them outside Turkey because they cannot live permanently in Turkey. The UNHCR and the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs have previously had procedures since 1994, but the Turkish government tends to follow UNHCR decisions, so the UN tends to carry out RSD to seek asylum independently (Kirişçi 2012;Scheel and Ratfisch 2014, 927). Scheel and Ratfisch (2014, 928) explained that the population in Turkey became manageable and regulated as part of UNHCR's active participation. ...
... Sourced from EU funds, UNHCR has provided training seminars for Turkish officials since 1997, so they can understand and answer questions about asylum. The seminar impacted modifying the asylum law in Turkey, where revocation of clarification is not prohibited (Kirişçi 2012). ...
This research examines the influence of UNHCR as an international institution on Turkey in global refugee governance. The Syrian war was the cause of the large influx of refugees to Europe, Turkey, as a transit country, received many refugees who came before they were forwarded to third countries. Turkey has become the most significant country in responding refugee crisis, especially the Syrian refugee crisis. This study used a qualitative method of reading critically and then being analyzed for interpretation. The data was collected through library research. The author uses an international regime theory to explain the role of international institutions in influencing actors' behaviors. The results found that UNHCR, as an international institution, influences Turkey's behavior in dealing with refugee issues. UNHCR standards and refugee regulations affect Turkey to adjust and adopt policies in the field of education, temporary protection regulations, and policy standards for refugees with a certain sexual orientation. Even though UNHCR influences the Turkish government, referring to the theory as an international institution, UNHCR's role is not binding and intervening in Turkish policies. Hence, the policies adopted by the Turkish government are their own decisions because the policies also follow their goals. Keywords: International Institution, Policy Influence, Refugee, Turkey, UNHCR Penelitian ini mengkaji pengaruh UNHCR sebagai lembaga internasional terhadap Turki dalam tata kelola pengungsi global. Perang Suriah menjadi penyebab masuknya pengungsi dalam jumlah besar ke Eropa, Turki sebagai negara transit banyak menerima pengungsi yang datang sebelum diteruskan ke negara ketiga. Turki menjadi negara yang paling signifikan dalam merespon krisis pengungsi, khususnya krisis pengungsi Suriah. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif membaca secara kritis kemudian dianalisis untuk interpretasi. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui studi kepustakaan. Penulis menggunakan teori rezim internasional untuk menjelaskan peran lembaga internasional dalam memengaruhi perilaku aktor. Hasil penelitian menemukan bahwa UNHCR sebagai lembaga internasional memengaruhi perilaku Turki dalam menangani isu pengungsi. Standar UNHCR dan peraturan pengungsi memengaruhi Turki untuk menyesuaikan dan mengadopsi kebijakan di bidang pendidikan, peraturan perlindungan sementara, dan standar kebijakan bagi pengungsi dengan orientasi seksual tertentu. Meskipun UNHCR memengaruhi Pemerintah Turki, mengacu pada teori sebagai lembaga internasional, peran UNHCR tidak mengikat dan mengintervensi kebijakan Turki. Oleh karena itu, kebijakan yang diambil oleh Pemerintah Turki adalah keputusan mereka sendiri karena kebijakan tersebut juga sesuai tujuan mereka. Kata-kata kunci: Institusi Internasional, Pengaruh Kebijakan, Pengungsi, Turki, UNHCR
... Since its foundation, Turkey's migration/asylum policy, including relationships with international refugee law, intersected with Turkey's international politic aims marked by a general suspicion about Middle Eastern countries, on the one hand, and a goal of improving relations with Western countries on the other. In some time periods, the policies were quite restrictive, as in the early 1990s, on the ground of national security interests (Kirişci, 2012). In other periods, like in the 2000-2013 era, migration policies shifted towards a more liberal direction due to the changes in Turkey's migration profile, the impact of the new ruling party's foreign policy objectives, and the European accession process (Icduygu 2014;Elitok, 2013). ...
... Both IOM and UNHCR avoid any criticism of the government and use a discourse of partnership and collaboration. Both were actively involved in drafting Turkey's first asylum legislation that envisioned temporary protection for mass arrivals and maintained geographical limitations over the Geneva Convention (Fine, 2017;Kirişci, 2012;Scheel & Philipp, 2014). As planned in the preparation of this legislation, refugee status determination was handed over to Turkish national agencies in 2018 (Nalule & Ozkul, 2020). ...
... Since its foundation, Turkey's migration/asylum policy, including relationships with international refugee law, intersected with Turkey's international politic aims marked by a general suspicion about Middle Eastern countries, on the one hand, and a goal of improving relations with Western countries on the other. In some time periods, the policies were quite restrictive, as in the early 1990s, on the ground of national security interests (Kirişci, 2012). In other periods, like in the 2000-2013 era, migration policies shifted towards a more liberal direction due to the changes in Turkey's migration profile, the impact of the new ruling party's foreign policy objectives, and the European accession process (Icduygu 2014;Elitok, 2013). ...
... Both IOM and UNHCR avoid any criticism of the government and use a discourse of partnership and collaboration. Both were actively involved in drafting Turkey's first asylum legislation that envisioned temporary protection for mass arrivals and maintained geographical limitations over the Geneva Convention (Fine, 2017;Kirişci, 2012;Scheel & Philipp, 2014). As planned in the preparation of this legislation, refugee status determination was handed over to Turkish national agencies in 2018 (Nalule & Ozkul, 2020). ...
... It also establishes a General Directorate of Migration Management within the Ministry of Interior to implement the new law and to protect the rights of migrants and asylum seekers. The new law constitutes the most fundamental step in the history of the Republic towards the establishment of a complete and comprehensive migration and asylum policy (Kirişçi 2012). It is noteworthy that this reform was passed at the height of the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey. ...
... In 2014 Turkey led the Budapest Process -a consultative forum of 50 governments and 20 international organizations to attain orderly migration in South-east Europe, the Black Sea and Central Asia -and the Silk Roads Partnership for Migration; it also held the 2014-15 Presidency of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GMFD) (Paçacı Elitok 2013:3-4). Turkey's growing role in global migration management is also becoming a driving factor underpinning its reforms in the field of refugee and asylum policy, which, as discussed above, have seen a notable process of convergence with the EU in recent years (Kirişçi 2012). ...
... Due to its strategic location, Türkiye has been a transit country for most migrants and refugees, and a necessary stop on their way to Europe (Kirişçi, 2012;Yilmaz-Elmas et al., 2016). However, while Türkiye is a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, it has limited its international law obligations to refugees fleeing "events occurring in Europe" and generally avoided regulating the field and establishing a national framework until the early 2000s. ...
Due to its strategic location, Türkiye has been a transit country for most migrants and refugees and a necessary stop on their way to Europe. However, while Türkiye is a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, it has limited its international law obligations to refugees fleeing “events occurring in Europe” and generally avoided regulating the field and establishing a national framework until early 2000s. Largely driven by the EU accession processes, Türkiye implemented legislative, institutional and policy reforms related to asylum and began making gradual changes to align its asylum and migration structures to the EU framework from 2001. Cooperation between the EU and Türkiye in the field of asylum and migration significantly changed with the so-called migration crisis in the EU in 2015. The EU-Türkiye Statement in 2016 which foresaw deliverance of one of the most significant financial assistances of the EU history relating to migrants, became a symbol -for both critics and supporters- of the EU external migration policies. This chapter based on the extensive fieldwork conducted in Türkiye between June and October 2021, analyses the political, legal and financial instruments through which the EU and Türkiye have cooperated in the field of migration and asylum between 2015 and 2021. The analysis focuses on the three main instruments: the EU- Türkiye Statement of March 2016, the EU- Türkiye Readmission Agreement, and the Facility for Refugees in Türkiye (FRiT) and these instruments are analysed on six points; transparency, accountability, conformity with international law, results, promoting containment or mobility and finally, the alignment with the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR).
... Second, as Pınar Bilgin notes, there is a 'historical centrality of geopolitical assumptions and security imaginary, co-constituting a "geopolitical dogma" in Turkish politics' (Bilgin 2012). Turkey's nationbuilding process at the expense of its non-Turkish and non-Muslim minorities -which has given rise to the long-standing Kurdish issue -entrenches a mindset among Turkish political elites that mass migration from the Middle East threatens Turkish national security interests (Kirisci 2012). Turkey does not want to be a permanent place of asylum; accordingly, it maintains the power to decide how to treat certain migrant groups based on which part of the world they have come from and Turkey's relations with that region (Abdelaaty 2021). ...
Despite growing interest in the return of rejected asylum seekers, irregular migrants, and refugees, we do not know enough about how geopolitics affects returns governance. This article addresses this knowledge gap by analysing the case of Turkey, exploring how positions in the global migration regime and relations with countries of origin influence return policies. It first argues that Turkey’s geopolitical reasoning has led it to design an asylum regime, including repatriation and deportation procedures, centred on temporariness. Second, it contends that Turkey’s extraterritorial space-making strategies–namely, military intervention in Syria and humanitarian/development projects in Afghanistan–guide return policies. Examining the Turkish case contributes to our understanding of national returns governance in transit-turned-host countries, which increasingly emphasise repatriation over long-term protection. Finally, the paper contributes more generally to our understanding of the geopolitics of returns by focusing on specific mechanisms that link geopolitical concerns with policy instruments at the state level. © 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
... Second, beyond setting incentives, the EC exercises a softer influence on Turkish domestic politics via institution building and social learning in networks established between the EC and Turkish administrators in the IPA process (Bölükbaşı & Ertugal, 2013;İçduygu, 2007;Kirişci, 2012). In order to manage the EU accession talks and the IPA process, Turkish ministries established EU departments in which an increasing number of staff members have benefitted from IPA-financed trainings. ...
This open access book explores the new complexities and ambiguities that epitomize EU-Turkey relations. With a strong focus on the developments in the last decade, the book provides full access to a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted relationship through three entry points: (1) Theories and Concepts, (2) Institutions, and (3) Policies. Part I brings together complementary and competing analytical approaches to study the evolution of EU-Turkey relations, ranging from traditional integration theories to novel concepts. Part II investigates the institutional machinery of EU-Turkey relations by analyzing the roles and perspectives of the European Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament. Part III offers analyses of the policies most relevant for the relationship: enlargement policy, trade and macroeconomic policies, foreign and security policy, migration and asylum policies, and energy policy. In Part IV, the volume closes with a systematic survey of the conditions under which cooperative trends in EU-Turkey relations could be (re)invigorated. The systematic setup and the balanced combination of distinguished experts from EU- and Turkey-based institutions make this book a fundamental reading for students, researchers, lecturers, and practitioners of EU-Turkey relations, European integration and Turkish foreign policy.
Wulf Reiners is Senior Researcher and Head of the ‘Managing Global Governance’ (MGG) Program of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE).
Ebru Turhan is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Turkish-German University in Istanbul, Turkey.
... Second, beyond setting incentives, the EC exercises a softer influence on Turkish domestic politics via institution building and social learning in networks established between the EC and Turkish administrators in the IPA process (Bölükbaşı & Ertugal, 2013;Bürgin, 2016;İçduygu, 2007;Kirişci, 2012). In order to manage the EU accession talks and the IPA process, Turkish ministries established EU departments in which an increasing number of staff members have benefitted from IPA-financed trainings. ...
Based on a review of the relations between the European Commission (EC) and Turkey across a selection of policy areas, this chapter illustrates two aspects of EC influence in EU–Turkey relations. First, as a defender of the rules of the (enlargement) game, the Commission has rebuffed attempts by some member states to undermine Turkey’s membership prospects. The EC’s influence in the debate on the most appropriate approach to Turkey underlines its autonomous role within the EU system and the relevance of its norm-based argumentation. However, due to Turkey’s current alienation from the EU’s normative standards, norm-based arguments in favor of Turkey’s membership have lost much of their weight even within the Commission. Second, the EC has been an important ‘agent of change’ in Turkish domestic politics, even in times of deteriorating political relations with the EU. Because of its contributions to regular interactions, in particular, in the framework of projects financed by the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the EC has continued to increase administrative capacity and policy learning processes within Turkey’s bureaucracy, which, in turn, contributed to Ankara’s continued harmonization with the EU acquis in some sectors, despite the waning relevance of the EU’s conditionality strategy.
... The LFIP came into force after a relatively open deliberation process with stakeholders yet without much public discussion on the subject (Kirişci, 2012;Üstübici, 2018, pp. 75-77). ...
The article highlights international dimensions of the emergence and transformation of migration policies in Turkey from the early 2000s onwards, including the context of the Syrian displacement, which made Turkey the top refugee hosting country in the world. While the transformation of migration governance in Turkey has widely been discussed, the effects of externalization on Turkey have remained focused on foreign policy and Turkey-EU relations. Only recently has the research explored the socio-legal implications of migration governance in terms of the emergence of categorizations leading to differentiated inclusion of migrant groups. The article establishes the historical and conceptual link between technocratic responses to externalization dynamics and the emergence of differentiated legal status. The article argues that measures of externalization brought a technocratic approach to migration governance. As a result, the complex, controversial aspects of the externalization process, such as the production of differentiated legal statuses amongst migrant communities with protection needs, have so far been overshadowed.
... Demiryontar, 2016). Kirişci (2012) argues that these legal reforms are evidence of socialization with European standards, especially since the bureaucrats involved in drafting the new laws received some training in Europe. ...
Even as Turkey took in over 3 million Syrians at great expense, Turkish officials were referring to these individuals as guests rather than refugees. Despite significant legal developments in the country, and particularly the formalization of a temporary-protection regime, this choice of labels reveals the influence of underlying political trends on Turkish policymaking regarding refugees. This article compares Turkey’s reactions to the Syrian inflow with its responses to previous refugee groups, including Iraqis in 1988, Bosnians in 1992, Kosovars in 1998 and Chechens starting 1999. In so doing, it demonstrates that the refusal to designate certain populations as asylum seekers or refugees enables Turkey to opt in or out of what might otherwise appear to be generally applicable, national-level policies. Through these strategic semantics, policymakers retain a freedom to manoeuvre in response to international and domestic political incentives.
... Turkey's migration policy shifted in the 2000s due to the requirement of its compliance with EU refugee laws and the border regime (Kirişçi 2012). The EU accession process and international pressure to revise its migration policies to "manage" transit and irregular migrants forced Turkey to undergo some changes in its migration policies (Canefe 2016:10). ...
The Turkish-Syrian borderlands host almost half of the Syrian refugees, with an estimated 1.5 million people arriving in the area following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. This book investigates the ongoing negotiations of ethnicity, religion and state at the border, as refugees struggle to settle and to navigate their encounters with the Turkish state and with different sectarian groups.
In particular, the book explores the situation in Antakya, the site of the ancient city of Antioch, the "cradle of civilizations", and now populated by diverse populations of Arab Alawites, Christians and Sunni-Turks. The book demonstrates that urban refugee encounters at the margins of the state reveal larger concerns that encompass state practices and regional politics. Overall, the book shows how and why displacement in the Middle East is intertwined with negotiations of identity, politics and state. Faced with an environment of everyday oppression, refugees negotiate their own urban space and "refugee" status, challenging, resisting and sometimes confirming sectarian boundaries.
This book’s detailed analysis will be of interest to anthropologists, geographers, sociologists, historians, and Middle Eastern studies scholars who are working on questions of displacement, cultural boundaries and the politics of civil war in border regions.
... There are also many research projects that have emphasized the social conditions and realities of migrants and refugees in Turkey (Şenses 2016; Baban/Ilcan/Rygiel 2016; Düvell/Wissink/van Eerdewijk 2013; Heck 2013;İçduygu 2015; Özden 2013; see also Baban/Ilcan/Rygiel in this issue). Another body of research focuses on the legal aspects of the developing Turkish migration and border regime, such as the recent implementation of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection(Soykan 2011(Soykan , 2012Kirişci 2012). ...
Against the background of a recent ethnographic research project on the effects of the EU-Turkey deal and yearlong research activities in Turkey, the article will re-visit the changing dynamics of the recent Turkish border and migration regime in relation to the externalization policies of the EU. We argue that academic narrations, which tend to reduce Turkey's role to a simple externalization of EU border politics, are insufficient to explain the current Turkish migration regime. Rather, the article elaborates how the recent history of Turkey's migration and border regime has become interwoven with other multi-layered dynamics, shaped by different national, regional, and international developments and aspirations. Furthermore, it analyzes the effects of the EU-Turkey deal in regard to the current asylum and migration regime in Turkey.
... Certainly, the impact of both the UNHCR and the EU has helped transform Turkish asylum policy, previously framed primarily from a 'national security' perspective, towards one framed more from a human rights and international refugee law perspective (Kirişci 2007a , p. 15). The law on Foreigners and International Protection prepared with signifi cant contributions and experiences gained from UNHCR refl ects this shift to a human-rights-focused approach from a purely security-driven one (Kirişci 2010 ). It signifi es a major positive transformation in Turkey's asylum policy in terms of both its preparation process, which has been based on open consultation, and its content, which enlarges the protection space for asylum seekers, ensures non-refoulement , improves detention conditions and betters access to judicial review. ...
The chapter explores the conceptualization of Turkey as a transit migration country and assesses the implications of the EU’s actions to externalize its migration policy within the enlargement process. It analyzes the way transit migration in Turkey has been approached within the EU’s enlargement policy under existing dynamics concerning Turkey on the one hand and the EU’s efforts to externalize its immigration policy on the other. Europeanization of Turkey’s immigration policy is tested in terms of its progress on legislative adaptation, border management, visa policy, readmission agreement and asylum policy. The limits and deadlocks of cooperation that reveal the negative externalities imposed on Turkey are also studied as influential factors concerning the transformation and the success of cooperation in the policy field.
... [Accordingly], in 2002 the government formed a Task Force that brought together officials from various agencies, possibly for the first time in their history, to actually discuss what needed to be done to meet the conditions set by these documents. 39 In addition to the impact of the conditions set by the EU, it is also acknowledged that the EU was able to trigger socialization and learning processes, as suggested by the abovementioned social learning model. According to Kirişci, the EU demands 'broadened the scope of the ongoing informal debate between officials directly dealing with asylum on the one hand and academics and experts as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and the UNHCR on the other' . ...
The European Union’s (EU) influence on Turkey’s domestic politics has been characterized as weak due to the lack of credible accession perspective. However, Turkey’s adoption of an asylum law in 2013, which meets almost all demands of the EU, points to the EU’s continuing influence in this policy area. The majority of the academic experts in our online survey considered the EU accession process as crucial factor for the adoption of the law. Our interviews with officials from the Turkish government and the European Commission reveal how the EU impacted on the drafting process. EU-financed twinning projects in this policy area contributed to the creation of new institutions and to the socialization of actors, both leading to a more conducive environment for reform.
Göç, çok farklı disiplinlerle iç içe geçmiş, tarih boyunca da var olmuş bir kavramdır. Her ne kadar tüm insanlığın inkar etmediği bir durum olsa da henüz üzerinde mutabık kalınmış net bir tanımı bulunmamaktadır. Türkiye tarih boyunca yoğun kitlesel göçlere maruz kalan bir ülkedir. Özellikle Osmanlı son dönemlerinden günümüze kadar birçok politikayı önemli seviyede etkileyen göç hareketleri, göç politikaları ve kurumsallaşma konusunda net bir tavrın ortaya konulmasına engel olmuştur. Bu ise kurumsallaşma ve net bir politika belirleme konusunda olumsuz etki yapmıştır. Çalışmamızda günümüzde Türkiye’nin göç yönetim yapısı içerisinde yerelde göç yönetimi genel olarak ele alınacak, devamında da bu alan üzerine Suriyeli göç dalgası özelinde eksik yönleri üzerinde durulacaktır ve önerilerde bulunulacaktır. Literatürde salt yerelde göç yönetimi üzerine çalışma olmaması, bu çalışmayı önemli yapan nedendir. Literatür tarama yöntemi kullanılarak ortaya konulan çalışmamız, birincil kaynaklardan yararlanmıştır.
This article explores Turkey’s century-long asylum policies by highlighting two enduring policy considerations. The first is Turkey's process of convergence with the norms and principles of the global refugee regime. The second is the persistent practice of granting refugees protection of a temporary nature. These two policy considerations are discussed by employing the conceptual frameworks of ‘policy diffusion’ and the ‘nationalizing migration state.’ The study concludes that Turkey’s asylum policies have been shaped by the tension between these two policy considerations over the past century.
Mignex Background Paper: Migration-relevant policies in Turkey
Göç, AB-Türkiye ilişkilerini son birkaç on yıldır (yeniden) şekillendiren en önemli meselelerden biri haline gelmiştir. 2015 yazında göçmen ve sığınmacı sayılarındaki beklenmedik artışın, veya bazı uzmanların tabir ettiği şekliyle 2015 Akdeniz göçmen ve sığınmacı krizinin, AB-Türkiye ilişkileri üzerinde önemli yansımaları olmuştur ve nihayetinde 2016 yılındaki AB-Türkiye Mutabakatı’nın kabulüne yol açmıştır. Mutabakat, çok farklı tepkileri tetikleyerek bazı gözlemcilerin, Türkiye’de göç meselelerinin artan şekilde politize edilmesinin AB-Türkiye antlaşmasının AB’nin önceliklerine hizmet edecek şekilde sürdürülebilir ve sorunsuz uygulanmasının önünde potansiyel bir kısıt oluşturacağını vurgulamışlardır.Bu çalışma, AB’nin dış sınırlarında yer alan bir ülke olarak Türkiye’nin nasıl ve ne şekilde AB’nin göç politikası önceliklerine itiraz ettiğini analiz etmektedir. Makale, yöntemsel olarak kalitatif nitelikte olup seçilmiş birincil ve ikincil yazılı kaynakların incelemesine ve analizine dayanmaktadır. Makalenin temel argümanı, göç olgusunun AB-Türkiye ilişkilerinde araçsallaştırıldığı ve Türk otoritelerinin, AB-Türkiye ilişkilerini geleneksel olarak karakterize eden güç hiyerarşisi asimetrisini değiştirme çabası içinde göç konusuna AB ile yaptıkları görüşmelerde değindikleri şeklindedir.
This report analyses the political, legal and financial instruments through which the EU and Turkey have cooperated in the field of migration and asylum between 2015 and 2021. The analysis is based on document analysis, a literature review and stakeholder interviews. The analysis focuses on the three main instruments: the EU-Turkey Statement of March 2016, the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement, and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRiT).
Strategic planning is the methodological, long-term planning starting from small steps to high-level decisions of a country or an organization's goals, resources, roadmap, techniques and tactics in line with its vision where it wants to be in the future and its mission. Logistics when evaluated comprehensively, considering the latest technology and globalization, on the other hand, can be defined as the systematic planning, starting from the acquisition of a good or service, including all activities that may be encountered throughout its life cycle, and execution of all activities beyond the sale or disposal of a good or service. Countries making an effective strategic planning with correct future predictions, taking into account their logistics capabilities and performance, and acting according to the plan, can become an economically powerful, developed country and gain an advantage over their counterparts. Airline logistics, which has been increasing in volume and efficiency in recent years, can also contribute to this advantage. In this study, the contribution of airline logistics in Turkey was investigated by comparing logistics in the world and Turkey within the scope of strategic planning. In the research, the official reports of international organizations such as the World Bank, especially Turkish Presidency and the Ministry of Development along with the official data of other countries were used. As a result, the research shows that logistics is a factor that requires strategic planning rather than a simple cost, it will have an even more important place for countries in the future, with the contribution of the globalization of the logistics network and the tremendous development in information system technologies, particularly the share of airline logistics will increase and logistics will be the new assistant element.
This chapter aims to contribute to the ongoing debates related to the EU-Turkey (Migration/Refugee) Deal including the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016, by examining the effects of the Deal on the migration and asylum system of Turkey. In order to provide a clear analysis of these effects, the piece first focuses on the background, by demonstrating the main features of the Turkish system in the wake of the Deal to better assess the Deal’s impact on the current system. It then looks into the scope of this impact in more detail and concludes that the EU-Turkey Deal, as a new type of externalization tool for EU’s migration policy, has reflected its deterrent approach onto the migration and asylum system of Turkey, creating discrepancies, especially on the administrative capacity, legal framework and administrative practice. Thus, this reflection has resulted in a conversion of informally constituted inconsistencies to a formal structure.
This article examines responses and strategies of civil society in Turkey to reception policies in the context of the Syrian forced migration. Based on interviews with public officials and representatives from humanitarian and right-based organizations, I show that strategies of civil society are shaped by institutional, discursive, and international opportunity structures. On the one hand, humanitarian organizations build alliances with the state and employ religious frames and venue shopping to legitimize state policies on refugees. On the other hand, rights-based organizations conduct advocacy and formed alliances with the media, utilizing frames of rights and justice and venue shopping at the European level.
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.
This article examines the 2013 migration policy liberalizations in Morocco and Turkey in order to understand whether predominantly “human rights-centric” or “diplomatic” factors influenced domestic decisions to reform migration policies. It uses original interview data collected in 2015, as well as policy documents, to examine the two reform processes and their initial consequences for migrants and refugees residing in each host state. While the academic literature on migration has focused on human rights-centric factors to understand historic migration policy reforms, Turkey and Morocco’s geopolitical and geographic positions between powerful neighbors to the north and important sending countries to the south mean that diplomatic factors are also key to understanding the incentives behind reform. This article’s findings have important implications for scholars of international migration, demonstrating that while countries like Morocco and Turkey may implement liberal and inclusive policies if there are diplomatic and economic gains to be had from doing so, such policies may have little impact on the everyday lives of individual migrants and refugees residing in these states and may be subject to reversals if such states’ geopolitical calculations change.
This article argues that EU-induced learning processes in Turkish domestic politics deserve greater attention within the Turkey-related Europeanization literature, which, in view of Turkey’s increasing distance from the European Union, tends to attribute a continued partial alignment with EU policies to either domestic, or to non-EU-related external factors. Two arguments are put forward. First, in domestically driven reform processes, the EU may still be able to influence policy choices due to domestic actors’ bounded rationality and conflicting goals. Second, while persuasion and learning at the top political level is rather unlikely, given the currently tense relations, there are much more favorable context conditions for EU-induced learning in the interaction of the Turkish bureaucracy with the EU.
This chapter examines the emergence of ‘the refugee problem’ in Turkey and how this problematic has been constituted through a focus on the trajectory of the UNHCR’s recent relationship with the Turkish government. We point to a concern by UNHCR to cultivate and lead a productive relationship with stakeholders in refugee governance through a charm offensive and techniques of partnership. This case exposes the muddy terrain in which the UNHCR steers Turkey’s refugee policies towards European interests.
Against the background of the research project on “De-and Re-stabilizations of the European Border Regime”, analyzing the recent political attempts by the EU and its member states to regain control over its borders and the movements of migration after the so-called “European refugee crisis” in 2015, this article discusses Turkey’s role and position within international migration flows and the EU-driven border regime. Reflecting on the recent history of Turkey’s migration and border politics, we argue that academic accounts, which tend to reduce Turkey’s role to a simple extension of the EU border regime, are insufficient to explain the current state of affairs in Turkey. Rather, the article sheds light on the contested and multilayered nature of the Turkish migration regime, which can be partly read as reactions to the European Union, but also as an effect of its own foreign and national policy interests. The outcome is a highly hybrid political formation causing ambiguous legal, social, and political limitations for migrants and refugees, reflected in their journeys and in social and political realities, which are discussed as exemplified in the migratory stories of two migrants.
This article examines the role of the International Organisation for Migration in relation to the emergence of Turkey’s first law on asylum. The enactment of this law needs to be understood in parallel to the formation of a bordercratic community of practice. Bordercrats operate within a specialist domain of knowledge centred on a migration management rationality which is produced and diffused across institutions and states. Officers from the IOM bring migration management knowledges and practices to local sites through technical expertise, courtship moves and social learning. At the same time Turkish ‘local’ actors gain authority through their participation in the transnational field, which invariably involves assimilation of Europe-facing agendas. IOM classifications of Turkey as variously ‘transit’, ‘destination’, ‘European’, ‘Muslim’ and ‘safe’ have a performative function for steering Turkey towards containing the EU’s unwanted migrants.
In view of Turkey’s increasing distance from the European Union (EU), the continued partial alignment with EU standards is often attributed either to domestic factors, or to diffusion processes induced by external actors other than the EU. However, based on interviews with officials from Turkey and the European Commission on recent reforms in migration policy, this article argues that two factors are responsible for continued EU influence on policy processes. First, the EU is still able to set incentives for compliance. Second, the instrument for pre-accession assistance has an impact that goes beyond that of a mere facilitator of domestically defined interests.
Increasingly more scholars and analysts argue that migration controls are deemed to fail simply because of the dynamic nature of human mobility. Nevertheless, migration remains to be a hot topic on political agenda as well as a key area of legislation. Turkey has recently implemented some serious structural changes through a new law of migration and creation of a specialist central general directorate responsible for handling almost anything and everything about migrants and foreigners in the country. On the other hand, politics and political participation of the Turks abroad is part and parcel of the integration debates strongly shaping the mainstream politics of immigration countries in Europe and beyond. In this book, we are offering a number of research accounts investigating the political participation and integration, new legislations, and implications of policy and law on migration practices.
The European Union (EU) has fortified its external borders using a number of measures including the creation of new institutions and networks such as FRONTEX and EUROSUR. In non-EU countries such as Turkey, border security is being reorganized with EU support and cooperation. By combining the literature on EU actorness and neo-functionalism, I provide a theoretical toolkit to critically unpack these new developments through conceptualizing multiple dimensions of what I call functional actorness. The contribution analyzes how the functional transformation of EU and Turkish border security has produced a number of side effects which are critically appraised.
This article investigates the complex relationship between the practices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the field of refugee protection and the more recent political rationality of ‘migration management’ by drawing from governmentality studies. It is argued that the dissemination of UNHCR's own refugee protection discourse creates certain ‘figures of migration’ allowing for justifying the build-up and perfection of border controls, which in turn enable any attempt to ‘manage’ migration in the first place. Conversely, the problematisation of population movements as ‘mixed migration flows’ allows UNHCR to enlarge its field of activitiy despite its narrow mandate by actively participating in the promotion, planning and implementation of migration management systems. Based on ethnographic research in Turkey and Morocco, this article demonstrates, furthermore, that UNHCR's refugee protection discourse and the emerging migration management paradigm are both based on a methodological nationalism, share an authoritarian potential and yield de-politicising effects. What UNHCR's recent embracing of the migration management paradigm together with its active involvement in respective practices then brings to the fore is that UNHCR is part of a global police of populations.
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