Article detail · 2022
Framing Syrian refugees in Turkish politics: a qualitative analysis on party group speeches
- Year
- 2022
- Type
- article
Data source split
- YÖKSİS YÖKSİS article record
- YÖKSİS venue Territory, Politics, Governance
- Catalog match (ISSN) Territory, Politics, Governance
- OpenAlex OpenAlex enrichment (abstract, citations, topics)
Abstract
OpenAlex · English
Asylum is at the core of political discussions in Turkey. The country has rapidly turned into the world’s largest host state in less than a decade, despite a long tradition of excluding non-Western refugees. Existing studies shed light upon the government’s policy choices, which have fluctuated between a generous welcome and a hasty restriction. However, despite declining electoral support towards Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), few studies examine how other political parties approach Syrian refugees. How do different political parties in Turkey frame Syrian refugees and what are the reasons behind alternative framings? A qualitative content analysis on party group speeches between 2011 and 2019 is conducted to answer this research question. Findings indicate that political identities are significant in shaping refugee governance more so than well-established policy choices on the subject matter. Political identities have led to different framings on Syrian refugees by Islamic Neo-Ottomans and secular modernizers, on the one hand, and by Turkish and Kurdish nationalists, on the other. Yet, identity-related explanations also have their limits. The AKP’s Neo-Ottoman embracing of Muslim brothers from former Ottoman territories have faded with changes in the domestic and international context since 2016. The Turkish nationalists, in contrast, toned down their opposition after aligning with the ruling AKP within the new presidential regime introduced in 2018.
Topics
Citations
OpenAlex cited_by_count. Not a WoS or Scopus citation count; those sources have no separate column here.
45 citations
OpenAlex cited_by_count (cache / database)
24 publications in the local catalog that cite this work (OpenAlex reference match; not the full global list).
- Türkiye’deki Muhalefet Partilerinin Suriyeli Mültecilere yönelik Söylemleri: Güvenlikleştirme ve Geri Gönderme 2023
- Discourses of Turkish Opposition Political Parties towards Syrian Refugees: Securitization and Repatriation 2023
- The Neoliberal Face of the ‘Local Turn’ in Governance of Refugees in Turkey: Participatory Action Research in Karacabey, Bursa 2023
- Populist securitization of migration: The anti-immigrant Zafer Party example in Türkiye 2026
- Populist securitization of migration: The anti-immigrant Zafer Party example in Türkiye 2025
- Populist securitization of migration: The anti-immigrant Zafer Party example in Türkiye 2025
- Electoral pressure, reputational risks, and coalition politics: how established parties respond to the rise of anti-immigrant parties 2025
- Electoral pressure, reputational risks, and coalition politics: how established parties respond to the rise of anti-immigrant parties 2025
- Framing of Syrian Refugees in Turkish Politics: An Analysis of Turkish Grand National Assembly Debates 2025
- Discourses of Inclusion and Exclusion towards Syrian Refugees in Turkey: a Psychoanalytic Approach 2025