Migration ‘Securitization’ and its Everyday Implications: an examination of Turkish asylum policy and practice

Abstract

Generally known as a migrant-sending country, in the last two decades Turkey has evolved into a migrant-receiving and transit country. Since the 1980s, in particular, Turkey has found itself on various migratory routes, receiving a steady influx of migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa. As with much of the rest of the developed world, the immediate response of the Turkish authorities to these mixed flows has been characterized by a ‘securitizing’ and ‘criminalizing’ discourse. The main goals of this paper are twofold. First, I examine the historical development of Turkish asylum policy in order to illustrate the manner in which discourses on security play out in policy making. Second, based on accounts collected from refugees living in Istanbul and ‘satellite cities’ across Turkey, I explore the impact of these discourses and resulting policies on the everyday lives of refugees in Turkey, with particular attention to the ways in which the line drawn by the authorities between ‘illegal’ migrants and ‘genuine’ refugees are increasingly blurred.