Changing the Status Quo of Migration and Asylum Policies in Turkey: A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

Turkey has been experiencing a migration policy transformation in the wake of a new ruling entitled the ‘Foreigners and International Protection Law’ (FIPL). This qualitative inquiry investigates this major change process by focusing on the planned reorganisation which is a result of the legislation process, with the aim of connecting the change process to a change model. The researcher interviewed twenty-seven middle and upper-level managers and experts from the Foreigners, Border, and Asylum Department (FBAD) and Asylum and Migration Bureau (AMB) of the Turkish Ministry of the Interior. Both their implementation of the change process and perceptions on such a transformation period were investigated. The study also examined the change process of the irregular migration and asylum regime within Turkey’s bid for full European Union membership as well as implementation of the draft FIPL. This study provides an example of a policy change process by analysing how governmental practice and legislation have evolved with regard to irregular migration, asylum seekers, and refugees in Turkey. The results noticeably reveal that, instead of seeing irregular migration and asylum as merely a threat to national security or a welfare issue, Turkey has chosen a way of developing a humanitarian approach in both the legislative and administrative fields. This is the first study which attempts to analyse a particular policy change process in the migration and asylum regime in Turkey. The results could influence policy dynamics and set priorities by suggesting policy solutions.

Keywords:

• migration
• asylum
• policy change
• organisational change management
• Turkey
• European Union
• refugee

Notes on contributor

Osman Seyhan received his MA degree in education management from the Faculty of Education at Karadeniz Technical University in 2003, and PhD degree in public affairs from the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas (Dallas, USA) in 2009. Dr Seyhan has published many articles and book chapters. His dissertation, entitled: ‘Identifying Social and Political Correlates of National Human Trafficking Scores: An Extension of Bales’ Theory of Modern Slavery′, has been published by Lampart in Germany. Dr Seyhan's research interests include police management, illegal migration, human trafficking, security management, organisational change, and negotiation. After working in different units of the Turkish National Police Organization as a ranking officer for almost fifteen years, Dr Seyhan is currently working as a Police Superintendent at the Asylum and Migration Research Centre of the Turkish National Police Academy. He also teaches stress management and negotiation.

Correspondence to: Dr Osman Seyhan, İl Emniyet Müd, Yabancılar Şube M, Erzurum Cad. No:72, 04100 Ağri, Turkey. Email: [email protected]