https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8253-844X
![Sample our Politics & International Relations journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5947/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Politics-International-Relations.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Migration management has become a top policy concern for the European Union (EU) and a significant implication of this has been to externalize the control and containment practices of migration. As a neighboring country maintaining accession negotiations to become an EU member, Turkey represents a primary area where this externalization occurs. Using a historical case analysis, this article explores how the EU influences Turkey’s migration regime through securitized policies and practices of externalization. It argues that the EU further securitizes Turkey’s already securitarian migration regime by employing the principle of conditionality. Upon providing a brief discussion on securitization of migration and the EU’s securitized externalization practices, the study examines Turkey’s immigration and asylum policies while underlining that the EU has been accelerating the country's already securitarian migration framework through stricter visa regime protocols, increased border security measures, and certain bilateral arrangements including the Readmission Agreement and the Joint Action Plan. It also outlines challenges and recommendations with a conclusion that security-oriented externalized practices diminish the immigrant rights and reinforce uneven socio-economic and political structures. It suggests the need to enforce broader humanitarian perspectives for migration practices. For these analyses, the study utilizes secondary data consisting of previous empirical studies, institutional documents, reports, news articles, and official statements.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks Dr. Jennifer Jackson-Preece of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the participants of the 2019 Graduate Conference of Migration and Mobility Studies at the University of Neuchâtel, the Journal editors, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and valuable support in all stages of developing and publishing this research.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 UNHCR Turkey, “Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey,” (2020), available online at: https://www.unhcr.org/tr/en/refugees-and-asylum-seekers-in-turkey#:~:text=Turkey%20currently%20hosts%20some%203.6,of%20concern%20from%20other%20nationalities.
2 Barry Buzan, Ole Waever, and Jaap de Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis (London, UK: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998).
3 Burcu Togral Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe: Critical Reflections on Turkish Migration Practices,” Turkish Journal of International Relations 11:2 (2012), pp. 65-77.
4 Buzan, Waever, and Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis.
5 Ibid.
6 Thierry Balzacq, Tugba Basaran, Didier Bigo, Emmanuel-Pierre Guittet, and Christian Olsson, “Security Practices,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies (2010), pp. 6407-6424.
7 Didier Bigo, “When Two Become One: Internal and External Securitisations,” In Morten Kelstrup and Michael Williams International Relations Theory and The Politics of European Integration. Power, Security and Community, (ed.) (London, UK: Routledge, 2000), pp. 171-204.
8 Sarah Léonard, “EU Border Security and Migration into the European Union: FRONTEX and Securitisation through Practices,” European Security 19:2 (2010), pp. 231–54.
9 Burcu Togral Koca, “Syrian Refugees in Turkey: From ‘Guests’ to ‘Enemies’?” New Perspectives on Turkey 54 (2016), pp. 55–75.
10 Balzacq et al., “Security Practices,” pp. 6407-24.
11 Sinem Yuksel, “Securitization of Migration: The Case of Turkey-EU Relations,” Marmara Journal of European Studies 22:1 (2014), pp. 169-187; Catherine Macmillan, “Privileged Partnership, Open-ended Accession Negotiations and the Securitisation of Turkey’s EU Accession Process,” Journal of Contemporary European Studies 18:4 (2010), pp. 447-462; Georgios Karyotis and Stratos Patrikios, “Religion, Securitization and Anti-immigration Attitudes: The Case of Greece,” Journal of Peace Research 47:1 (2010), pp. 43-57.
12 Balzacq et al., “Security Practices,” pp. 6407-24.
13 For example, see Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
14 Jeff Huysmans, The Politics of Insecurity: Fear, Migration and Asylum in the EU (New York, NY: Routledge, 2006).
15 Didier Bigo, Philippe Bonditti, Laurent Bonelli, Dario Chi, Antoine Megie, Christian Olsson, The Field of the EU Internal Security Agencies (Paris, France: l’Harmattan, 2008).
16 Burcu Togral Koca, “Securitization and Externalization of the Migration Practices in the EU: Readmission Agreements and the Turkish Case,” In Alpaslan Özerdem and Fulya Özerdem Human Security in Turkey: Challenges for the 21st Century (ed.) Alpaslan Özerdem and Fulya Özerdem (New York, NY: Routledge, 2013), pp. 168-82.
17 Maribel Casas-Cortes, Sebastian Cobarrubias, and John Pickles. “‘Good Neighbours Make Good Fences’: Seahorse Operations, Border Externalization and Extra-Territoriality,” European Urban and Regional Studies 23:3 (2016), pp. 231–51.
18 Ayselin Gozde Yildiz, The European Union’s Immigration Policy: Managing Migration in Turkey and Morocco (London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).
19 Richard Bedford, “Fortress Europe? A New International Migration Regime in the European Community,” New Zealand Journal of Geography 94:1 (1992), pp. 6–10.
20 Hastunc, “Securitization of Migration in the European Union,” p. 89.
21 Ibid.
22 Ben Hayes and Tony Bunyan, “Migration, Development and the EU Security Agenda,” Europe in the Word: Essays on EU Foreign, Security and Development Policies (London, UK: BOND, 2003), pp. 71- 80.
23 Henriette Ruhrmann and David FitzGerald, “The Externalization of Europe’s Borders in the Refugee Crisis, 2015-2016,” Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, Working Paper 194 (2016).
24 Kemal Kirişçi, “Informal ‘Circular Migration’ to Turkey: The Bureaucratic and Political Context,” CARIM, Analytical and Synthetic Notes – Circular Migration Series, Political and Social Module (Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, European University Institute: Fiosele, 2008).
25 Kristen Biehl, “Migration ‘Securitization’ and its Everyday Implications: An Examination of Turkish Asylum Policy and Practice,” CARIM Summer School 2008-Best Participant Essay Series (2009).
26 Kemal Kirişçi, “Turkey: A Transformation from Emigration to Immigration,” Migration Policy Institute (2003), available online at https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/turkey-transformation-emigration-immigration.
27 Mine Eder and Derya Özkul, “Editors’ Introduction: Precarious Lives and Syrian Refugees in Turkey,” New Perspectives on Turkey 54 (2016), pp.1-8.
28 Ahmet İçduygu and Damla Bayraktar Aksel, “Turkish Migration Policies: A Critical Historical Retrospective,” Perceptions 18:3 (2013), pp.167-190.
29 Kirişçi, “Informal ‘Circular Migration’ to Turkey: The Bureaucratic and Political Context.”
30 Esra Kaytaz, “Turkey as a Country of Transit Migration: The Case of Christian Iranian Asylum Seekers,” Unpublished MPhil Thesis (Oxford, UK: University of Oxford, 2006).
31 Kirişçi, “Turkey: A Transformation from Emigration to Immigration.”
32 Ibid.
33 Kubra Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime: Securitization versus Human Rights?” (Master’s Thesis, Middle East Technical University, 2015).
34 Kirişçi, “Turkey: A Transformation from Emigration to Immigration.”
35 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
36 Kemal Kirisci, “Is Turkey Lifting the Geographical Limitation – The November 1994 Regulation on Asylum in Turkey,” International Journal of Refugee Law 8 (1996), p. 293.
37 Katy Long, “No Entry! A Review of UNHC’s Response to Border Closures in Situations of Mass Refugee Influx,” Report for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Policy Development and Evaluation Service (2010).
38 Kirisci, “Is Turkey Lifting the Geographical Limitation,” pp. 308-309.
39 Biehl, “Migration ‘Securitization’ and its Everyday Implications.”
40 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
41 Nurcan Ozgur Baklacioglu, “Building Fortress Turkey: Europeanisation of Asylum Policy in Turkey,” Romanian Journal of European Studies 7:8 (2009), pp. 12-27.
42 Biehl, “Migration ‘Securitization’ and its Everyday Implications.”
43 Koca, “Syrian Refugees in Turkey,” pp. 55–75.
44 Lisa Haferlach and Dilek Kurban, “Lessons Learnt from the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement in Guiding EU Migration Partnerships with Origin and Transit Countries,” Global Policy 8:4 (2017), pp. 85–93.
45 Lami Bertan Tokuzlu, “Burden Sharing Games for Asylum Seekers between Turkey and the European Union,” European University Institute Working Papers (European University Institute, 2010).
46 Ahmet İçduygu and Deniz Yükseker, “Rethinking Transit Migration in Turkey: Reality and Re-Presentation in the Creation of a Migratory Phenomenon,” Population, Space and Place 18:4 (2012), pp. 441–56.
47 Frank Schimmelfennig, “Europeanization beyond Europe,” Living Reviews in European Governance 7:1 (2012), pp. 5-24.
48 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
49 Icduygu, “The Irregular Migration Corridor between the EU and Turkey: Is It Possible to Block It with a Readmission Agreement?”
50 Kirisci, “Turkey, UNHCR and the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.”
51 Ibid.
52 Kristen Biehl, “Migration ‘Securitization’ and its Everyday Implications.”
53 “Accession Partnership Document,” Ministry for the European Union (2001), available online at: https://www.ab.gov.tr/files/AB_Iliskileri/Tur_En_Realitons/Apd/Turkey_APD_2001.pdf.
54 Directorate General of Migration Management, “National Action Plan of Turkey for the Adoption of EU Acquis in the Field of Asylum and Migration,” (2005), available online at: http://www.goc.gov.tr/files/files/turkiye_ulusal_eylem_plani(1).pdf.
55 İçduygu and Aksel, “Turkish Migration Policies.”
56 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
57 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
58 Ahmet İçduygu, and Deniz Yükseker, “Rethinking Transit Migration in Turkey,” pp. 441–56.
59 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
60 “Turkey to Lift Visa Regime for Five Schengen Countries and UK,” Schengenvisainfo News (2020), available online at: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/turkey-to-lift-visa-regime-for-five-schengen-countries-and-uk/.
61 Kirişçi, “Informal ‘Circular Migration’ to Turkey: The Bureaucratic and Political Context.”
62 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
63 Kirişçi, “Turkey: A Transformation from Emigration to Immigration.”
64 Ibid.
65 Ibid.
66 Ibid.
67 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
68 Özden Umut Akbaş, “Immigration Policy in Turkey-EU Relations: Transit Illegal Migration from Turkey to the European Union,” (Istanbul, Turkey: Marmara University, 2005).
69 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
70 Ibid.
71 Baklacioglu, “Building Fortress Turkey: Europeanisation of Asylum Policy in Turkey,” pp. 12-27.
72 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
73 “Walls of Shame: Accounts from the Inside. The Detention Centres of Evros,” PRO ASYL (2012), available online at: https://www.proasyl.de/wpcontent/uploads/2015/12/PRO_ASYL_Report_Walls_of_Shame_Accounts_From_The_Inside_Detention_Centers_of_Evros_April_2012-1.pdf.
74 Elizabeth Frantz, “Report on the Situation of Refugees in Turkey: Findings of a Five-week Exploratory Study, December 2002-January 2003,” American University of Cairo Forced Migration and Refugee Studies (American University of Cairo, Egypt: 2003), p. 45.
75 Aydin and Kirisci, “With or Without the EU: Europeanisation of Asylum and Competition Policies in Turkey,” pp. 375-395.
76 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
77 Aydin and Kirisci, “With or Without the EU: Europeanisation of Asylum and Competition Policies in Turkey,” pp. 375-95.
78 Ibid.
79 Lisa Haferlach and Dilek Kurban, “Lessons Learnt from the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement in Guiding EU Migration Partnerships with Origin and Transit Countries,” pp. 85-93.
80 Eder and Özkul, “Editors’ Introduction: Precarious Lives and Syrian Refugees in Turkey,” pp.1-8.
81 Koca, “Syrian Refugees in Turkey,” pp. 55–75.
82 “No Safe Refuge: Asylum Seekers and Refugees Denied Effective Protection in Turkey,” Amnesty International (2016).
83 Lisa Haferlach and Dilek Kurban, “Lessons Learnt from the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement in Guiding EU Migration Partnerships with Origin and Transit Countries,” pp. 85–93.
84 Ibid.
85 Ibid.
86 Koca, “Syrian refugees in Turkey: from ‘Guests’ to ‘Enemies?” pp. 55-75.
87 Ceylan Yeginsu, “Turkey Strengthens Rights of Syrian Refugees,” The New York Times (2014,) available online at: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/world/europe/turkey-strengthens-rights-of-syrian-refugees.html.
89 “Refugee Law and Policy in Turkey,” Library of Congress (2016), available online at: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/refugee-law/turkey.php#_ftn22.
90 Koca, “Syrian Refugees in Turkey,” pp. 55–75.
91 Independent Author, “Introduction to the Asylum Context in Turkey,” Asylum in Europe, available online at: https://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/turkey/introduction-asylum-context-turkey#_ftn1.
92 UNHCR, “Turkey: Operational Update 2018 Highlights,” available online at: https://bit.ly/2Cr3tBB.
93 Bianca Benvenuti, “The Migration Paradox and EU-Turkey Relations,” IAI Working Papers 17 (2017).
94 Ibid.
95 Sarah Wolff, “The Politics of Negotiating EU Readmission Agreements: Insights from Morocco and Turkey,” European Journal of Migration and Law 16:1 (2014), pp. 69–95.
96 Koca, “Securitization and Externalization of the Migration Practices in the EU.”
97 Elizabeth Frantz, “Report on the Situation of Refugees in Turkey,” p. 45.
98 Economic Development Foundation, “Perception of Europe and Support for EU Membership in Turkish Public Opinion,” Public Opinion Survey (2016), p. 33, available online at: http://www.ikv.org.tr/images/files/Public%20opinion%20survey%202016(1).pdf.
99 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
100 Ignazio Corrao, “Towards a New Policy on Migration: EU-Turkey Statement & Action Plan,” European Parliament (2016), available online at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-toward-a-new-policy-on-migration/file-eu-turkey-statement-action-plan.
101 For detailed information, see http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5860_en.htm.
102 Ruhrmann and FitzGerald, “The Externalization of Europe’s Borders.”
103 “EC Press Release- EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan,” European Commission (2015), available online at: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5860_en.html.
104 Ibid.
105 Benvenuti, “The Migration Paradox and EU-Turkey Relations.”
106 “EU-Turkey statement,” Consilium (March 2016), available online at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/.
107 Ruhrmann & FitzGerald, “The Externalization of Europe’s Borders.”
108 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
109 Amnesty International, Turkey: Stranded: Refugees in Turkey Denied Protection (London: Amnesty International Publications 2009), available online at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/EUR44/001/2009/en/.
110 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Readmission Agreements: A Mechanism for Returning Irregular Migrants, March 16, 2010, Doc. 12168, available online at https://www.refworld.org/docid/4bdadc1c3.html
111 European Commission, “Operational implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement,” (2017), available online at: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/press-material/docs/state_of_play_-_eu-turkey_en.pdf.
112 Adrian Edwards, and Medea Savary, “Mediterranean Death Toll Soars in First 5 Months of 2016,” UNHCR (May 2016), available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2016/5/574db9d94/mediterranean-death-toll-soars-first-5- months-2016.html.
113 “Europe Off Limits: Militarization of the EU’s External Borders,” Friedensgutachten Peace Report (2014), pp. 57–69, available online at: http://www.friedensgutachten.de/tl_files/friedensgutachten/pdf_eng/fga2014en/Beitrag%201.7.pdf.
114 Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, “Opinion: EU, Turkey Need Each Other and a New Refugee Deal,” Deutche Welle (2020), available online at: https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-eu-turkey-need-each-other-and-a-new-refugee-deal/a-5313185.1
115 Canan Kaya, “Procedural Rights Under Turkish Law in the Light of the EU Asylum Law,” E-Journal of Ministry of Justice (2009), available online at: http://www.justice.gov.tr/e-journal/pdf/PROCEDURAL_%20RIGHTS%20.pdf.
116 “Turkey’s Refugee Crisis: The Politics of Permanence,” International Crisis Group Report 241 (2017), available online at: https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/241-turkey-s-refugee-crisis-the-politics-of-permanence.pdf.
117 “Over 40 Per Cent of Syrian Refugee Children in Turkey Missing Out on Education, Despite Massive Increase in Enrolment Rates,” UNICEF News Note (2017), available online at: https://www.unicef.org/media/media_94417.html.
118 Koca, “Securitization and Externalization of the Migration Practices in the EU.”
119 Benvenuti, “The Migration Paradox and EU-Turkey Relations.”
120 Biehl, “Migration ‘Securitization’ and its Everyday Implications: An Examination of Turkish Asylum Policy and Practice.”
121 Ibid.
122 Jean Marie Henckaerts, Mass Expulsion in Modern International Law and Practice (The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1995), pp. 45-47.
123 “EU-Turkey refugee deal a historic blow to rights,” Amnesty International (2016), available online at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/03/eu-turkey-refugee-deal-a-historic-blow-to-rights/.
124 See “Turkey: MEPs Raise the Alarm on EU Accession Talks,” European Parliament (2017), available online at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20170629IPR78637/turkey-meps-raise-the-alarm-on-eu-accession-talks.
125 Sefa Cetin, Erol Turan, Reha Atakan Cetin, and Oguz Hamsioglu, “The Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis on Turkey-EU Relations,” International Journal of Political Studies 3:3 (2017), pp. 13-19 , available online at: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/icps/issue/41270/498524.
126 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
127 Benvenuti, “The Migration Paradox and EU-Turkey Relations.”
128 Koca, “Securitization of Migration in Europe,” pp. 65-77.
129 Caroline Mortimer, “Turkish President Tells EU Leaders to Pay Up on Refugee Deal,” The Independent (2016), available online at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-turkey-coup-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-jean-claude-juncker-syria-a7157411.html.
130 Ibid.
131 Lisa Haferlach and Dilek Kurban, “Lessons Learnt from the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement in Guiding EU Migration Partnerships with Origin and Transit Countries,” pp. 85–93.
132 Ibid.
133 “Turkey’s Refugee Crisis: The Politics of Permanence.”
134 Julien Barnes-Dacey, “The War Next Door: Syria and the Erosion of Stability in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey,” European Council on Foreign Relations Policy Paper (2016), available online at: https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_war_next_door_syria_and_the_erosion_of_stability_in_jordan_lebanon_7066.
135 Aydinli, “A Critical Assessment of Turkey’s Migration Regime.”
136 Nurcan Ozgur Baklacioglu, “İltica Alanında Dolaylı Sınırdışı Pratiği Olarak Entegrasyon Politikası,” In Ozlen Çelebi, Saime Özçürümez, and Sirin Türkay (eds.), İltica, Uluslararası Göç ve Vatansızlık (2011), pp. 357-373.
137 Ahmet İçduygu, Syrian Refugees in Turkey: The Long Road Ahead (Washington DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2015).
138 Lisa Haferlach, and Dilek Kurban, “Lessons Learnt from the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement in Guiding EU Migration Partnerships with Origin and Transit Countries,” pp. 85–93.
139 Hastunc, “Securitization of Migration in the European Union,” p. 85.
140 Ayşen Ustubici, and Ahmet İçduygu. “Border Closures and the Externalization of Immigration Controls in the Mediterranean: A Comparative Analysis of Morocco and Turkey–RETRACTED,” New Perspectives on Turkey 59 (2018), pp. 7-31.
141 Ibid., 18.
142 Ibid.
143 Ibid., 23.
144 Laura Batalla Adam, The Refugee Card in EU-Turkey Relations: A Necessary but Uncertain Deal (Istituto Affari Internazionali, 2016).
145 Unluhisarcikli, “Opinion: EU, Turkey Need Each Other and a New Refugee Deal.”
146 Ustubici and Icduygu, “Border Closures and the Externalization of Immigration Controls in the Mediterranean,” p. 23.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Reha Atakan Çetіn
Reha Atakan Çetіn is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida. He holds master’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the London School of Economics and Political Science. His current research interests include political sociology, urban studies, gender & sexuality, immigration, and citizenship.