![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
This paper explains discrimination perceptions of Turkish qualified migrants who returned from Germany and the United States, and the impact of perceived discrimination on their return. It depends on in-depth interviews with 80 qualified Turkish returnees. Our findings indicate that: (i) returnees from Germany think they experienced ethnic discrimination; (ii) discrimination is a major reason behind their return; (iii) returnees from the US did not mention discrimination; (iv) discrimination is not a reason for return for them. We discuss these findings and explain the differences between German and American contexts in terms of ethnic boundaries. We use Alba’s (2005) distinction between bright and blurry ethnic boundaries to explain the difference between the two countries. However, going beyond his argument, we also connect this distinction to cultural capital. We argue that in a context where there are bright ethnic boundaries, high cultural capital does not free the individual from experiences of discrimination, whereas it can make a difference in a context where there are blurry ethnic boundaries. Qualified migrants choose to return from contexts where there are bright ethnic boundaries to escape from experiences of discrimination, as they can afford return due to their high levels of cultural and economic capital.
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Gonca Turgen for her assistance and support throughout the research process, and the anonymous reviewers for their very useful and constructive comments.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
2 Further information on methodology is provided in the appendix.
3 The interviews were conducted in Turkish, and relevant parts of them were then translated into English.