An Analysis of Turkey’s Policy Concerning Refugee Integration

Abstract

Turkey has been hosting the largest number of refugees around the world since 2014. In line with international principles, regional standards and the European Union acquis, Turkey provides protection to refugees by offering admission into territory, access to asylum procedures, non-refoulement and access to basic rights. However, asylum system in Turkey does not introduce any long-term durable solution. In search for durable solutions for around 4 million persons in need of international protection in Turkey, by taking into consideration the limited number that can be resettled or that can return to their countries of origin, it is inevitably necessary to focus on local integration options and opportunities to ensure refugees` self-reliance. In this study, refugee integration in Turkey is analyzed in the light of the norm diffusion theory and explored to what extent integration completes the norm diffusion cycle. The overarching theoretical question of the study is: “Does adoption of the international norms in the field of refugee protection provide integration as a durable solution for the refugees in Turkey and if and how it could be explained through norm diffusion theory?” The result of such exploration reveals that the diffusion of integration as a norm emerges but fails to exceed the tipping point. The conclusion is that due to its existence in the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, although there seems to be acceptance, from a contextual point of view, the content of Article 96 of the Law does not fulfil the name of integration. Accordingly, its content does not fully cover the intended meaning. Thus, this thesis argues that Turkey has not even accomplished the norm adoption when it comes to integration of persons in need of international protection.