Continuity and Change in Turkey’s Diasporic Landscapes: New Waves, Actors and Institutions (Case Studies: United Kingdom and Germany)

DIASPORALANDS investigates the continuities and changes in Turkey’s diasporic landscapes during the last decade, which coincides with the democratic decline and regime change in Turkey.

By using Turkey’s diaspora communities in the United Kingdom and in Germany as case studies, it investigates how the authoritarian drift in the homeland affects diaspora spaces and how host countries respond to authoritarian states’ engagement with their diasporas in their territory.

It proposes a novel methodology which combines qualitative and quantitative methods, bringing together bottom-up voices with top-down narratives in order to present a comprehensive picture of the triadic relationship between Turkey, its diasporas and the host countries.

It focuses not only on elite-level political processes but also on domestic transformations and their transnational impact on the everyday lives of diaspora communities in Europe, thus revealing visible and invisible effects of transnational authoritarianism on diasporic landscapes.

DIASPORALANDS is interdisciplinary and draws on theoretical frameworks from various fields including political science, international relations, sociology and migration studies.

The specific focus combines discussions on diaspora studies, foreign policy analysis, democratic decline, the international relations of authoritarian regimes as well as multiculturalism and opportunity structures in host countries.

It aims to significantly advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of diaspora politics in Europe with its comprehensive approach and methodological innovation.

The novelty of the project comes from the application of a mixed methods strategy, which has not been previously used to study the recent waves of migration and diasporic landscapes of Turkey after the coup attempt in 2016.