Stretching, opening or sealing the borders: Turkish foreign policy conceptions and their impact on migration, asylum and visa policies

Abstract:

Migration, asylum and visa policies can function as tools of foreign policy while also marking specific shifts in foreign policy choices. This study analyses the structural linkages of such policies with Turkish foreign policy through focusing on two distinctive foreign policy conceptions of two eras, namely during the ANAP (Motherland Party) and JDP (Justice and Development Party) governments. These eras present distinctive characteristics and noteworthy policy shifts for the instrumentalization of migration policies.

This study argues that the nexus between migration and Turkish foreign policy manifests itself in three forms: (i) border and asylum policies as part of Turkey’s involvement in regional conflicts; (ii) visa policies for rapprochement; with target countries and (iii) co-ethnics and kinship policies for extending spheres of influence.