Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 October 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 October 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0256
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 October 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 October 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0256
Introduction
The unanticipated mass migration of Syrian refugees to Turkey began in April 2011. Six years on, as of May 2017, according to official figures, there are nearly three million Syrian registered refugees in the country. The initial encampment policy of the Turkish government failed to serve as a sustainable solution for sheltering refugees. Only 9 percent of the refugees are accommodated in camps dispersed across the southeastern parts of Turkey whereas the remaining 91 percent are living in cities throughout the country. Amendments to national immigration and asylum policies gained momentum with the arrival of Syrian refugees. The introduction of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection in April 2013 brought about major changes and clarified the status of Syrians as “persons under temporary protection,” who were until then referred to as “guests.” Later in October 2014 a clear definition of the rights and obligations of temporary protection beneficiaries was set out with the introduction of the Temporary Protection Regulation. In the first years of the conflict, the policies of the Turkish government asserted the temporariness of the refugees based on the presumption that the crisis would end and the refugees would return home. In early 2016, the state approach began to shift toward long-term planning with policies including the introduction of the work permit regulation for Syrians, the decision to gradually phase out Temporary Education Centers with Syrian curriculums to integrate Syrian children in Turkish schools, and the establishment of Migrant Health Centers staffed by Syrian medical professionals. While the national response has been adequate, with state and nonstate actors taking active roles in addressing the immediate needs of the displaced persons, the International Response has been disappointing. Due to the restrictive border policies in Europe and the limited chances for resettlement, many Syrians decided to self-settle by taking the dangerous sea route to Europe, most notably in 2014 and 2015. This movement was somewhat precluded by the controversial 2016 EU–Turkey deal that stands as an unsuccessful attempt at responsibility sharing. The Syrian refugee issue is related to a wide range of areas including the rights and lives of Syrians, integration prospects, the impact on the host society, state policies and responses, and acceptance by the host community. Yet there is still only limited academic work in the literature. Besides academic publications, this bibliography also identifies resources produced by specialized agencies and other relevant digital resources and databases in order to contribute to a general understanding of the issue.
General Overviews
The works cited in this section descriptively report the issue of Syrian refugees in Turkey with an overarching approach. The circumstances faced by Syrians and the societal attitude toward them change constantly as do the numbers and regulations. Therefore, the publications in this section are listed in chronological order in order to draw attention to the dynamic nature of events. The publications of Özden 2013 and Dinçer, et al. 2013 belong to the first wave of studies that examine and discuss the migratory movements of Syrians and their living conditions in Turkey between 2011 and 2013. Kirişci 2014, İçduygu 2015, Kirişci and Ferris 2015, and Çorabatır 2016 provide rich descriptions of how the Syrian refugee crisis evolved and emphasize the need to recognize the permanence of refugees in order to craft a comprehensive and well-thought integration strategy. The report published by International Crisis Group 2016 is distinctive, as it contextualizes the displacement of Syrians within the internal political context of Turkey.
Özden, Şenay. 2013. Syrian refugees in Turkey. MPC Research Reports 2013/05, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Migration Policy Centre. San Domenico di Fiesole. Florence, Italy: European Univ. Institute.
The author covers many topics including the flight stories of Syrians from Syria to Turkey during the first years of the Syrian civil war, camp conditions, Employment of Syrians, their impact on the Turkish economy, and the assistance of nongovernmental organizations to Syrian refugees. The fieldwork of this research is limited to the provinces of Gaziantep, Kilis, Islahiye, Hatay, and Istanbul.
Dinçer, Osman Bahadır, Vittoria Federici, Elizabeth Ferris, Sema Karaca, Kemal Kirişci, and Elif Özmenek Çarmıklı. 2013. Turkey and Syrian refugees: The limits of hospitality. Washington, DC, and Ankara, Turkey: Brookings Institution and International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
Presents an overview of the refugee situation in camp and non-camp areas, voices concerns and recommendations on the legal framework, examines the impact of Syrian refugees on Turkey, and calls for international solidarity in burdening the crisis.
Kirişci, Kemal. May 2014. Syrian refugees and Turkey’s challenges: Going beyond hospitality. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
This valuable report is a follow up to Dinçer, et al. 2013 and it provides a historical overview of the refugee inflows in Turkey and discusses the evolution of the Syrian refugee situation. The author emphasizes the need to focus on the long term and address integration-related issues such as Education and labor market integration rather than emergency aid and also underlines the lack of support from the international community.
İçduygu, Ahmet. April 2015. Syrian refugees in Turkey: The long road ahead. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
This report traces the evolving legal framework for migration and asylum in Turkey and analyzes the changing policy approaches toward migrants and refugees with an emphasis on the need to increase coordination among stakeholders and shift toward long-term planning for the Syrian refugees. It is argued that the humanitarian efforts of the Turkish government should be divorced from its foreign policy objectives in Syria.
Kirişci, Kemal, and Elizabeth Ferris. September 2015. Not likely to go home: Syrian refugees and the challenges to Turkey—and the international community. Turkey Project Policy Paper Number 7. The Center on the United States and Europe. Washington, DC: Brookings Institute.
The report offers similar coverage to Dinçer, et al. 2013 and Kirişci 2014 and presents the evolving refugee situation in Turkey between October 2013 and September 2015 by focusing on the challenges faced by the government in responding to the crisis; integration prospects of the refugees; their impact on Turkish society, economy and politics; and the urgent need for international responsibility sharing.
Çorabatir, Metin. 2016. The evolving response to refugee protection in Turkey: Assessing the practical and political needs. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
The report chronicles the history of the events leading up to the development of the temporary protection regime that is designed exclusively for the refugees fleeing from Syria to Turkey. It reviews the responses of state and nonstate actors as well as the international community to the Syrian crisis.
International Crisis Group. 2016. Turkey’s refugee crisis: The politics of permanence. Europe Report No 241. November 30, 2016. New York: ICG.
The report explores the situation of the Syrian refugees in Turkey within the framework of the internal political realities and the bureaucratic scramble following the failed coup attempt in July 2016. It examines the potential implications of the changing social fabric of the country and focuses on three main integration-related areas: education, employment, and citizenship prospects.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work
- Abortion
- Adolescent Depression
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Adoption
- Adoption Home Study Assessments
- Adult Protective Services in the United States
- African Americans
- African-Centered Social Work
- Aging
- Aging out of foster care
- Aging, Physical Health and
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
- Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
- Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Asian Americans
- Asian-American Youth
- Assessment
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Baccalaureate Social Workers
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Social Work Practice
- Bereavement Practice
- Bisexuality
- Brief Therapies in Social Work: Task-Centered Model and So...
- Bullying and Social Work Intervention
- Canadian Social Welfare, History of
- Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
- Central American Migration to the United States
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
- Child Neglect and Emotional Maltreatment
- Child Poverty
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Welfare
- Child Welfare and Child Protection in Europe, History of
- Child Welfare and Parents with Intellectual and/or Develop...
- Child Welfare Effectiveness
- Child Welfare, Immigration and
- Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth and Families
- Children
- Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Christianity and Social Work
- Chronic Illness
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Adult Lesbians
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Males
- Cognitive Behavior Therapies with Diverse and Stressed Pop...
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Community
- Community Development
- Community Policing
- Community-Based Participatory Research
- Community-Needs Assessment
- Comparative Social Work
- Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Soc...
- Conflict Resolution
- Council on Social Work Education
- Counseling Female Offenders
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Interventions
- Cultural Competence and Ethnic Sensitive Practice
- Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
- Dementia Care
- Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
- Depression and Cancer
- Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
- Differential Response in Child Welfare
- Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
- Direct Practice in Social Work
- Disabilities
- Disability and Disability Culture
- Disasters
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
- Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Framework
- Economic Evaluation
- Elder Mistreatment
- End-of-Life Decisions
- Epigenetics for Social Workers
- Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
- Ethics and Values in Social Work
- Ethnicity
- European Institutions and Social Work
- European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Finding Evidence
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
- Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
- Families
- Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
- Family Caregiving
- Family Group Conferencing
- Family Policy
- Family Services
- Family Therapy
- Family Violence
- Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Field Education
- Financial Literacy and Social Work
- Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
- Forensic Social Work
- Foster Care
- Foster care and siblings
- Gay Men
- Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
- Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
- Grounded Theory
- Group Work
- Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
- Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
- Harm Reduction
- Health Care Reform
- Health Disparities
- Health Social Work
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
- History of Social Work from 1980-2014
- History of Social Work in China
- History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
- History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
- History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS and Children
- HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
- Homelessness
- Homelessness: Ending Homelessness as a Grand Challenge
- Homelessness Outside the United States
- Housing
- Human Needs
- Human Trafficking, Victims of
- Immigrant Integration in the United States
- Immigrant Policy in the United States
- Immigrants and Refugees
- Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
- Immigration and Health Disparities
- Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
- Immigration and Poverty
- Immigration and Spirituality
- Immigration and Substance Use
- Immigration and Trauma
- Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice
- Impaired Professionals
- Implementation Science and Practice
- Indigenous Peoples
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
- In-home Child Welfare Services
- Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
- International Human Trafficking
- International Social Welfare
- International Social Work
- International Social Work and Education
- International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
- Internet and Video Game Addiction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy
- Intervention with Traumatized Populations
- Interviewing
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Juvenile Justice
- Kinship Care
- Korean Americans
- Latinos and Latinas
- Law, Social Work and the
- LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
- Life Span
- Mainland European Social Work, History of
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Management and Administration in Social Work
- Maternal Mental Health
- Measurement, Scales, and Indices
- Medical Illness
- Men: Health and Mental Health Care
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
- Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
- Mental Health Services from 1990 to 2023
- Mental Illness: Children
- Mental Illness: Elders
- Meta-analysis
- Microskills
- Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
- Military Social Work
- Mixed Methods Research
- Moral distress and injury in social work
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiculturalism
- Native Americans
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
- Neighborhood Social Cohesion
- Neuroscience and Social Work
- Nicotine Dependence
- Occupational Social Work
- Organizational Development and Change
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
- Pandemics and Social Work
- Parent Training
- Participatory Community Based Research
- Personalization
- Person-in-Environment
- Philosophy of Science and Social Work
- Physical Disabilities
- Podcasts and Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Political Social Work in the United States
- Positive Youth Development
- Postmodernism and Social Work
- Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Poverty
- Practice Interventions and Aging
- Practice Interventions with Adolescents
- Practice Research
- Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
- Productive Engagement of Older Adults
- Profession, Social Work
- Program Development and Grant Writing
- Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychoeducation
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
- Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
- Psychosocial Framework
- Psychosocial Intervention with Women
- Psychotherapy and Social Work
- Qualitative Research
- Race and Racism
- Randomized Controlled Trials in Social Work
- Readmission Policies in Europe
- Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
- Refugee Children, Unaccompanied Immigrant and
- Rehabilitation
- Religiously Affiliated Agencies
- Reproductive Health
- Research
- Research Ethics
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
- Risk Management in Social Work
- Rural Social Work in China
- Rural Social Work Practice
- School Social Work
- School Violence
- School-Based Delinquency Prevention
- Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
- Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
- Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
- Sexual Assault
- Single-System Research Designs
- Social and Economic Impact of US Immigration Policies on U...
- Social Development
- Social Insurance and Social Justice
- Social Intervention Research
- Social Justice and Social Work
- Social Movements
- Social Planning
- Social Policy
- Social Policy in Denmark
- Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
- Social Work and Islam
- Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
- Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
- Social Work Education and Research
- Social Work Leadership
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
- Social Work Practice, Rare and Orphan Diseases and
- Social Work Regulation
- Social Work Research Methods
- Social Work Theory
- Social Work with Interpreters
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strategic Planning
- Strengths Perspective
- Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
- Substance Use Disorders
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
- Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technologies to Improve Social Work Practice and Education
- Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
- Technology for Social Work Interventions
- Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
- Technology in Social Work
- Terminal Illness
- Terrorism
- The Impact of Systemic Racism on Latinxs’ Experiences with...
- Transdisciplinary Science
- Translational Science and Social Work
- Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
- Transtheoretical Model of Change
- Trauma
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Triangulation
- Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
- Unions
- United States, History of Social Welfare in the
- Universal Basic Income
- Veteran Services
- Vicarious Trauma and Resilience in Social Work Practice wi...
- Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
- Victim Services
- Violence
- Virtual Reality and Social Work
- Welfare State Reform in France
- Welfare State Theory
- Women and Macro Social Work Practice
- Women's Health Care
- Work and Family in the German Welfare State
- Workfare
- Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
- Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
- Young and Adolescent Lesbians
- Youth at Risk
- Youth Services