‘Our Syrian brothers’: Refugees and ethnicity in turkish political rhetoric

Wigen-Toccalino, Rachel

Publication

‘Our Syrian brothers’: Refugees and ethnicity in turkish political rhetoric

Wigen-Toccalino, Rachel

Abstract

In the early years of the Turkish state, national unity along the lines of ethnic identity became crucial and any opposition to unity sparked animosity between the Turkish government and its ethnic minorities leading to policies of forced migration and assimilation. Over the past 20 years, there has been a slow but steady shift towards acceptance of alternative identities in Turkey. However, intolerance and violence is again on the rise and the influx of millions of Syrian refugees into Turkey, due to the social and economic pressures that refugees brings, may be influencing this rise. Thus, I ask, has the Syrian refugee crisis reinvigorated historical tensions between the Turkish government and its minority populations? In order to trace the shifts in political conversations towards Turkish minorities, I analyzed political speeches made by leaders of the top four Turkish parties during the five election cycles that have taken place since 2011, the start of the Syrian Civil War. I looked for tone and message of political themes regarding minorities that were linked to Syrian refugees. I found that concerns with Syrians were not associated with an increase in negative relations with minority groups. However, opposition parties tied Syrian refugees to the loss of democratic rights and problems with foreign and domestic policy of the incumbent party. The incumbent party, on the other hand, utilized Syrian refugees to emphasize the humanitarian efforts the government has undertaken and blamed concerns, both domestic and international, on external forces, including Syrian Kurdish organizations (the Kurdish Democratic Union Party and the Kurdish National Council).