@article{article_1522181, title={Immigration Debates in Recent Turkish Politics and the Victory Party as an Example of an Anti-Immigrant Niche Party}, journal={Recent Period Turkish Studies}, pages={50–71}, year={2025}, DOI={10.26650/YTA2025-1522181}, author={Ceylan, Ahmet and Uslu, İsa and İncedere, Leman}, keywords={Göç, Tek Sorun Partisi, Güvenlikleştirme, Türkiye’deki Suriyeliler, Zafer Partisi}, abstract={Between 1923 and 1990, Türkiye primarily accepted migrants of Turkic descent and cultural background. Since 1990, however, Türkiye has become both a destination and transit country for asylum seekers and irregular migrants from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The asylum-driven migration from Syria has become a major topic of political debate in Turkish general elections since 2015. Founded in 2021, the Victory Party (Zafer Partisi) became the first political party in Türkiye to explicitly foreground anti-immigration policies and had a relatively tangible impact on the outcome of the 2023 general elections through the alliances it formed. This study analyzes the Victory Party’s anti-immigration policy proposals within the broader context of recent Turkish political history. It argues that the party’s anti-immigration discourse is structured around four main pillars: (1) the social position of the actor employing securitizing rhetoric; (2) the place of the perceived threat in historical memory; (3) prevailing economic conditions; and (4) the transformation of the electoral system. The analysis of the Victory Party’s policies is based on thematic evaluations of party documents, including its program, parliamentary questions, election manifesto, and internal reports. The study contributes to the understanding of how niche parties articulate security-centered narratives and mobilize social discontent around immigration in contemporary Turkish politics.}, number={47}, publisher={İstanbul Üniversitesi}