Conflicts, Irregular Migration and Turkey’s Security in the Context of Turkey-European Union Relations

Öz

Due to its geographical proximity to conflict zones, Turkey has become the target country for asylum seekers and refugees from different countries having diverse ethnic origins. Turkey’s emerging role as a target country became even more problematic due to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, triggered by the Arab Spring. The Syrian conflict not only led to an increased flow of refugees but also destabilized the Turkish borders. In this regard, Turkey has established a set of strategies and transformations to tackle these issues. This paper examines how migration has evolved as a security issue for Turkey in the last four decades, in general. In particular, the study deals with the security-related issues in terms of migration from the Turkish perspective and evaluates the refugee crisis in 2016 and its implications for Turkey and the European Union. The article concludes with reactions to irregular migration and the refugee flow by shedding light on both Turkey and the European Union’s perspectives.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Migration
• Security
• Refugees
• Syrian Civil War
• Turkey
• the European Union (EU)

Etik Beyan

This article is first presented as part of Strengthening Dialogue Between the EU and Turkey in the Area of Migration and Security project which was funded by the EU and implemented by Brussels-based think tank Dialogue for Europe (DfE) and Ankara-based European Union and Global Research Association (ABKAD) and included in the final project reports of ABKAD in English and Turkish. ABKAD provided a waiver for the rights of this article for academic publishing and dissemination.

Türkiye-Avrupa Birliği İlişkileri Bağlamında Çatışmalar, Düzensiz Göç ve Türkiye’nin Güvenliği

Öz

Çatışma bölgelerine coğrafi yakınlığından dolayı Türkiye, farklı ülkelerden ve çeşitli etnik kökenlerden mülteciler ve sığınmacılar için hedef ülke haline gelmiştir. Türkiye’nin hedef ülke olarak yeni rolü, Arap Baharıyla tetiklenen 2011 yılında Suriye Krizinin patlak vermesi nedeniyle daha da sorunlu olmaya başlamıştır. Suriye’deki çatışma yalnızca mülteci akının artmasına yol açmakla kalmayıp, Türkiye’nin sınırlarını istikrarsızlaştırmıştır. Bu bağlamda, Türkiye bu meseleleri halletmek için bir dizi strateji ve dönüşüm tesis etmiştir. Bu makale, göçün son kırk yılda Türkiye için bir güvenlik meselesi olarak nasıl evrildiğini genel olarak incelemektedir. Bu çalışma özellikle göçle ilgili meseleleri Türk perspektifinden ele almakta ve Suriye krizi ile bunun Türkiye ve Avrupa için doğurduğu sonuçları değerlendirmektedir. Bu makalenin sonuç bölümünde hem Türkiye hem de Avrupa Birliğinin bakış açılarına ışık tutarak, düzensiz göç ve mülteci akınlarına verilecek tepkiler sunulmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Göç
• Güvenlik
• Mülteciler
• Suriye İç Savaşı
• Türkiye
• Avrupa Birliği (AB)

Kaynakça

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