Transition from diasporic to post-diasporic policies: Turkish migrants in Germany, Duisburg, and Essen

Year 2026, Volume: 35 Issue: 1 , 1 - 14 , 09.03.2026

Şeyma Ayyıldız , Musa Yavuz Alptekin

https://doi.org/10.26650/siyasal.2026.35.1668082

https://izlik.org/JA27DT44ZK

Abstract

This study critically examines the Turkish community’s position in Germany through the lens of “post-diaspora,” offering an alternative to conventional diaspora frameworks and citizenship arguments. Drawing on a mixed-methods design that includes surveys and in-depth interviews with Turkish civil society actors in Duisburg and Essen, the study investigates migrants’ legal expectations, engagement with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and transnational relations with Turkey. Findings reveal a general disillusionment with civil society organizations due to experiences of mistrust, political bias, and insufficient institutional transparency. While participants maintain strong symbolic and legal ties to Turkey, they demonstrate limited grassroots mobilization and civic participation in Germany. This tension highlights the inadequacy of host- and homeland-centered diaspora policies in addressing migrants’ evolving needs. By adopting the concept of post-diaspora, the paper underscores the demand for equal citizenship rights and transparent, rights-based governance in both countries. The study calls for a shift from symbolic diaspora policies toward legal, inclusive, and participatory mechanisms that reflect the complex realities of transnational migrant communities. This research aims to contribute not only to diaspora studies but also to citizenship debates.

Keywords

diaspora , post-diaspora , policies , citizenship , German-Turkish community , migration

References

• Alptekin, M. Y. (2024). Almanya’daki Türk Dernekleri ve Diyaspora Oluşturma Potansiyalleri: Duisburg-Essen Örneği. İnsan Hareketliliği Uluslararası Dergisi, 4(1), 14-43. google scholar
• Aydın, Y. (2016). The Germany-Turkey Migration Corridor Refitting Policies for a Transnational Age.google scholar
• Ayyildiz, Ş. (2024). The feeling of exclusion and inclusion in shared places: Syrian students’ emotions and social imagination in Istanbul. Heliyon, 10(9), pp. 57-76. google scholar
• Berking, H. (2000).Homes away from home: Zum Spannungsverhältnis von Diaspora und Nationalstaat. Berliner Journal für Soziologie 1 (53), 49–60. google scholar
• Bonotti, M., & De Lazzari, M. (2024). Linguistic Justice for Non-resident Citizens: Protecting Language Interests from Home Political Studies, 72(3), 616–634. doi: 10.1177/00323217231172433 google scholar
• Bruce, B. (2015). Governing Islam abroad: Turkish and Moroccan Muslim fields in France and Germany (Doctoral dissertation, Institut d'études politiques de Paris-Sciences Po, Paris, France). google scholar
• Cesur, N. S., Hanquinet, L., & Duru, D. N. (2018). The ‘European Turks’: identities of high-skilled Turkish migrants in Europe. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 18(1), 127-144. google scholar
• Population of the city (2021). Duisburg. https://www.citypopulation.de/en/germany/nordrheinwestfalen/duisburg/05112000__duisburg google scholar
• Clifford, J. (1994). Diasporas. Cultural Anthropology, 9 (3), 302-338. google scholar
• Dogan Akkaya, F. (2020). The Culture of Muslim Diaspora and (Un) Changing Identities: Sunni Turkish Ethnicity in London (Doctoral dissertation, University of Essex, London, UK). google scholar
• Filiz, A. (2024). Ambivalent Presents, Open Futures: Affective Constructions of the Future Among Highly Qualified Turkish Migrants in Germany Journal of Sociology, 14407833241253293. google scholar
• Fleck, A. (2023). Europe’s Turkish Communities. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/chart/29975/number-of-turkish-people-in-european-countries/ google scholar
• Gamlen, A. (2014). Diaspora institutions and governance International Migration Review, 48, S180-S217. google scholar
• Geurts, N., Davids, T., & Spierings, N. (2021). The lived experience of an integration paradox: Why do high-skilled migrants from Turkey experience little national belonging in the Netherlands? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(1), 69-87. google scholar
• Gilroy, P. (1994). Diaspora. Paragraph 17(3), 207-210.google scholar
• Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine. google scholar
• Glick Schiller, N., Basch, L., & Szanton, C. (1995). From Immigrant to Transmigrant: Theorizing Transnational Migration Anthropological Quarterly, 68(1), 48-63. google scholar
• Goyal, Y. (2017). New diasporas are needed. American Literary History, 29(4), 640-663. google scholar
• Grossman, J. (2019). Toward a definition of the diaspora Ethnic and Racial Studies, 42(8), 1263-1282.google scholar
• Karameşe, Ş. (2023). Rethinking Place-Based Gender Relations in a New Country: The Case of Tertiary-Level Syrian Students in Istanbul Comparative Migration Studies, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 3. google scholar
• Koshy, S., & Radhakrishnan, R. (2008). The Making of the Neo-Diaspora New Delhi: Oxford University Press.google scholar
• Laguerre, M. S. (2022). Post-Diaspora Koşulları. GAV Perspektif Yayınları. google scholar
• Lascelles, A. (2020). Locating Black feminist resistance through diaspora and post-diaspora in the short stories of Edwidge Danticat and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 227-240. google scholar
• Marshall, G., & Jonker, L. (2010). Introduction to descriptive statistics: A practical guide and review Radiography, 16 (4), e1-e7. google scholar
• Müller, C., & Belloni, M. (2021). Transnational lived citizenship: The Eritrean diaspora case Acta Sociologica, 64(4), 362–376. doi: 10.1177/0001699321996508 google scholar
• Naim, M. (2002). The New Diaspora Foreign Policy, 131, 96. google scholar
• Oğuzhan Okumuş, M. (2020). How Berlin attracts the Turkish" New Wave": Comparison of economic and socio-cultural pull factors for highly skilled immigrants (No. 142/2020) Working Paper. google scholar
• Orneklem Seçimi ve Hesaplanması. (December 15, 2024). Retrieved from google scholar
• https://baskent.edu.tr/~matemel/courses/ornekleme_notlari google scholar
• Ozcurumez, S., & Yetkin, D. (2016). What moves highly skilled individuals and why? Comparison of Turkish nationals in Canada and Germany International Migration, 54(3), 61-72. google scholar
• Ouma, C. (2024). The New Diaspora in Yewande Omotoso’s Fiction In The Routledge Handbook of the New African Diasporic Literature (pp. 555-567). Routledge. google scholar
• Reniers, G. (1999). History and selectivity of Turkish and Moroccan migration to Belgium International Migration, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 679-713. google scholar
• Safran, W. (1991). Diasporas in modern societies: Myths of homeland and return. Diaspora 1(1): 83-99. google scholar
• Soysal, Y. N. (1994). Limits of citizenship: migrants and postnational membership in Europe. University of Chicago Press. google scholar
• Sunata, U. (2011). Highly skilled labor migration: The case of ICT specialists from Turkey in Germany (Vol. 67). Münster: LIT Verlag. google scholar
• Tunalı, S. B., Gözü, Ö. & Özen, G. (2016). Nitel ve Nicel Araştırma Yöntemlerinin Bir Arada Kullanılması “Karma Araştırma Yöntemi.” Kurgu, 24(2), 106-112.google scholar
• Oner, S. (2014). The Turkish community in Germany and the role of Turkish community organizations European Scientific Journal, vol. 10, no. 29. google scholar
• Osborne, N., & Grant-Smith, D. (2021). In-depth interviewing. In: Baum, S. (eds) Methods in Urban Analysis. Cities Research Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1677-8_7 google scholar
• Ulusoy, E. (2017). Diaspora kavramı ve Türkiye’nin diaspora politikalarının modern teori çerçevesinde sosyo-politik bir analizi. İnsan ve Toplum, 7(1), 139-160.google scholar
• Van Hear, N. (2005). New diasporas. Routledge. google scholar
• Yaldız, F. (2020). Unbearable Lightness of Undefined Diaspora: The Meaning of Turkish Descendants Migration Letters, 17(1), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.33182/ml.v17i1.833 google scholar
• Yanasmayan, Z. (2014). Further Stay or Return?: Insights from the Highly Educated Turkish Migrants in Amsterdam, Barcelona, and London In: Migrant professionals in the city (pp. 21-39). Routledge. google scholar
• Yanasmayan, Z. (2018). Migration of highly educated Turkish citizens to Europe: From guestworkers to global talent Routledge. google scholar
• Yazıcıoğlu, Y.& Erdoğan, S. (2004). SPSS Uygulamalı Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemleri. Detay Yayıncılık. google scholar
• YTB. (2023). Başkanlığımız. Retrieved from https://ytb.gov.tr/kurumsal/baskanlik google scholar