Syrian Refugees in Turkey: Understanding Local Government Responses (2018-2021)
This research project analyses local government responses to the refugee crisis in Turkey and seeks to explain variation between localities.
The research investigates how local governments address refugees’ needs in a context where Syrians are accepted as ‘guests’ (later conferred temporary protection) without refugee status. Qualitative research in four case study areas identifies and compares local policy discourses, how they relate to national and international refugee policies, and how they influence local services, infrastructure and community relationships. The Project also aims to build research capacity in Turkey and further the methodological skills and career development of the project partner in Turkey.
Funded by the British Academy. Newton Advanced Fellowship, NAFR1180177
September 2018 – August 2021
The twin objectives of this research project are to:
- Investigate local government responses to the ongoing refugee crisis in Turkey and explain variation in local responses;
- Provide advanced training in skills for qualitative research for the research partner and her network in Turkey
Professor Vivien Lowndes (INLOGOV, University of Birmingham)
Professor Rabia Karakaya Polat (Department of International Relations, Işık University)
Outputs and impact
Journal articles
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2020) “How do local actors interpret, enact and contest policy? An analysis of local government responses to meeting the needs of Syrian refugees in Turkey”, Local Government Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2020.1825386, (Journal impact factor 1.909).
Papers presented at international conferences/workshops
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2020) Shifting Responsibilities ‘Down’, ‘Up’ and ‘Out’: A Multi-Level Governance Approach to Understanding Turkey’s Refugee Policy, Paper presented at the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRIS), University of Birmingham, 3 November 2020.
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2019) How do Local Actors Interpret, Enact and Contest policy? Investigating Local Government Responses to Meeting the Needs of Syrian Refugees in Turkey, Paper presented at Centre for Ideology and Discourse Analysis, University of Essex, 16 October 2019.
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2019) Local Responses to Syrian Refugees in Turkey: A Multi-Level Governance Approach, paper presented at “Unpacking the Challenges & Possibilities for Migration Governance”, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, 17-19 October 2019.
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2019) How are local responses to Syrian Refugees in Turkey shaped by multiple and competing interpretations: A Multi-Level Governance Approach, Paper for Understanding International Migration in the 21st Century: Conceptual and Methodological Approaches – 16th Annual IMISCOE Conference, Malmö University, Sweden, June 26-28, 2019.
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2019) How are local responses to Syrian Refugees in Turkey shaped by multiple and competing interpretations within a multi-level context?, Paper for the 69th Annual Conference of Political Studies Association, Nottingham, United Kingdom, April 2019.
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2018) “Investigating the spatial dynamics of refugee policy frames in Turkey”, Paper presented at the workshop “The framing of the ‘migration crisis’ cross-nationally: From problem definition to institutionalization (or not)”, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, 4-5 October.
Vivien Lowndes and Rabia Karakaya Polat (2018) “Exploring the local dynamics of refugee policy frames in Turkey”, Paper presented at the workshop “Mixed Migration Flows and the Changing Dynamics of Migration Research”, Şehir University, Istanbul, 15 December.
Training events
April 9-12, 2019, workshop on methods at the Institute for Local Government Studies. This event provided advanced training in skills for qualitative research. The three-day event included Qualitative Approaches Workshop, Methods Café over Lunch, a seminar on Research Grant Opportunities available for Turkish scholars, a roundtable on Turkish Politics and a one-day NVivo Training for Qualitative Data Analysis. Five mid-career researchers from Turkey participated in this training event.
May 20-22, 2019, Interpretive Political Science course organised by the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM), University of Southampton. Project partner from Turkey, Prof. Polat, participated in this three-day training in interpretive policy analysis which is an important part of our conceptual framework in this research project.
Further details
Project website: https://localgovernmentandrefugees.rabiakarakayapolat.com/