‘From guest workers to brothers and sisters’

Abstract

This chapter explains why Turkey has adopted a proactive diaspora scheme since the 2000s as compared with earlier passive policies. Drawing from interviews conducted with Turkish bureaucrats, media sources and official documents, it shows that while the Turkish state’s earlier diaspora policies were driven mainly by economic incentives, Turkey’s current diaspora framework is shaped by political goals. Turkish officials have strived to improve the Turkish diaspora’s quality of life and change the negative image of Turks and Turkey abroad. Diaspora outreach policies have sought to consolidate the political power of the AKP and extend the state’s legitimacy beyond its borders. The chapter examines Turkey’s motives, discourse and concessions aimed at its diaspora in three stages: the 1960s–1970s, the 1980s–1990s and the 2000s–21. This chapter shows that Turkey’s diaspora policies are a result of an amalgamation of domestic, transnational and international factors. It suggests that domestic factors have played the most significant role in shaping Turkey’s diaspora agenda. The chapter examines the domestic dimension both as an independent factor and also in relation to transnational and international factors. The AKP’s ascent to power in 2002 has transformed the way Turkey perceives its nationals abroad and interacts with their host states and the EU.