The Turkish Community in the Czech Republic: A Diaspora in the Making?

Abstract

Migration is a relatively new phenomenon in the Czech Republic, which has gradually become a destination country. The securitisation and politicisation of migration in the Czech domestic discourse has created a great deal of public anxiety, especially towards Muslims. This paper focuses on the position of Turkish migrants, the single largest Muslim community in the Czech Republic, in the specific context of the Czech Republic. The objective is to define the nature of Turkish migration to the Czech Republic as part of broader migration patterns. Using data from the Czech Statistical Office and from a questionnaire survey, it investigates the Turkish community’s assessment of adaptation to the Czech environment and their position within the wider Turkish dias-pora policy. I argue that that the non-transparent Czech immigration policy and Czech Islamophobia are potential factors influencing the adaptation process of the Turkish community, which might affect their decision to remain in the country. Furthermore, the small size of the Turkish community can hamper the migrants’ social life, who might wish to maintain strong ties with the homeland and the diaspora community in Europe.

Keywords

• turkey
• diaspora
• migration
• the czech republic