Migration Diplomacy as a Foreign Policy Tool in Türkiye: a Comparative Analysis

Abstract

A concept as old as human history, migration has almost always affected and changed social dynamics including but not limited to social, political and economic mechanisms. Indeed, Türkiye has been no exception. Serving as both the source and destination as well as the transit country for various groups of migrants, Türkiye has always been affected and experienced tremendous changes by the impact of migration waves. Indeed, Türkiye has been striving to use the phenomenon of migration as a foreign policy tool in the face of mass migrations in the international system. Accordingly, this study is designed to explore and discuss migration policies, the historical development of migration and the migration policy Türkiye has been implementing in recent times. In that, migration diplomacy is first discussed, followed by an in-depth analysis of Türkiye’s migration diplomacy practices using the method of comparative analysis. The main research question is to inquire whether Türkiye has a solid migration diplomacy and, if so, the extent to which it is successful.

Keywords

• migration
• migration diplomacy
• türkiye
• foreign policy
• soft power