Economic Crises, Populist Actors and Anti-immigrant Politics: Case of Turkey

• In Event: The Politics of Refugee and Migrant Admission and Integration in Turkey

Abstract

Immigration and the economy have been two highly contested issues in Turkey in recent years. The hostile remarks against immigrants have been prevalent in the public discourse and political actors’ rhetoric along with the cost-of-living crisis. The ascendance of anti-immigrant hostility in Turkey coincides with the hyperinflation crisis and the rise of right-wing nationalist actors. I argue that the concurrence of these is not coincidental; rather, the soaring anti-immigrant sentiment is closely related to the adverse economic conditions and rising right-wing presence in the country. The role of contextual, country-level factors in the prevalence of anti-immigrant hostility is understudied in the literature; this paper aims to fill a gap in the literature examining the role of contextual economic and political factors in hostility towards immigrants focusing on the case of Turkey. The discussion of contextual factors will be complemented with the evidence of original survey data conducted in Turkey in 2023. My expectation is to find that anti-immigrant attitudes will be intensified among those who feel economically insecure and who have more pessimist perceptions of the national economy. Previous studies that have assessed the determinants of hostile attitudes towards immigrants point to the role of prejudice, racial resentment, and threat perceptions in shaping hostility towards immigrants. This paper will provide grounds to test the arguments outlined in the literature.

Author

• Sumeyye Mine Iltekin, University of Delaware