This book examines Turkey's evolving diaspora policies, analysing how the state engages, controls, and mobilizes its overseas communities as tools of diplomacy and nation-building. Through an interdisciplinary lens, it highlights the political, ideological, and cultural motivations driving Turkey’s approach, particularly under the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) influence.
In recent decades, Turkey’s approach to its diaspora has undergone a dramatic transformation. From viewing its emigrants as “guest workers” in the 1960s to deploying sophisticated diaspora engagement policies today, Turkey’s approach mirrors larger trends in international migration politics. This book explores Turkey's unique and complex diaspora policies, illuminating how they blend diplomatic outreach with transnational control. With insights into the history and evolution of Turkish diaspora governance, the book analyses key questions:
What motivates Turkey’s outreach efforts?
How have recent shifts under the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP influenced its strategies?
And what role do nationalism and identity play in shaping these policies?
The book brings together pioneering studies on Turkey's dynamic relationship with its emigrants, blending history, politics, and sociology to shed light on how diaspora governance has become a critical tool of statecraft. This compelling exploration is essential for understanding the impacts of state-led diaspora engagement on transnational identities and relations in a globalized world. It was originally published as a special issue of
Middle East Critique
.