Fall 2017 JPI

national honor and heroism, or, to put it in Ayse Gul Altinay’s words, “the myth of the military
nation.” 5
In this paper, I will first look into the refugee policy of the Turkish government (specifically
the Justice and Development Party), and consider its differences when compared to its European
counterparts and the Turkish opposition parties in historical context. I will also discuss the migration
policies of Turkey and the changes the Syrian Civil War instigated. Second, I will examine the
responses to the situation by the media, politicians, and the public. I will focus solely on the thirteen
days that followed Erdogan’s declaration, because on July 15th, an attempted coup took place and the
attention on Syrian asylum seekers dropped significantly in all of these segments. I will argue, by using
parts of Etienne Balibar’s framework of new racism, that the racism that has developed within Turkey
over the last three years, and very specifically during the first half of July, 2016, is not a phenomenon
that erupted due to a specific crisis, but is a continuation of the national identity formation that has
been continuously reproduced in Turkey for the last century. As Balibar suggests, crisis racism is rarely
a new phenomenon, rather it is “anchored in structures of very long standing, which are an integral
part of what is called national identity.” 6 This form of racism, which has been much more visible in
Turkey over the past three years, fits the scheme of new racism, which is built on cultural differences
rather than an idea of race. Many of the accounts that are featured in this paper illustrate discrimination
against Syrian asylum seekers on the grounds that they have a different perspective on warfare than
the Turkish do—they escape instead of facing the enemy, and this is not honorable.
I will refrain from using the term “refugee” in the Turkish context, for Turkey applies a
“geographical limitation” in the implementation the 1951 Refugee Convention. This means that the
term “refugee” is used only for European citizens who seek asylum and nobody else. The Syrians
fleeing to Turkey are thus defined in the legal scheme as “asylum-seekers” that are under “temporary
protection”. 7
THE HEGEMONY OF THE JDP AND ITS RESPONSE TO THE SYRIAN CRISIS
President Erdogan used to lead the Justice and Development Party, which has been in power
in Turkey since 2002. Erdogan had to quit the party when he became President because the Turkish
system, prior to the 2017 Constitutional referendum, did not allow the president to be attached to a
party. Nevertheless, Erdogan’s name is still synonymous with the JDP. The JDP has not faced
significant competition in the last fifteen years. The party gained over 40 percent of the votes in every
election since its second victory in 2007 while the main oppositional party generally receives only
about 25 to 30 percent. 8 Because elections have posed no real threat to the JDP since 2002, the party
has operated as a hegemonic power with the ability to define most policy agendas.
It is important to note that the JDP is different than both the Islamist political tradition in
Turkey and the current right-wing party model in many European countries. The JDP was formed by
a young group of politicians lead by Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Gul who left the Islamist, extreme
right-wing Felicity Party (FP). At its establishment, the JDP presented itself as a moderately
conservative party and an advocate of democratic reform, instead of emphasizing its Islamist features
5 Ayşe Gül Altınay, The Myth of the Military Nation: Militarism, Gender, and Education in Turkey. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
6 Balibar, Race, Nation, Class, 218.
7 Resmi Gazete, "YABANCILAR VE ULUSLARARASI KORUMA KANUNU" in Resmi Gazete. April 11, 2013. Accessed December 16, 2016.
http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2013/04/20130411-2.htm.
8 News, BBC. "Turkey election: Ruling AKP regains majority." BBC News. November 02, 2015. Accessed December 14, 2016.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34694420.
JPI Fall 2017, pg. 21