Intersections in Policymaking: The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Turkey

Abstract

In the coming weeks, the Syrian refugee crisis will complete its fourth year. In these four years, millions of Syrians were displaced from their homes, and most fled to the neighboring nations for asylum. This situation made Turkey the biggest refugee host state in the world with 1.7 million refugees, and placed the Turkish government, nongovernmental organizations, and the European Union in a shared policy space. The policy decisions of these stakeholders hold the fate of not only the refugees, but the stability of the region for perhaps decades to come. This thesis attempts to make the policy preferences of these three stakeholders explicit through the analysis of their actions in the Syrian refugee crisis, and identifies inefficiencies at the intersection of their policies. By identifying these inefficiencies, the author hopes to contribute to more sustainable solutions that promote collaboration and humanitarianism while satisfying the interests of the policy actors. This thesis hopes to prove that alternative policies and thematic perception shifts could improve the outcome for all involved. The European Union’s security concerns, Turkey’s international foreign policy ambitions and domestic constraints, and the NGOs’ priorities of relevance and humanitarianism stand out as their policy preferences. The inefficiencies include the paradox of foreign donations in Turkey, and the policy dilemmas of Turkey and the EU. Recommendations of this thesis include collaboration and burden sharing, a rights-based approach towards refugees, and the adoption of long-term solutions for the refugee crisis in Turkey.