Framing Syrians in Turkey: State Control and No Crisis Discourse

SERT D., Danis D.

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, vol.59, no.1, pp.197-214, 2021 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 59 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1111/imig.12753
  • Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, American History and Life, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.197-214
  • Galatasaray University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The mass arrival of Syrian refugees and their continuing presence have triggered many new debates regarding migration in Turkey, which - as a result of its open-door policy - now hosts the highest number of refugees in the world. Yet, when we investigate the ways political institutions and actors have framed migration, we observe, unlike in European discourses, the complete absence of the word "crisis". In public statements by politicians, "control" emerges instead as a recurrent (albeit implicit) theme. Here, management of the refugee issue becomes a sign of state power, exercised through various mechanisms. Through analysis of state discourse on Syrians in the Turkish media, we find that crisis framing has been deliberately avoided, which we contend is a sign of an implicit "silencing" via media control. This choice of discourse reflects a clear policy to manage public reactions to the mass arrival of refugees.