Political Discourse on Syrian Refugees in Turkey

Abstract

This chapter focuses on a comparative research investigation on how populist discourse and securitization on refugees are constituted by partners of political power. The analysis argues that refugees are instrumentalized in domestic/ foreign politics by exposure to exclusionary rhetoric by political parties in Turkey as of 2018. In the context of the research, the official political discourses and statements of five parties during 2018 general and 2019 local election campaigns, the election manifestos, and post-February 2020 Idlib incident were examined. The political parties are AKP, CHP, MHP, İYİ Party, and HDP. In this context, how and for what purposes refugees are securitized with populist rhetoric are examined accordingly. For this analysis, the usage and content of the terms “Syrian, " “refugee, " “immigrant, " “asylum, " and “under temporary protection” were investigated. © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Berlin 2021.