''Compulsory'' Migration Governance at Local Level: The Case of İstanbul

Abstract

This article focuses on the increasing role of cities and local governments in migration governance through following the increasing “local turn” approach in migration studies in recent years. Turkey, which has a long immigration history and by far the largest immigration population of the country with massive Syrian immigration which started in particular in 2011, cities and local governments have developed different local governance arrangements by which they are trying to produce answers to the diversity brought about by immigration. Local responses differ in terms of scope, actor, approach and method. In this study, how and why the municipalities produce different responses are discussed in the context of the role of the municipalities and the common methods that local responses share despite the same legal framework and being a part of Istanbul metropolitan area. Thus, based on the analysis of the field study conducted in six districts of Istanbul, it has been revealed that the answers given to migration and immigrants are shaped in the context of a high informality and compulsory governance.