The Impact of Diaspora Policies on Immigrant Political Participation: Evidence from Turkey

This paper asks why states reach out to their nationals abroad as well as how an origin state’s engagement with its diaspora influences the political participation of immigrants in their host states. Although the flow of Turkish immigrants abroad started in the 1960s, Turkey has lacked an institutionalized diaspora agenda until very recently. In the last decade, Ankara’s relationship with its diaspora community has entered a new stage, as evidenced by the promotion of a more inclusive state discourse addressing Turks abroad, and a series of initiatives to extend the government’s sway over its diaspora and certain subgroups thereof. Based on my analysis of Turkey's changing relations with its diaspora, I find that both norms and interests explain state action toward expatriates, and argue that an origin state’s shift from a passive to active engagement policy spurs immigrant organizations to participate in host state politics. My findings draw from over 150 semi-structured interviews conducted with policy-makers, Turkish organization leaders, and experts in France, Germany, and Turkey between 2013 and 2014 as well as a careful analysis of governmental and organizational reports in English, French, German, and Turkish.