Research On The Transformation Of Turkish Refugee Policy During AKP Era In Turkey

At the end of 2010,the Arab Spring broke out,protests intensified in the Middle East,the Civil War in Syria broke out,Syrians began to flee to neighboring countries and Europe to escape the war,which led to European refugee crisis.The crisis is almost in sync with the Syrian civil war and still on till now.The surge in war refugees and economic migrants from the Middle East,Africa and Asia,via the Mediterranean and the Balkans,is a huge challenge to the reception and management of refugees for EU countries.The main means of migration of refugees is by land and sea,and therefore,as a gateway for refugees into EU countries,the policies and capacity of EU countries and non-EU countries along the Mediterranean coast regard to refugees are particularly critical in addressing the refugee problem.Turkey has played an important role in the crisis because of its special geographical location,similar religious environment,lax visa policy and open door policy.In 2016,Turkey became the world’s largest recipient of refugees.As of 27 November 2019,Turkey had received 3,691,333 registered refugees from Syria,representing 63.8 percent of the total number of Syrian refugees.On 29 October 2015,the EU and Turkey issued a "Common Action Plan",emphasizing that the goal of reshaping the relationship is "to work together within the framework of temporary protection to protect refugees and stem the influx of illegal refugees into the EU".On March 18,2016,the EU reached a refugee agreement with Turkey and came into force.However,the effectiveness of the agreement remains controversial.As stated,for a better understanding of the current refugee policy in Turkey,this article analyzes the refugee policy adopted by the Turkish government since the ruling party---the Justice and Development Party(AKP)came to power.With the year of 2011 and 2014 as important turning points,the status of asylum seeker and refugees,the impact of policies on refugees,the impact on Turkey itself,the impact on the international community,will be analyzed.In addition,the diplomatic dimension of refugee policy,especially the interaction with the EU,is also examined in the text.Through a long-term study of Turkey’s refugee policy,concludes that the dual drivers of revolution are Europeanization and Syrian Refugee crisis,the features of(dis)continuity and politicization.Also,a reasonable prediction is made towards the future of Refugee policy of Turkey and refugee crisis in Europe.