Cultures of Migration and Conflict in Contemporary Human Mobility in Turkey

Abstract

We approach Turkish mobility using a culture of migration perspective with reference to conflict. Conflicts are defined broadly into an array of situations including minor disputes, tensions or latent conflicts on the one hand and major violent events on the other. These situations, defined along a security continuum shape individual perceptions. Increasing perceptions of human insecurity are positively correlated to a rise in migration propensity. Applied to Turkey’s international migration history we note that major conflicts have determined inflows and outflows of populations and created a Turkish culture of migration, which reinforces continuous population flows between countries of destination and origin. Migration flows between Germany and Turkey are exemplary in this regard.