Conflicts, Irregular Migration and Turkey’s Security in the Context of Turkey-European Union Relations

Abstract

Due to its geographical proximity to conflict zones, Turkey has become the target country for asylum seekers and refugees from different countries having diverse ethnic origins. Turkey’s emerging role as a target country became even more problematic due to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, triggered by the Arab Spring. The Syrian conflict not only led to an increased flow of refugees but also destabilized the Turkish borders. In this regard, Turkey has established a set of strategies and transformations to tackle these issues. This paper examines how migration has evolved as a security issue for Turkey in the last four decades, in general. In particular, the study deals with the security-related issues in terms of migration from the Turkish perspective and evaluates the refugee crisis in 2016 and its implications for Turkey and the European Union. The article concludes with reactions to irregular migration and the refugee flow by shedding light on both Turkey and the European Union’s perspectives.