Political Probe
Political Parties and the Syrian Refugees: An Analysis of Turkish Grand National Assembly Debates
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Cigdem Kentmen Cin
Turkish political parties navigate a complex landscape of diversity with the presence of over 3.6 million Syrian refugees in the country. This paper explores how they address this challenge, particularly in the lead-up to the 2023 general election. Previous research on the ideological positions of political parties suggests a tendency for right-wing parties to adopt a more critical stance on immigrants and immigration-related matters compared to their left-wing and liberal-centrist counterparts. However, within the Turkish context, we anticipate a unique stance from the ruling conservative and right-leaning Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP), projecting a non-exclusionary, pro-immigrant position. This expectation stems from the AKP's rhetoric, which frequently underscores "co-religiosity and brotherhood discourse". This study investigates whether this expectation holds true by analyzing debates held in the Turkish Grand National Assembly between October 2022 and April 2023. Focusing on the number of speeches and their content, we examine how deputies engage with the refugee issue. Specifically, we analyze the perspectives expressed towards Syrians (positive, negative, neutral), and the framing used (economic, religious, humanitarian, security). Additionally, we control for factors like party performance, deputy demographics, and seniority, known to influence legislative discourse. This research addresses the evolving landscape of diversity and inclusion within the Turkish political sphere, particularly concerning the Syrian refugee crisis.
Promoting Community Diversity and Inclusion by Collaborative Governance : A Case of a Social Enterprise
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nikolai Mouraviev
This study draws on the experience of a Ukrainian organisation that is registered as an NGO, although in part it is a social enterprise. Prior to 2022, it heavily relied on the initiatives of its leaders who actively sought various projects and occasionally partnered with other parties, such as international organisations working in Ukraine, for the purpose of implementing a specific project. This resulted in a broad range of projects ranging from providing training for aspiring entrepreneurs to running Schools of Peace for children, aiming to promote non-violence and acceptance of diversity. Although a broad range of projects created social value by enhancing diversity and promoting inclusion, the organisation viewed itself as an entity that was lacking legitimacy due to its lack of focus and funding, as well as lack of long-term partnerships. The paper investigates what methods this NGO used to rectify the problem, pursuing the goal of enhancing its legitimacy as a social enterprise, and whether its novel organisational arrangements have been successful. Drawing on the interview data, findings show that the organisation adopted the collaborative governance framework for addressing the needs of deprived populations and communities across Ukraine. An organisation’s newly adopted model can be described as intense engagement with multiple partners for both sourcing and implementing projects, such as helping individuals with disabilities to get meaningful employment. Findings also show that a shift to collaborative governance has greatly contributed to promotion of diversity and inclusion, although concerns about NGO’s legitimacy and credibility remain.
