Syrian Refugees in Turkey: Its Impact on Turkish Social Structure and Nation State Policy

Turkey has faced the effects of the Syrian civil war since 2011 and has hosted nearly 3,7 million refugees in the past 11 years. The number of Syrian refugees corresponds to approximately 5% of Turkey's total population. In addition, the population distribution of these provinces has changed considerably, as refugees are concentrated in large cities and provinces in the border region. Since the number of asylum seekers is above the melting potential of the provinces, various problems were encountered in terms of social, political, economic, cultural and demographic aspects. As a result, polarizations began to emerge between the local people and the refugees. The Turkish State, which has adopted the nation-state policy since its establishment, changed its immigration policy with the Syrian migration flow and implemented an open-door policy. This situation has created a significant pressure on the social structure and social life. In this study, an evaluation was made on the impact of Turkey's Syrian refugee policy on the social structure. In addition, the current immigration policy of the Turkish state, which has adopted a homogeneous social policy since the beginning of the century, has also been evaluated in terms of nation-state understanding.