Social Cohesion in Turkey: a process stuck between policies, discourses and perceptions

This Brief by Nihal Eminoğlu aims to examine the factors impacting social cohesion with respect to Syrian refugees in Turkey. In doing so the study looks at the perceptions of both host and refugee communities in Turkey, and examines how the political discourses and the language of conventional and social media on refugees affects the attitudes of both communities towards each other.

In this context, this brief analyzes the perception of both communities under four main categories: cultural similarity, social distance, social acceptance, and “living together” in future.

Looking at these questions and analyzing the different aspects of Turks’ social cohesion with Syrians, this study also aims to give an overall picture of the Syrians’ situation in Turkey.