The Neoliberal Face of the ‘Local Turn’ in Governance of Refugees in Turkey: Participatory Action Research in Karacabey, Bursa

Abstract

Based on the findings of participatory action research conducted in 2020 and 2021 in Karacabey, Bursa (Turkey), the article aims to offer a critical assessment of the current vocabulary that has become prevalent in Migration Studies such as ‘local turn’ and ‘resilience’. In doing so, the article demonstrates the neoliberal logic of governance of migration and integration of migrants and refugees—a logic that is manifested by the Turkish central state in the form of delegating responsibilities to local actors without an attempt to financially strengthen them. Karacabey encounters various problems similar to many other rural and mountainous places in Europe such as depopulation, aging, emigration, deforestation, deinvestment, reduction of agricultural lands and production, and environmental problems. As the last decade has brought about massive migration of Syrians, the article mostly elaborates on their social, economic, and territorial impacts on Karacabey and Bursa—a region that has been historically exposed to various forms of migration, both international and domestic.