Youth responses to state-manufactured diaspora mobilization: Turkey’s diaspora governance and the politics of selective engagement

Abstract

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has implemented transnational policies to strengthen ties among diaspora youth in Europe with Turkey. However, these policies have been highly selective and geared towards regime-loyal groups in the diaspora. This article focuses on the group-level dynamics of AKP’s transnational youth outreach and examines the responses of dissident youth in the diaspora to these policies. We argue that there is significant variation in how AKP’s youth outreach strategies are received by diaspora youth and that the AKP’s state-sponsored intervention in diasporic spaces not only transforms loyalist diaspora organizations, but also affects the identification and mobilization dynamics of dissident groups.