Turkey's Migration Transition and its Implications for the Euro-Turkish Transnational Space

One area of the Euro-Turkish migration regime that has been overlooked is the migration transition of Turkey, as it rapidly develops from a net emigration setting to a net immigration setting. Focusing on the last hundred-year history of emigration and immigration flows in Turkey, this essay analyses various stages of migration transition in the country. Turkey has changed its migration profile from the massive emigration of the 1960s and 1970s to extensive immigration during the 1990s and 2000s. The transformation of Turkey's migration policies has been greatly affected by the country's exposure to globalization and its integration into the European migratory system. At the same time, Turkey's migration transition has also had repercussions on this transnational space. As Turkey undergoes migration transition, the asymmetric relationship between the EU and Turkey tends to evolve towards relatively symmetrical relations as reflected in the readmission agreement and the launching of the "visa liberalization dialogue".

Paper produced within the framework of the project Turkey, Europe and the World. Publ. in IAI Research Paper 13.