Diaspora diplomacy

This book examines the reasons behind the Turkish state’s unprecedented recent interest in its diaspora, details new political activism in Europe among the Turkish diaspora and explores how Turkey’s growing sway over its overseas population has affected intra-diaspora politics and Turkey’s diplomatic relations with Europe.

Ayca Arkilic is a Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington

'Diaspora diplomacy is an impressive study and an important contribution to the scholarship on diaspora engagement and diplomacy. It offers a compelling account of Turkey-diaspora relations under the AKP government, as well as more general insight into state-diaspora and diaspora-diaspora interactions. These empirical and theoretical accomplishments make the book an essential reading for anyone interested in diaspora diplomacy in general and Turkey’s diaspora diplomacy in particular.'
Jonathan Grossman, Mediterranean Politics

'Arkilic provides a welcome contribution to diaspora and diplomacy studies and to International Relations (IR) more generally. The book gives ample empirical evidence to challenge the domestic–international binary that has shaped the IR discipline for decades. The author skilfully interweaves different levels of analysis, from the sub-national to the national, transnational and international, to provide a nuanced context for the rise of the Turkish diaspora as a diplomatic agent.'
Paula Sandrin, International Affairs 99: 2, 2023

‘Ayca Arkilic takes the reader on a journey starting from the early days of Turkish migration to Europe in the 1960s and ending in the early 2020s. She demonstrates the growing efficacy of “diaspora diplomacy” under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) that has ruled Turkey since 2002. Using first-hand data collected from French and German cases, she reveals how the AKP has instrumentalised the Turkish diaspora in Europe to accomplish its foreign policy objectives, at the expense of fragmenting it in a way that favours Sunni-Islamic narratives and groups.’
Ayhan Kaya, Professor of Politics and Jean Monnet Chair of European Politics of Interculturalism, Istanbul Bilgi University

'Diaspora diplomacy is an indispensable book for anyone interested in the decades-long effort of Erdogan's government to institutionalise and mobilise parts of the Turkish diaspora in Europe in support of the country's foreign policy interests. Ayça Arkiliç innovates in various ways: focusing on internal variation within the Turkish diaspora; highlighting the adverse consequences of diaspora diplomacy on Turkey's relations with destination countries, but also for "non-conforming" diaspora segments; and, finally, by examining diasporan agency.'
Harris Mylonas, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University