Transnational Mobilization of Future Generations by Non-Democratic Home States: Turkey’s Diaspora Youth between Empowerment and Co-optation

Böcü, Gözde; Baser, Bahar

Abstract

While many aspects of state-diaspora relations have been explored, the role that youth play in state-led diaspora outreach remains under-researched in the literature. Democratic and nondemocratic states alike, however, actively target diaspora youth for a variety of reasons. In this article, we explore how and why a non-democratic state like Turkey engages with its perceived diaspora youth by focusing on the AKP regimes’ recent engagement within its European diasporas as a case study. We argue that the AKP regime has proactively bolstered transnational youth engagement policies over the last decade with the goal of creating a loyal diaspora that will serve the regime in the long run. We show that selected diaspora youth are not only empowered, but also co-opted and mobilized by the regime to ensure continued influence in the diaspora – ultimately to incorporate them into authoritarian consolidation efforts back home and to turn them into assets that lobby host country governments.

Citation

Böcü, G., & Baser, B. (in press). Transnational Mobilization of Future Generations by Non-Democratic Home States: Turkey’s Diaspora Youth between Empowerment and Co-optation. Ethnopolitics, https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2022.2101758

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 12, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Aug 9, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 13, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 12, 2022
• Journal: Ethnopolitics
• Print ISSN: 1744-9057
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-9065
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2022.2101758