Deniz Sert
Ozyegin University, International Relations, Faculty Member
- Deniz S. Sert is a Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, Ozyegin Un... moreDeniz S. Sert is a Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, Ozyegin University, Istanbul. She is also an editor of IOM's journal International Migration,(SSCI). Before joining OzU, she was a Senior Research Associate at the Migration Research Center, Koç University, Istanbul. An expert on migration issues in Turkey and globally, she has taught and researched at several institutions domestically and abroad. She received her BA in International Relations from Koç University, an MSc in European Union Policy Making from the London School of Economics, and an MPhil in Political Science from the City University of New York. Her PhD in Comparative Politics is from the City University of New York. She has published extensively on international migration within Turkey and its regions. She is also a board member of European Movement Turkey, TURABDER, as well as the Association for Migration Research, GAR.edit
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Solving the internal displacement problem is crucial for building peace, and any solution to the problem of internal displacement must include institutionalized property rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Granting property... more
Solving the internal displacement problem is crucial for building peace, and any solution to the problem of internal displacement must include institutionalized property rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Granting property rights to IDPs is not only important for creating incentives for them to return home, but also for generating the means to re-establish their lives elsewhere, i.e., to resettle and reintegrate. The methodology followed here is both quantitative and qualitative. The results of the quantitative analysis show that property rights are an important determinant of IDP return and resettlement. In the qualitative part, a more detailed analysis of individual cases of Bosnia and Cyprus elucidate and confirm the theory proven by quantitative analysis with qualitative data, and uncover the endogenous variables affecting the settlement of the problem of internal displacement that are overlooked by aggregate data.
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Following the breakup of former Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 resulted in the displacement of large numbers of people in order to create ethnically pure territories. A decade after the Dayton Accords enshrined the right... more
Following the breakup of former Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 resulted in the displacement of large numbers of people in order to create ethnically pure territories. A decade after the Dayton Accords enshrined the right of displaced populations to return to ...
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Since the early 1980s, Turkey has become an important route for so-called transit migration flows in the south-east of Europe. People from different parts of the South and East have begun to use the Turkish peninsula as a bridge to the... more
Since the early 1980s, Turkey has become an important route for so-called transit migration flows in the south-east of Europe. People from different parts of the South and East have begun to use the Turkish peninsula as a bridge to the West and the North, where they hope to find better living conditions. The number of such people is unknown as there are no figures available for ‘irregular transit migration’ passing through Turkey, which is an expected result, given the murky nature of this phenomenon
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This chapter aims to provide an overview of the return migration of Turkish guest workers and their family members. While doing so, it also elaborates on the theoretical and conceptual discussions of the notion of return migration, and it... more
This chapter aims to provide an overview of the return migration of Turkish guest workers and their family members. While doing so, it also elaborates on the theoretical and conceptual discussions of the notion of return migration, and it discusses the empirical question of how return migration has evolved over time in the case of the guest-worker scheme between Turkey and Germany. There are several reasons that make it worthwhile to elaborate the case of Turkish guest workers in Europe in general (and in Germany in particular) in the context of the whole notion of return migration. First, it is a migratory system that has evolved from temporary migration to permanent settlement over the last five decades. Second, while this transformation has taken place, some migrants have returned home, but others have stayed abroad. Third, as this covers a period since the early 1960s, different generations are involved, including first-generation labor migrants as well as their Europe-born children, and even grandchildren. Finally, as this migration from Turkey includes various types of movements such as labor migration, family reunion, asylum seeking, and clandestine flows, return migration to Turkey also consequently consists of various types of returnees.
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This commentary is based on our observations during our fieldwork in the earthquake region in Turkey that took place in February 6, 2023 in 11 provinces where 49% of the entire Syrian population in Turkey live. In this commentary, we... more
This commentary is based on our observations during our fieldwork in the earthquake region in Turkey that took place in February 6, 2023 in 11 provinces where 49% of the entire Syrian population in Turkey live. In this commentary, we focus on the case of Syrians, who have been subject to what we call double displacement. Syrian refugees who were already displaced due to the war and faced with many problems in establishing a new life in Turkey once again lost their homes and livelihoods due to the earthquake, exposing them to increased risks and vulnerability.
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Amaç: Son yıllarda Türkiye’ye dair göç çalışmalarında ciddi bir artış gözlense de Türkiye-İran göç koridoruna dair araştırmalar sınırlı sayıdadır. Bu makalede Türkiye-İran Göç sisteminde son dönemde yaşanan gelişmeler incelenecektir. Bu... more
Amaç: Son yıllarda Türkiye’ye dair göç çalışmalarında ciddi bir artış gözlense de Türkiye-İran göç koridoruna dair araştırmalar sınırlı sayıdadır. Bu makalede Türkiye-İran Göç sisteminde son dönemde yaşanan gelişmeler incelenecektir. Bu bağlamda tartışılacak üç kategori: yıllardır süregelen uluslararası korumaya tabi kişiler; sayıları gittikçe artan uluslararası öğrenciler ve yatırım yoluyla vatandaşlık hareketliliklerini kapsamaktadır.Yöntem: Türkiye-İran göç koridorunda son yıllarda artış gösteren öğrenci hareketliliği ve konut alımı ile aynı süreçte Türkiye’ye gelerek sığınma başvurusunda bulunan İranlı bireylerin sayısında ciddi azalma olmuştur. Tarihsel süreçte bu değişimi iz sürme yöntemiyle sunan çalışma bu noktada verilerin ne ifade ettiğini göstermek adına TÜİK, YÖK ve GİB’den yararlanmaktadır. Azalan ve artan trendi anlamak adına ise makro politikalardaki değişiklikleri analiz ederek, makro değişimlerin yeni olan etkisini ortaya çıkarmaktadır.Bulgular: 1980’lerin başından ...
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Reflecting on the research findings, it can be said that the current nature of migrant transnationalism is the result of an interplay of various historical, political, economic, and cultural factors. For instance, the characteristics of... more
Reflecting on the research findings, it can be said that the current nature of migrant transnationalism is the result of an interplay of various historical, political, economic, and cultural factors. For instance, the characteristics of migration between India and the UK are extensively related to the colonial history of the countries. Similarly, the most important reasons for the intensive movement of people between Morocco and France lie in the past French colonial presence in Morocco and in the long history of emigration to France. The Turkish–German case represents an established transnational connection in which economic migration has a vital role to play. Although the initial assumption was that Turkish “guest workers” would stay in Germany for only a limited period of time and then return to Turkey, this was not the case; many of them settled in Germany. Finally, the Estonian–Finnish space represents an emerging transnational space in which human movement was prevented by political factors for a long time. Although the Estonian–Finnish space is a fairly recent migratory passage, it has undergone remarkable transformation processes during the past few decades.
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Kurt Mills and David Jason Karp, eds. (2015). Human Rights Protection in Global Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, 336 pp., $100 hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-137-46316-6). This volume, edited by Kurt Mills and... more
Kurt Mills and David Jason Karp, eds. (2015). Human Rights Protection in Global Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, 336 pp., $100 hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-137-46316-6). This volume, edited by Kurt Mills and David Jason Karp, explores the responsibilities that states and non-state actors have for the protection of human rights in global politics. The volume offers a broad, multidisciplinary investigation of the subject, with contributions from scholars and practitioners from a number of fields, including political science, International Relations, law, philosophy, sociology, history, and English. The book explores a number of questions: 1. Who is responsible for human rights protection in global politics? 2. How should responsibility for human rights protection be conceptualized? 3. What rights and categories of rights are covered by the responsibilities for human rights protection in global politics? 4. Are existing legal and institutional mechanisms effective in promoting the human rights protective responsibilities of various global actors? The international legal doctrine Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which asserts that the international community has a responsibility to prevent mass atrocities, provides a normative and conceptual framework through which the book’s chapters investigate these questions. The R2P doctrine, advanced at the 2005 World Summit, represents a prevailing conception of responsibility for human rights protection in global politics. Specifically, the World Summit Outcomes Document, endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2005, asserts that individual states have the responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity (paragraph 138), and that UN institutions also have a responsibility to protect that may be fulfilled via diplomatic, humanitarian, or other peaceful means (paragraph 139). Under R2P, any decision to authorize a military response to mass atrocities would be made in the UN Security Council in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter, including chapter 7. In this regard, the operational and political constraints that limit the extent to which the international … debra.delaet{at}drake.edu
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This study contributes to discussions on the politics of (non-)deportability by focusing on the case of Afghans, the largest migrant community without a right to protection in Turkey, itself the country hosting the most refugees. This... more
This study contributes to discussions on the politics of (non-)deportability by focusing on the case of Afghans, the largest migrant community without a right to protection in Turkey, itself the country hosting the most refugees. This article examines how the politics of (non-)deportation is shaped and practiced for Afghans and the types of everyday strategies they employ to deal with deportability. We first argue that the politics of deportation in Turkey is predominantly shaped by the needs of the informal labour market, which accounts for one-third of the total labour force. Our findings suggest that forced labour and the hypermobility of Afghans is both tolerated and hidden by the state, while Afghans’ fear of deportability operates as a disciplining apparatus. Second, we argue that, when spectacles of deportation are performed, three crucial factors help Afghans avoid deportation, namely their qawm-based (ethnic or kinship) background, the involvement of Afghan associations, an...
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Since the rise of the ruling Justice and Development Party in the early 2000s, Turkey has invested in several mega transport and infrastructure projects for the purposes of economic transformation, growth, and development. This article... more
Since the rise of the ruling Justice and Development Party in the early 2000s, Turkey has invested in several mega transport and infrastructure projects for the purposes of economic transformation, growth, and development. This article explores the impact of a recently completed mega-project—the Osman Gazi Bridge—on material change and popular imagination about the future. It claims that, while the Bridge created a colossal material change that can be observed by everyone, it also animated an imagined post-industrial transition and inclusive development in the industrial town of Dilovası. Although the dream of a better future serves as a medium for the industrial town’s underprivileged inhabitants to connect and socialize, along with the current marginalizing conditions, it also has the potential to fuel future resistance, if imagination is unable to be transformed into reality.
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The evolution of the construction of gender in migration studies can be appraised under several distinct headings. In the beginning, women were simply “in the shadows” with no recognition of them as potential or actual migrants.... more
The evolution of the construction of gender in migration studies can be appraised under several distinct headings. In the beginning, women were simply “in the shadows” with no recognition of them as potential or actual migrants. Eventually, the field moved to an “add women, mix, and stir” approach, which saw women recognized in migration studies and statistics for the first time. Here, gender was no more than a demographic category to ensure women were counted alongside men in migration flows. However, deconstructing the feminization of migration required that gender be understood as integral to the experience of migration, thus demanding more refined theoretical and analytical tools. Subsequently, migration intersected with masculinity studies, which showed the reciprocal relation where masculinity can be decisive in migratory decision making, and in return, mobility can be an essential factor in how men think about masculinity. More recently, gender in migration studies has moved ...
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Solving the internal displacement problem is crucial for building peace, and any solution to the problem of internal displacement must include institutionalized property rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Granting property... more
Solving the internal displacement problem is crucial for building peace, and any solution to the problem of internal displacement must include institutionalized property rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Granting property rights to IDPs is not only important for creating incentives for them to return home, but also for generating the means to re-establish their lives elsewhere, i.e., to resettle and reintegrate. The methodology followed here is both quantitative and qualitative. The results of the quantitative analysis show that property rights are an important determinant of IDP return and resettlement. In the qualitative part, a more detailed analysis of individual cases of Bosnia and Cyprus elucidate and confirm the theory proven by quantitative analysis with qualitative data, and uncover the endogenous variables affecting the settlement of the problem of internal displacement that are overlooked by aggregate data.
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In a comparative analysis of the two de facto states of the island—the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, this paper describes the domestic political life on the island and explores how the issue of migration... more
In a comparative analysis of the two de facto states of the island—the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, this paper describes the domestic political life on the island and explores how the issue of migration is treated in its domestic politics. It is argued here that neither side receives very high scores in regards to their policies towards immigrants, i.e., members of one community living in the territory controlled by the other, which has rather discouraging implications for the future in terms of a settlement of the Cyprus problem, a conflict between two communities that have historically perceived the opposing side as the ‘other’.
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The refugee Odyssey is often not a linear, straightforward movement from point A to point B, from sending country to receiving one. Rather, it involves multiple paths, gateways, entry and exit points, and territories en route to the... more
The refugee Odyssey is often not a linear, straightforward movement from point A to point B, from sending country to receiving one. Rather, it involves multiple paths, gateways, entry and exit points, and territories en route to the country of resettlement. Crucially, the journey involves not only mobility but also immobility and/or periods of stasis—breaks that are, in many cases, a natural part of the journey. Alongside this diversity of paths and movements, the refugee experience—understood in terms of the practices and acts of refugees en route—is also far from homogeneous. Each journey may well have an episodic character, where the course, direction, and periods of waiting for one asylum traveller can differ significantly from those of previous and/or future travellers—even if the departure point and destination are the same. Within this context, this article examines the breaks or periods of stasis that punctuate the refugee Odyssey, which we call mobistasis. We base our empir...
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International migration is widening, deepening, and speeding up as described within a set of theories that have been developed by different disciplines of science. The sociological theories of migration go back to the concept of... more
International migration is widening, deepening, and speeding up as described within a set of theories that have been developed by different disciplines of science. The sociological theories of migration go back to the concept of intervening opportunities, which suggests that the number of migratory movements to a destination is directly proportional to the number of opportunities at that distance and inversely proportional to the number of intervening opportunities. Economic theories of migration, meanwhile, generally focus on international labor migration, while the geographical theories of migration concentrate on the role of distance in explaining spatial movements. Finally, socioeconomic theories of international migration are derived from a Marxist political economy emphasizing the unequal distribution of economic and political power in the global economy in a world where the rich are getting richer by exploiting the poor. Taken together, these theories explain the causes of pr...
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This article is derived from the findings of an empirical study based on semi-structured and life course qualitative interviews conducted with Turkish-German migrants and their significant others in both countries. 1 As the interviews... more
This article is derived from the findings of an empirical study based on semi-structured and life course qualitative interviews conducted with Turkish-German migrants and their significant others in both countries. 1 As the interviews involved different migrant ...
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Livre: Migration and transformation: multi-level analysis of migrant transnationalism (hardback) (series: international perspectives on PITKäNEN Pirkko, IçDUYGU Ahmet, SERT Deniz.
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Page 1. Internal Displacement: Return, Property, Economy Deniz S. Sert* Although there is an increasing recognition of the right to return in the international arena, the problem of conflict-induced displacement remains a debacle in the... more
Page 1. Internal Displacement: Return, Property, Economy Deniz S. Sert* Although there is an increasing recognition of the right to return in the international arena, the problem of conflict-induced displacement remains a debacle in the world. ...
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Since the early 1980s, Turkey has become an important route for so-called transit migration flows in the south-east of Europe. People from different parts of the South and East have begun to use the Turkish peninsula as a bridge to the... more
Since the early 1980s, Turkey has become an important route for so-called transit migration flows in the south-east of Europe. People from different parts of the South and East have begun to use the Turkish peninsula as a bridge to the West and the North, where they hope to find better living conditions. The number of such people is unknown as there are no figures available for ‘irregular transit migration’ passing through Turkey, which is an expected result, given the murky nature of this phenomenon
Research Interests: Geography and Trafficking
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The geographic region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) comprises one of the most fascinating immigration regions of the world, hosting millions of migrants and receiving thousands of new migrants each year. While the panorama of... more
The geographic region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) comprises one of the most fascinating immigration regions of the world, hosting millions of migrants and receiving thousands of new migrants each year. While the panorama of MENA's immigration arena is extremely diverse, this article aims to investigate project-tied, or contract-based, labor migration from Turkey, which occurs mostly through the long-established work of Turkish companies that engage in various construction and service-sector businesses. Taking the analytical context of migration system theory into consideration, the main aim of this essay is twofold: while it attempts to document the dynamics and mechanisms of contract-based labor migration from Turkey to the MENA countries, it also intends to elaborate on research about migratory systems between Turkey and the MENA region, mainly referring to macro-level factors affecting the relevant migration system.
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Within the context of the transformation of Turkey from a country of emigration to an immigration and transit country, the migration scene is becoming more heterogeneous, with both the formal and informal labor markets being increasingly... more
Within the context of the transformation of Turkey from a country of emigration to an immigration and transit country, the migration scene is becoming more heterogeneous, with both the formal and informal labor markets being increasingly internationalized. This paper focuses on de-qualification, defined as migrants taking on jobs that do not match their skills, which is a neglected issue within the migration literature on Turkey with the potential for further research. Based on open-ended interviews and participant observation in İstanbul, the paper elaborates on the different instruments of de-qualification. De-qualification is considered here as an important element of precariousness in the labor market, with different mechanisms functioning simultaneously; namely, accreditation problems, a language disadvantage, lack of information, and identity-based discrimination.
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Pasaport, genellikle bir ülkenin hükümeti tarafından vatandaşlarına verilen ve esas olarak uluslararası seyahat amacıyla sahibinin kimliğini ve uyruğunu onaylayan bir seyahat belgesidir. Pasaport aynı zamanda devletlerin sınır kontrolleri... more
Pasaport, genellikle bir ülkenin hükümeti tarafından vatandaşlarına verilen ve esas olarak uluslararası seyahat amacıyla sahibinin kimliğini ve uyruğunu onaylayan bir seyahat belgesidir. Pasaport aynı zamanda devletlerin sınır kontrolleri için kullandıkları belki de en önemli araçlardan biri ve düşünülenden çok daha yeni bir 20. yüzyıl icadı. Henley Pasaport Endeksi,2 tüm dünya pasaportlarını, sahiplerinin önceden vize almadan erişebilecekleri varış noktalarının sayısına göre sıralamaktadır. Uluslararası Hava Taşımacılığı Birliği’nden (IATA) alınan özel verilere dayanan endekse göre, 2020 yılında dünyada sahip olunabilecek en iyi pasaportlar Japonya, Singapur, Güney Kore, neredeyse tüm Avrupa Birliği, Kanada ve Amerika pasaportları; en kötüleri ise Afganistan, Irak, Suriye, Pakistan, Somali ve Yemen’dir. İkinci gruptaki ülkeler aynı zamanda dünyadaki en büyük mülteci ve düzensiz göçmen gruplarının ülkeleridir. Sadece bu basit karşılaştırma bile, dünyanın gittikçe daha küresel bir yer haline gelmesinin bazıları için klişe iken diğerleri için bir mit olduğuna işaret etmektedir.
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Book Review: INTEGRATION AND TRANSITION Susan Bibler Coutin, Nations of Emigrants: Shifting Boundaries of Citizenship in El Salvador and the United States (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2007, 263 pp., 11.94 pbk.). Montserrat Guibernau, The Identity of Nations (Cambridge and Malden:...more
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In Sert & Icduygu Eds., Isis Press, 2012.
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In A. Terzioğlu et. al., Eds., The Making of of Neoliberal Turkey, Ashgate, 2015.
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Solving the internal displacement problem is crucial for building peace, and any solution to the problem of internal displacement must include institutionalized property rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Granting property... more
Solving the internal displacement problem is crucial for building peace, and any solution to the problem of internal displacement must include institutionalized property rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Granting property rights to IDPs is not only important for creating incentives for them to return home, but also for generating the means to re-establish their lives elsewhere, i.e., to resettle and reintegrate. The methodology followed here is both quantitative and qualitative. The results of the quantitative analysis show that property rights are an important determinant of IDP return and resettlement. In the qualitative part, a more detailed analysis of individual cases of Bosnia and Cyprus elucidate and confirm the theory proven by quantitative analysis with qualitative data, and uncover the endogenous variables affecting the settlement of the problem of internal displacement that are overlooked by aggregate data. Bücher / Fremdsprachige Bücher / Englische Bücher 978-3-8383-1201-9, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing