Refugee activism and state policies in comparative perspective: Contentious voices from Greece and Turkey

This study examines forced migrant groups' access to the realm of activism practices in Turkey and Greece. It does this through considering the role of these states' refugee policies, refugees' interaction with pre-existing networks and politico-legal systems in the post-2010 period. The research aims to expose the underlying mechanisms that explain the diversification of refugee activism practices in two country cases by comparing similar forced migrant group's activisms whose origin of country is the same. It tries to establish an interconnected link between the spatial dimension of control and power seized by the state, together with policies and practices regarding the emergence of migrant and pro-migrant activism, by putting refugee agency at the center. The analysis presents comparative cases in three layers and how refugees position themselves differently in their access to rights contra to, or in alignment with, the state, civil society and themselves. Unfolding certain spaces enables us to tackle why activism diversifies, by scrutinizing the refugee agents' choice of actions and involvement in different mobilizations. The thesis categorizes activism in three layers – as high, medium and low in terms of the control of spaces – for example camp/border, urban and private realms. While private space – under the low-control layer – crosses across other spatial settings as a subjective autonomous dimension. The analysis contributes to the discussion between critical citizenship studies and the autonomy of the migration debate by arguing that both perspectives are complementary and interrelated within the structural setting. Therefore, the research seeks answers to explain the diversification of activism by combining a careful inquiry into refugee's agentic preferences in relation to the socio-political structures. Data for this study was collected between 2015-2018 through fieldwork visits to both countries, by conducting in-depth interviews with refugees and pro-refugee activists, bureaucrats and NGO workers; establishing a refugee activism dataset; collecting media coverage of the cases of contentious activism and overviewing secondary literature. The analysis of varying refugee activism practices illustrates refugees' strategic involvement in existing channels and networks. Yet, it also argues that the availability of these channels is highly dependent on the state's structural relationship with civil society, inclusive of refugee policies and the state's politico/legal setting. While this determines a space of opportunity to mobilize, the structural constraints and opportunities allow them to move forward in the state's 'desired' trajectory of activism. Analyzing the emergence, production, reproduction and diversification of multiple forms of refugee activisms through the lens of refugee agency, this study aims to contribute to the growing scholarly literature on migrant activism. It enables a dialogue between social movements literature with a particular interest in the activism and contentious movements of excluded and marginalized groups, i.e., refugees.