Being a migrant in Europe: A psycho-political assessment in the context of hegemonic relationship

The phenomenon of immigration occurring at a certain time and spaceplane at first only met physical mobility and a spatial change. Later, immigration changed the population structures of countries. With the changing population structures, different social relations and interaction networks have been formed. Competition, integration, assimilation, and conflict situations are some of the social effects of immigration. With the transition to an industrial society, immigration has been the area of interest of social sciences. The rapid change in societies with industrialization has started to include not only spatial but also socio-economic, socio-political, and cultural changes. While the changes make it impossible to prevent the phenomenon of immigration, immigrants who have started to live within the borders of different states have now become citizens of such countries. While some prefer to accept the citizenship of the country they live in, others do not adopt such a bond of citizenship, avoiding deviation from the traditional ties and the values of the places they come from. Common areas have been established in social life, relationships have been developed, marriages and relatives have been established. With all that, immigrants have faced situations in which they questioned their identity. One of the important identities of immigrants is their political identity. This identity, affected by many variables, is the reason behind different attitudes and behaviors seen in life. In this study, 64 people who migrated to Europe from TRB-1 Region provinces (Bingöl-Elazığ-Malatya-Tunceli) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview technique. The social relations in their places of residence were evaluated in the context of hegemonic relations and the change in their political belonging and identities as a result of such relations were discussed. Considering the findings obtained, it was determined that hegemonic relations were experienced. It has been concretized with the comments made that such relations are encountered in both the levels of state and civil society. Political identity and belonging followed an increasing or decreasing course in the new network of relationships. Consequently, it has been observed that political identity is questioned. Keywords: Immigration, Immigrant, Hegemony, Political Psychology, Political Identity