The impact of syrians under temporary protection on local government policies through selected metropolitan municipalities

Migration is a dynamic phenomenon that has deeply affected societies throughout history and shaped many political, social and economic processes. Turkey has been experiencing the effects of this phenomenon in depth, especially with the intense wave of migration following the civil war that started in Syria in 2011. Turkey's geographical location and its border with Syria have caused a significant number of Syrian migrants to seek refuge in Turkey, which has led to radical changes in the policy-making processes of many public institutions, especially local governments. In this context, the aim of this study is to reveal the effects of Syrian migrants under temporary protection status on the migration policies of municipalities in Turkey, to evaluate the adequacy levels of these policies and to analyze the solutions developed for the problems encountered. In the study, ten metropolitan municipalities (Istanbul, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Adana, Hatay, Mersin, Bursa, Konya, İzmir and Ankara), where Syrians under temporary protection live the most, were selected as the sample in line with the data of the Directorate of Migration Management for the year 2025. Using the document analysis method, the post-2015 activity reports, strategic plans and local migration projects of these municipalities were examined, and the policies and practices developed for migrants were analyzed comparatively. The study reveals that the impacts of Syrian migrants on the cities where they live have multifaceted consequences at the local level in terms of not only demographic but also social cohesion, access to public services and social integration, and draws attention to the importance of the policy development capacity of local governments in this framework. As a result of the analyses, it has been determined that the migration policies of each metropolitan municipality differ depending on the demographic structure, economic capacity and migrant density of the region in which they are located; however, municipalities that address the phenomenon of migration as a priority issue carry out more active and comprehensive studies.