Social capital levels of Syrians under temporary protection: Examples from Istanbul and Şanlıurfa

This study, which aims to evaluate the impact of Syrian immigrants living in Turkey on the social capital of the urban people in the region where they live, and their in-group social capital, is important in terms of contributing to the social capital studies of the cities of Istanbul and Sanlıurfa in a methodological sense. In addition, it reveals important findings in terms of making sense of the effect of the Syrian perception, which is caused by the socio-cultural differences of the cities of Istanbul and Sanlıurfa, on social relations and the process of creating social capital. This study, which was structured according to the "Converging Parallel Mixed Method" research design; It determines how the Syrian refugees in Istanbul and Sanlıurfa affect the social capital reserves in the city through qualitative and quantitative studies. In the qualitative research method, the data were collected with semi-structured interview questions, and in the quantitative research method, the data were collected with a questionnaire. In addition, the sample of both research methods was determined as snowball sampling, and the analysis and interpretation of the obtained data was carried out according to the data analysis steps. This thesis research, which evaluates the social capital levels of Syrians under temporary protection and the people of Istanbul and Sanlıurfa neighboring Syrians, on the basis of parameters such as social trust, neighborly relations, Syrian perception, social networks, participation in voluntary organizations and the scale of trust, the data obtained at the level of both groups and determined by taking into account the urban components. The data obtained from this research revealed that trust levels are measured at low levels, neighborhood relations are weak, and social capital levels are measured at low levels, especially due to the negative perception of Syrians created in the city of Istanbul. On the other hand, the data obtained from the city of Sanlıurfa revealed that the people of Şanlıurfa include Syrian immigrants in their trust, have relatively more effective communication channels, and accordingly, relations with Syrians create a source of social capital, albeit at low levels. The reason for the low levels of social capital; It has been determined that the mutual relations between the Turkish and Syrian communities are limited or completely disconnected, the participation in voluntary organizations is measured at low levels for both groups, and the insecurity that prevents mutual interaction stems from the prejudices created.