The relationship between human security and securitygovernance: The case of Syrian asylum-seekers in Turkey

This thesis investigates the capacity of Turkey, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) to meet the security needs of the Syrians who have been coming to Turkey since 2011. Human security approach is used for the security of Syrians in Turkey while security governance approach is used to explain cooperation among actors on this regard. The research question focuses on the governance relations among Turkey, UN and EU on the issue of assuring the security of Syrians in Turkey from a human security perspective. First, the use of human security and security governance approaches in security studies literature and their applications by the actors are examined. Second, the effect of the UN and the EU on Turkey's asylum system is examined by comparing the periods before and after Syrians in Turkey. Then, the security governance relations among the actors are identified for the case of Syrians. Last but not least, whether or not the security governance leads freedom from fears and freedom from wants for Syrians is assessed.