Sport and citizenship dimension of global migration: Representation issue through sports in the cases of Turkey, Azerbaijan, The United Kingdom and Canada

Athletes, as called people on the move, constitute a part of global migration movements. Sports are used as a tool by the states to glorify and reproduce their national identities. To this end, states aim at alternatives with the hope of winning more (medals). Foremost among these, athletes obtain citizenship other than the one at birth and compete for that country internationally. Many athletes naturalize with the motivation of having better physical opportunities and competing in the Olympics. However, this kind of naturalization brings along the issue of "representation". Where do naturalized athletes, so-called "devshirme" in Turkey, take place in the representation of national identities and belongings? How do the naturalized athletes live their experiences and motivations despite the criticism from the media and political circles? Where exactly do they locate their national identities and belongings? Turkey and these three countries are chosen for the case study for several reasons. Azerbaijan takes place as an example of a relatively small and oil-rich country yet having sport investments and representations with an increased number of naturalized athletes. The United Kingdom, as a country with a colonialism background, receives negative criticism from its media towards the success with its naturalized athletes. Canada, as a country that leaves migration doors open historically, has the same tolerance towards athletes and the representations with them. These four countries were investigated on the bases of migration histories, citizenship policies, national identities, and national sport depictions. Subsequently, debates on political and academic grounds were evaluated regarding the issue. Although access to the data varied depending on each country, a common comparison ground has been created. Findings showed that migration histories, citizenship regulations and national identity depictions of the countries affected positions taken towards citizenship transfers in sports. In addition to the comparative analysis of four countries, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sport managers and naturalized Turkish athletes in order to examine the assessments of the agents of the issue. These interviews focused on perspectives of the sport managers and athletes regarding the citizenship transfers in sports on certain headings. Overall, this thesis aimed to provide an insight into the naturalized athletes issue considering migration, citizenship relations and representations of national identities both on Turkey and international scale. Keywords: Global Migration, Sports, Athletic Migration, National Identity, International Representation, Citizenship, Naturalization, Naturalized Athletes