Turkey and Germany relations in the framework of Syrian refugee crisis

Along with the historical relations, this study aims to analyse the effects of the Syrian refugee crisis, the unavoidable relationship between Turkey and Germany and to uncover the critical turning points that Turkish-German bilateral relations have undergone during the crisis era. It also studies some challenges and opportunities, which have appeared for both countries due to the efforts for hindering refugees' entering into the EU uncontrolled. The study first gives a historical perspective of bilateral relations to understand the contemporary matter broadly. It then evaluates the refugee crisis and its transformation from a regional crisis into a European crisis. At this point, the strategic moves from both parties are also taken place in the study. The Turkish-German dialogue has been reinterpreted with the declaration of the "EU-Turkey Statement", widely known as the EU-Turkey "refugee deal." Domestic and foreign obstacles of the bilateral dialogue are unfolded within this study. In the final part, some assessments are put forward regarding the prospect of Turkish-German relations and the expectations from the "refugee deal" by considering the data of the previous chapters of this study. The ultimate aim of the study is to shed light to this specific eight-year period in the long dated Turkish- German relations. Besides the destructiveness of the civil war, this study briefly examines the historical relations to understand fully, how deep and rooted have been the relations of both countries over the course of history as well.