The governance dimension of the Syrian refugee crisis in civil society in the context of the Turkey-EU joint action plan and an analysis of Turkey

Starting in 2011 in Syria and reaching its peak in 2014, the most critical aspect of the refugee crisis is that it has affected Turkey, which is a neighboring country. Along with these impacts, national and international actors as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have undertaken significant humanitarian work in the field of migration governance in Turkey. In particular, the Joint Action Plan signed between Turkey and the EU has been an important step in the governance model. This Action Plan reflects an important agreement between Turkey and the EU to support Syrians under temporary protection through coordinated efforts to the situation caused by the crisis in Syria and to increase cooperation on global migration governance. This agreement envisages an urgent and principled management of the crisis through humanitarian organizations. Global migration governance needs to be comprehensive, holistic, able to bring together both structures and institutions, capable of socio-spatial analysis, dynamic and with migration experiences. For this reason, in this study, the global migration governance dimension of the Turkish Red Crescent, which carries out social cohesion activities within the scope of the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), which carries out a protection program, and the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), which carries out a livelihoods program, are examined from the perspective of Neoliberal Institutionalism. Neoliberal Institutionalism, with its focus on international cooperation represented by Nye and Keohane, positioned the state not as the main actor per se, but only as an instrument for the production of the interests of social groups. All the humanitarian organizations involved in this thesis have had extensive experience with migration. The governance model implemented has played a key role in reducing the refugee crisis and building social cohesion. The main question this study seeks to answer is 'how the migration governance dimension of the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey and humanitarian aid efforts have been advanced in the context of the Turkey-EU Joint Action Plan' from the perspective of Neoliberal Institutionalism. The key contribution to this study is to examine the humanitarian aid programs that were established with the Turkey-EU Joint Action Plan. These programs are important governance efforts such as protection, social cohesion and livelihoods, which have been critical throughout the refugee crisis.