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Zeynep Sahin Mencutek

Biographic Data

ID667680
NAMEZeynep Sahin Mencutek
GIVEN NAMESZeynep Sahin
FAMILY NAMEMencutek
SIGNATUREMENCUTEK Z S
AFFILIATIONSBICC - Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies
ORCID0000-0002-6676-8579
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS31
TOTAL CITATIONS145
AUTHOR COUNT31
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2015
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX8
  • The assemblage of IDP governance in Iraq

    Open Access•Soner Barthoma, Osman Bahadır Dinçer et al.•ARTICLE•Migration Studies•2026

    This paper examines the governance of internally displaced persons’ mobility in post-conflict settings. Drawing on policy documents, multi-sited political ethnography conducted between 2019 and 2024, and over 160 interviews across various regions of Iraq, it investigates the processes of internally displaced person (IDP) (non-) returns with a specific focus on camp closure policies. The study addresses three questions: (1) How do different actors…

  • Diaspora governance during the pandemic

    Bezen Balamir Coşkun, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Southeast European and…•2025

    The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on migration has been substantial, with border closures leading to the panic mobility of those returning home across the globe while sending states mobilized their resources to bring the citizens abroad back. In the case of Turkey, during the initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, state diaspora institutions like Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) offered distance support, consulates helped f…

  • Return governance and diplomacy between Türkiye and Afghanistan

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Hidayet Sıddıkoğlu et al.•ARTICLE•International Migration•2025•Cited by: 1•References: 6

    There is growing scholarly and policy interest in understanding how destination and transit countries develop return migration policies and collaborate with origin countries. This study investigates the dynamics, drivers and outcomes of the collaborative process between Turkish and Afghan authorities in governing the return of Afghan migrants. Drawing on the concept of return diplomacy, derived from the broader framework of migration diplomacy—wh…

  • Refugee return, reintegration, and citizenship practices in post‐conflict Syria

    Open Access•Osman Bahadır Dinçer, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•International Migration•2025•Cited by: 2•References: 7

    The return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons is occurring despite the absence of economic, political, social, and security infrastructures necessary for a voluntary, safe, and dignified return. Drawing from desk research and interviews conducted with 87 returnees in 2024, this paper explores the interactions between return processes and the Syrian government's citizenship policies. The evidence suggests that the Syrian regime ha…

  • Governance of Citizenship in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Soner Barthoma•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2025•References: 41

    Few issues stir more controversy than granting citizenship to refugees, particularly in nations hosting large numbers for extended periods. Turkey’s decision to naturalise selected Syrians between 2016 and 2024 offers revealing insights into this challenge. This study examines two questions: (1) What role has crisis played in shaping the scope of the changes introduced? (2) How will Turkey’s exceptional citizenship for Syrian refugees reshape cit…

  • Refugee policy narratives of political parties in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Aysegul Kayaoglu•ARTICLE•New Community•2025•Cited by: 2•References: 37

    This study examines the diverging narratives of the governing and opposition parties in Turkey about Syrian refugee policies between 2011 and 2023. We use a mixed method combining process tracing and quantitative exploratory text analysis of 1,001 parliamentary group speeches by four political parties. Our analysis reveals six main narratives about Syrian refugees: temporariness, fraternity, civilizationist humanitarianism, rights-based humanitar…

  • Coerced return

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Anna Triandafyllidou•ARTICLE•New Community•2025•Cited by: 9•References: 30

    This article raises two questions: (1) how do formal policies and informal practices intersect in coercing returns of migrants without legal immigration status, refused asylum seekers and those unlikely to get asylum? (2) how do migrants at risk of return navigate the coercion they are exposed to? Focusing on the entanglement of formal and informal practices, we develop a typology of involuntary returns, distinguishing among pushing, imposing, an…

  • Bargaining (in)visibility

    Open Access•Rohini Mitra, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Refugee Studies•2024•Cited by: 5•References: 17

    Despite relatively low numbers, Rohingya refugees in India have faced a spiralling, multi-factorial crisis of negative visibility over the past decade, constructed by public opinion, politicians, and media coverage. This paper examines this process of negative visibility, largely outside of the community’s control, its very real consequences, and in response, how refugees navigate within an increasingly hostile policy landscape. Relying on qualit…

  • Rethinking Migration Studies for 2050

    Open Access•Anna Triandafyllidou, Marta Bivand Erdal et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2024•Cited by: 7•References: 59

    Migration is a complex social process not simply a response to development imbalances, or a solution to problems like unemployment, poverty or population aging. As such migration and mobility are shaped by broader processes of globalization, development, technological transformation, urbanization and in turn contribute to shaping those. This collective paper raises and seeks to answer important research and policy questions about migration and so…

  • Conceptual Complexity About Return Migration of Refugees/Asylum Seekers

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Asian and African…•2024•Cited by: 6•References: 57

    Return migration is one of the complex categories of migration, which becomes even more complicated in the context of refugees' return to their country of origin. A plethora of terms is used to describe the return of refugees/asylum seekers, having strong political and policy relevance. To unpack the features and drivers of conceptual complexity, I propose three interrelated arguments. The first is that labelling - the choice of one concept over …

  • Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Sahin-Mencutek et al.•BOOK•Syrian Refugees in Turkey•2023

    This open access book Syrian Refugees in Turkey provides an analysis of Turkey’s response to Syrian mass migration crisis from 2011 to 2020. Free read!

  • The Geopolitics of Return Migration in the International System

    Tamirace Fakhoury, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Geopolitics•2023•Cited by: 8•References: 70

    In an era marked by the twin rise of populist and pandemic politics, the world has witnessed a dizzying array of policy initiatives aiming at ensuring the quick return of refugees, rejected asylum

  • The Geopolitics of Returns

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Geopolitics•2023•Cited by: 8•References: 60

    Despite growing interest in the return of rejected asylum seekers, irregular migrants, and refugees, we do not know enough about how geopolitics affects returns governance. This article addresses this knowledge gap by analysing the case of Turkey, exploring how positions in the global migration regime and relations with countries of origin influence return policies. It first argues that Turkey’s geopolitical reasoning has led it to design an asyl…

  • The Institutionalization of “Voluntary” Returns in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Migration and Society•2022

    The increasing salience and variations of “voluntary” return techniques have not yet been thoroughly investigated in the context of Global South countries, which host the majority of displaced people. As the largest refugee host and transit country, the case of Turkey provides important insights on the role that these instruments and the very notion of “voluntariness” play for migration governance. This article specifically looks at how Turkey de…

  • A crisis mode in migration governance

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Soner Barthoma et al.•ARTICLE•Comparative Migration Studies•2022•Cited by: 14•References: 22

    This paper takes stock of the emerging literature on the governance and framing of both migration and asylum as 'crises'. This study carries forward this line of thinking by showing how the crisis governance of migration is not just a representation or a discourse but emerges as a mode of governance with specific features. The study focuses on the refugee emergency of 2015-2016, covering however a longer time frame (2011-2018) and a wide set of 1…

  • When Do States Repatriate Refugees? Evidence from the Middle East

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Sahin-Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Global Security Studies•2022•Cited by: 4•References: 28

    Which conditions affect whether a state will choose to repatriate forcibly displaced populations residing within its borders? One of the most pressing issues related to the protracted Syrian refugee situation concerns the future of over 5 million Syrians who sought shelter in neighboring states. With host countries pursuing disparate strategies on Syrians’ return, the existing literature has yet to provide a framework that is able to account for …

  • Return Aspirations of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Aysegul Kayaoglu, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2022•Cited by: 14•References: 32

    Voluntary return is proposed as a durable solution for mass displacements, but little is known about how refugees perceive their options. This article discusses what drives the return aspirations of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Based on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data (2017–18), it shows that many Syrians condition their return on the provision of security, regime change and livelihood opportunities in Syria. However, their integr…

  • Perceptions About the Labor Market Integration of Refugees

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Ayat J Nashwan et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of International…•2021

    This article focuses on the refugees’ labor market integration in the immediate host countries. Drawing from the experience of Syrian refugees in Jordan, it describes how the integration in labor market depends on the alignment of four perspectives: (1) host state perspective, materialized through legal regulations about refugee employment; (2) refugee perspective that refers to refugees’ access to labor market and challenges they face; (3) host …

  • It's Ordered Chaos

    Open Access•Maria Koinova, Maryam Zarnegar Deloffre et al.•ARTICLE•International Studies Review•2021•Cited by: 6•References: 56

    This forum reimagines polycentric governance. It develops ideas of “ordered polycentrism” that can help international relations scholarship make fuller sense of contemporary governance of global affairs. How can we theorize the implicit bonding forces that bring deeper order to the surface disorganization of polycentric governance? We offer a key corrective to actor-focused institutionalist understandings by showing how polycentrism also involves…

  • Refugee community organisations

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Third World Quarterly•2021•Cited by: 6•References: 44

    This article focuses on ways in which refugee-led community organisations (RCOs) carve out a space of influence through civic activism in the migration architectures of receiving countries. Building on scholarship addressing migration governance and grassroots refugee organisations, it argues that RCOs have become vital in the refugees’ search for means to alleviate the sufferings of their fellows, to empower their community and claim rights for …

  • Governance of Refugee Children Protection in Turkey

    Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Dilek Karal et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2021•References: 31

    This study addresses the questions of to what extent, through which mechanisms and to what ends child rights and protection become part and parcel of national and local refugee governance schemes. To examine complex relations and coordination mechanisms, it sets forth a conceptual framework drawing from the scholarship on child rights governance, vulnerability and humanitarian paternalism. We argue that the politics of subsidiarity among local, n…

  • Emerging Transnational Practices and Capabilities of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•MIGRATION LETTERS•2020

    Transnational activities of refugees in the Global North have been long studied, while those of the Global South, which host the majority of displaced people, have not yet received adequate scholarly attention. Drawing from refugee studies, transnationalism and diaspora studies, the article focuses on the emerging transnational practices and capabilities of displaced Syrians in Turkey. Relying on qualitative data drawn from interviews in Şanlıurf…

  • Employment of Syrian refugees in Jordan

    Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Ayat Nashwan•ARTICLE•Journal of Ethnic & Cultural…•2020•Cited by: 4•References: 15

    Employment is a key issue for refugees, host states, and local communities, whose interests in this area often diverge. Based on an ethnographic qualitative study among Syrian refugees and Jordanian citizens, this research sheds much-needed light on the dynamics of employment of refugees in Jordan. Research findings demonstrate how Syrian refugees work in both the formal and informal sectors of the labor market with an emphasis on legal precarity…

  • Governing Practices and Strategic Narratives for Syrian Refugee Returns

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Refugee Studies•2020•Cited by: 13•References: 13

    How do host states attempt to speed up returns of refugees before peacebuilding and the lack of official arrangements with the home state? Building on the conceptual framework, which coalesces governing practices, strategic narratives, and issue linkages, the article explains the early stages of policy formulation and discourses on refugee returns. Empirically, it draws from Turkey’s return initiatives targeting Syrians since 2016. It argues that…

  • Mobilizing Diasporas

    Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, B Baser•ARTICLE•Journal of Balkan and Near…•2018

    Expansion in state‒diaspora relations in recent decades has led to academic research questioning when, why and how sending states develop diaspora policies in order to re-connect with their citizens abroad. Turkey, which has one of the highest rates of emigration in the world, is a particularly important case study in terms of illustrating a turn in the way it perceives its citizens abroad as a diaspora. When the AKP (Justice and Development Part…

Next
  • A crisis mode in migration governance

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Soner Barthoma et al.•ARTICLE•Comparative Migration Studies•2022•Cited by: 14•References: 22

    This paper takes stock of the emerging literature on the governance and framing of both migration and asylum as 'crises'. This study carries forward this line of thinking by showing how the crisis governance of migration is not just a representation or a discourse but emerges as a mode of governance with specific features. The study focuses on the refugee emergency of 2015-2016, covering however a longer time frame (2011-2018) and a wide set of 1…

  • Return Aspirations of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Aysegul Kayaoglu, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2022•Cited by: 14•References: 32

    Voluntary return is proposed as a durable solution for mass displacements, but little is known about how refugees perceive their options. This article discusses what drives the return aspirations of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Based on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data (2017–18), it shows that many Syrians condition their return on the provision of security, regime change and livelihood opportunities in Syria. However, their integr…

  • Governing Practices and Strategic Narratives for Syrian Refugee Returns

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Refugee Studies•2020•Cited by: 13•References: 13

    How do host states attempt to speed up returns of refugees before peacebuilding and the lack of official arrangements with the home state? Building on the conceptual framework, which coalesces governing practices, strategic narratives, and issue linkages, the article explains the early stages of policy formulation and discourses on refugee returns. Empirically, it draws from Turkey’s return initiatives targeting Syrians since 2016. It argues that…

  • Strong in the Movement, Strong in the Party

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Sahin-Mencutek•ARTICLE•Political Studies•2016•Cited by: 11•References: 32

    This article shows how extant theories on women’s representation in parties can only partially explain the Kurdish ethno-nationalist party’s exceptional level of women’s descriptive representation vis-à-vis the Turkish average. It demonstrates that women’s very high level of representation in the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) can be better understood by examining the interaction between party-related and movement-related factors. Drawing on ext…

  • The Implementation of Voting from Abroad

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Şahin‐Mencütek et al.•ARTICLE•International Migration•2015•Cited by: 11•References: 6

    Voting from abroad ( VFA ) is a complex norm and practice due to the multilevel processes, structures and actors involved. This article explores the reasons behind the eventual adoption of this practice within the context of a long and well‐known history of emigration in Turkey. During the 2014 Turkish presidential election, emigrants from Turkey were finally allowed to participate from abroad even though legislation giving them this right has be…

  • Coerced return

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Anna Triandafyllidou•ARTICLE•New Community•2025•Cited by: 9•References: 30

    This article raises two questions: (1) how do formal policies and informal practices intersect in coercing returns of migrants without legal immigration status, refused asylum seekers and those unlikely to get asylum? (2) how do migrants at risk of return navigate the coercion they are exposed to? Focusing on the entanglement of formal and informal practices, we develop a typology of involuntary returns, distinguishing among pushing, imposing, an…

  • Evaluation of irregular migration governance in Turkey from a foreign policy perspective

    Open Access•N Ela Gökalp Aras, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•New Perspectives on Turkey•2018•Cited by: 9•References: 13

    This article analyzes the extent to which Turkey’s irregular migration governance has evolved since the 1990s and the most salient factors in that process. Relying on the methods of process tracing and political ethnography, the article demonstrates that, since the early 1990s, Turkey’s irregular migration governance has been driven by the following factors: 1) responses to the European Union’s (EU) attempts to control migration through externali…

  • The Geopolitics of Return Migration in the International System

    Tamirace Fakhoury, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Geopolitics•2023•Cited by: 8•References: 70

    In an era marked by the twin rise of populist and pandemic politics, the world has witnessed a dizzying array of policy initiatives aiming at ensuring the quick return of refugees, rejected asylum

  • The Geopolitics of Returns

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Geopolitics•2023•Cited by: 8•References: 60

    Despite growing interest in the return of rejected asylum seekers, irregular migrants, and refugees, we do not know enough about how geopolitics affects returns governance. This article addresses this knowledge gap by analysing the case of Turkey, exploring how positions in the global migration regime and relations with countries of origin influence return policies. It first argues that Turkey’s geopolitical reasoning has led it to design an asyl…

  • Rethinking Migration Studies for 2050

    Open Access•Anna Triandafyllidou, Marta Bivand Erdal et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2024•Cited by: 7•References: 59

    Migration is a complex social process not simply a response to development imbalances, or a solution to problems like unemployment, poverty or population aging. As such migration and mobility are shaped by broader processes of globalization, development, technological transformation, urbanization and in turn contribute to shaping those. This collective paper raises and seeks to answer important research and policy questions about migration and so…

  • Conceptual Complexity About Return Migration of Refugees/Asylum Seekers

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Asian and African…•2024•Cited by: 6•References: 57

    Return migration is one of the complex categories of migration, which becomes even more complicated in the context of refugees' return to their country of origin. A plethora of terms is used to describe the return of refugees/asylum seekers, having strong political and policy relevance. To unpack the features and drivers of conceptual complexity, I propose three interrelated arguments. The first is that labelling - the choice of one concept over …

  • It's Ordered Chaos

    Open Access•Maria Koinova, Maryam Zarnegar Deloffre et al.•ARTICLE•International Studies Review•2021•Cited by: 6•References: 56

    This forum reimagines polycentric governance. It develops ideas of “ordered polycentrism” that can help international relations scholarship make fuller sense of contemporary governance of global affairs. How can we theorize the implicit bonding forces that bring deeper order to the surface disorganization of polycentric governance? We offer a key corrective to actor-focused institutionalist understandings by showing how polycentrism also involves…

  • Refugee community organisations

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Third World Quarterly•2021•Cited by: 6•References: 44

    This article focuses on ways in which refugee-led community organisations (RCOs) carve out a space of influence through civic activism in the migration architectures of receiving countries. Building on scholarship addressing migration governance and grassroots refugee organisations, it argues that RCOs have become vital in the refugees’ search for means to alleviate the sufferings of their fellows, to empower their community and claim rights for …

  • Bargaining (in)visibility

    Open Access•Rohini Mitra, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Refugee Studies•2024•Cited by: 5•References: 17

    Despite relatively low numbers, Rohingya refugees in India have faced a spiralling, multi-factorial crisis of negative visibility over the past decade, constructed by public opinion, politicians, and media coverage. This paper examines this process of negative visibility, largely outside of the community’s control, its very real consequences, and in response, how refugees navigate within an increasingly hostile policy landscape. Relying on qualit…

  • Strategic Intersectionality and Political Representation

    Eren Tatari, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Women & Politics•2015•Cited by: 5•References: 21

    This article addresses questions of how race/ethnicity, gender, and religion influence political representation. We use original interview data to test a strategic intersectionality theory developed by Fraga and colleagues (2005) in the case of female Muslim councilors in London, the United Kingdom. The original strategic intersectionality theory proposes that women are more effective advocates for ethnic group interests due to their unique capac…

  • When Do States Repatriate Refugees? Evidence from the Middle East

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Sahin-Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Global Security Studies•2022•Cited by: 4•References: 28

    Which conditions affect whether a state will choose to repatriate forcibly displaced populations residing within its borders? One of the most pressing issues related to the protracted Syrian refugee situation concerns the future of over 5 million Syrians who sought shelter in neighboring states. With host countries pursuing disparate strategies on Syrians’ return, the existing literature has yet to provide a framework that is able to account for …

  • Employment of Syrian refugees in Jordan

    Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Ayat Nashwan•ARTICLE•Journal of Ethnic & Cultural…•2020•Cited by: 4•References: 15

    Employment is a key issue for refugees, host states, and local communities, whose interests in this area often diverge. Based on an ethnographic qualitative study among Syrian refugees and Jordanian citizens, this research sheds much-needed light on the dynamics of employment of refugees in Jordan. Research findings demonstrate how Syrian refugees work in both the formal and informal sectors of the labor market with an emphasis on legal precarity…

  • Refugee return, reintegration, and citizenship practices in post‐conflict Syria

    Open Access•Osman Bahadır Dinçer, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•International Migration•2025•Cited by: 2•References: 7

    The return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons is occurring despite the absence of economic, political, social, and security infrastructures necessary for a voluntary, safe, and dignified return. Drawing from desk research and interviews conducted with 87 returnees in 2024, this paper explores the interactions between return processes and the Syrian government's citizenship policies. The evidence suggests that the Syrian regime ha…

  • Refugee policy narratives of political parties in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Aysegul Kayaoglu•ARTICLE•New Community•2025•Cited by: 2•References: 37

    This study examines the diverging narratives of the governing and opposition parties in Turkey about Syrian refugee policies between 2011 and 2023. We use a mixed method combining process tracing and quantitative exploratory text analysis of 1,001 parliamentary group speeches by four political parties. Our analysis reveals six main narratives about Syrian refugees: temporariness, fraternity, civilizationist humanitarianism, rights-based humanitar…

  • Return governance and diplomacy between Türkiye and Afghanistan

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Hidayet Sıddıkoğlu et al.•ARTICLE•International Migration•2025•Cited by: 1•References: 6

    There is growing scholarly and policy interest in understanding how destination and transit countries develop return migration policies and collaborate with origin countries. This study investigates the dynamics, drivers and outcomes of the collaborative process between Turkish and Afghan authorities in governing the return of Afghan migrants. Drawing on the concept of return diplomacy, derived from the broader framework of migration diplomacy—wh…

  • The international migration and foreign policy nexus

    Open Access•N Ela Gökalp Aras, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•MIGRATION LETTERS•2015

    The relationship between ‘foreign’ and ‘immigration and asylum’ policy is complex and has significant consequences beyond these policy areas. Despite their ever increasing importance, migration and refugee studies have been rarely tackled within the foreign policy dimension of state’s responses, in particular regarding refugee crisis. This paper both demonstrates the importance for and impact of foreign policy orientations on immigration and asyl…

  • The Implementation of Voting from Abroad

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Şahin‐Mencütek et al.•ARTICLE•International Migration•2015•Cited by: 11•References: 6

    Voting from abroad ( VFA ) is a complex norm and practice due to the multilevel processes, structures and actors involved. This article explores the reasons behind the eventual adoption of this practice within the context of a long and well‐known history of emigration in Turkey. During the 2014 Turkish presidential election, emigrants from Turkey were finally allowed to participate from abroad even though legislation giving them this right has be…

  • Strategic Intersectionality and Political Representation

    Eren Tatari, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Women & Politics•2015•Cited by: 5•References: 21

    This article addresses questions of how race/ethnicity, gender, and religion influence political representation. We use original interview data to test a strategic intersectionality theory developed by Fraga and colleagues (2005) in the case of female Muslim councilors in London, the United Kingdom. The original strategic intersectionality theory proposes that women are more effective advocates for ethnic group interests due to their unique capac…

  • Strong in the Movement, Strong in the Party

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Sahin-Mencutek•ARTICLE•Political Studies•2016•Cited by: 11•References: 32

    This article shows how extant theories on women’s representation in parties can only partially explain the Kurdish ethno-nationalist party’s exceptional level of women’s descriptive representation vis-à-vis the Turkish average. It demonstrates that women’s very high level of representation in the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) can be better understood by examining the interaction between party-related and movement-related factors. Drawing on ext…

  • Mobilizing Diasporas

    Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, B Baser•ARTICLE•Journal of Balkan and Near…•2018

    Expansion in state‒diaspora relations in recent decades has led to academic research questioning when, why and how sending states develop diaspora policies in order to re-connect with their citizens abroad. Turkey, which has one of the highest rates of emigration in the world, is a particularly important case study in terms of illustrating a turn in the way it perceives its citizens abroad as a diaspora. When the AKP (Justice and Development Part…

  • Refugee Governance, State and Politics in the Middle East

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•BOOK•Refugee Governance, State and…•2018

    The movement of displaced people, migrants and refugees has become increasingly important around the world, leading to a need for increased scrutiny of global responses and policies towards migration. This book focuses on the Middle East, where many nations are part of this global phenomenon as both home, transit and/or host country. \n \n Refugee Governance, State and Politics in the Middle East examines the patterns of legal, political and inst…

  • Evaluation of irregular migration governance in Turkey from a foreign policy perspective

    Open Access•N Ela Gökalp Aras, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•New Perspectives on Turkey•2018•Cited by: 9•References: 13

    This article analyzes the extent to which Turkey’s irregular migration governance has evolved since the 1990s and the most salient factors in that process. Relying on the methods of process tracing and political ethnography, the article demonstrates that, since the early 1990s, Turkey’s irregular migration governance has been driven by the following factors: 1) responses to the European Union’s (EU) attempts to control migration through externali…

  • Emerging Transnational Practices and Capabilities of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•MIGRATION LETTERS•2020

    Transnational activities of refugees in the Global North have been long studied, while those of the Global South, which host the majority of displaced people, have not yet received adequate scholarly attention. Drawing from refugee studies, transnationalism and diaspora studies, the article focuses on the emerging transnational practices and capabilities of displaced Syrians in Turkey. Relying on qualitative data drawn from interviews in Şanlıurf…

  • Employment of Syrian refugees in Jordan

    Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Ayat Nashwan•ARTICLE•Journal of Ethnic & Cultural…•2020•Cited by: 4•References: 15

    Employment is a key issue for refugees, host states, and local communities, whose interests in this area often diverge. Based on an ethnographic qualitative study among Syrian refugees and Jordanian citizens, this research sheds much-needed light on the dynamics of employment of refugees in Jordan. Research findings demonstrate how Syrian refugees work in both the formal and informal sectors of the labor market with an emphasis on legal precarity…

  • Governing Practices and Strategic Narratives for Syrian Refugee Returns

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Refugee Studies•2020•Cited by: 13•References: 13

    How do host states attempt to speed up returns of refugees before peacebuilding and the lack of official arrangements with the home state? Building on the conceptual framework, which coalesces governing practices, strategic narratives, and issue linkages, the article explains the early stages of policy formulation and discourses on refugee returns. Empirically, it draws from Turkey’s return initiatives targeting Syrians since 2016. It argues that…

  • Perceptions About the Labor Market Integration of Refugees

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Ayat J Nashwan et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of International…•2021

    This article focuses on the refugees’ labor market integration in the immediate host countries. Drawing from the experience of Syrian refugees in Jordan, it describes how the integration in labor market depends on the alignment of four perspectives: (1) host state perspective, materialized through legal regulations about refugee employment; (2) refugee perspective that refers to refugees’ access to labor market and challenges they face; (3) host …

  • It's Ordered Chaos

    Open Access•Maria Koinova, Maryam Zarnegar Deloffre et al.•ARTICLE•International Studies Review•2021•Cited by: 6•References: 56

    This forum reimagines polycentric governance. It develops ideas of “ordered polycentrism” that can help international relations scholarship make fuller sense of contemporary governance of global affairs. How can we theorize the implicit bonding forces that bring deeper order to the surface disorganization of polycentric governance? We offer a key corrective to actor-focused institutionalist understandings by showing how polycentrism also involves…

  • Refugee community organisations

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Third World Quarterly•2021•Cited by: 6•References: 44

    This article focuses on ways in which refugee-led community organisations (RCOs) carve out a space of influence through civic activism in the migration architectures of receiving countries. Building on scholarship addressing migration governance and grassroots refugee organisations, it argues that RCOs have become vital in the refugees’ search for means to alleviate the sufferings of their fellows, to empower their community and claim rights for …

  • Governance of Refugee Children Protection in Turkey

    Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Dilek Karal et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2021•References: 31

    This study addresses the questions of to what extent, through which mechanisms and to what ends child rights and protection become part and parcel of national and local refugee governance schemes. To examine complex relations and coordination mechanisms, it sets forth a conceptual framework drawing from the scholarship on child rights governance, vulnerability and humanitarian paternalism. We argue that the politics of subsidiarity among local, n…

  • The Institutionalization of “Voluntary” Returns in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Migration and Society•2022

    The increasing salience and variations of “voluntary” return techniques have not yet been thoroughly investigated in the context of Global South countries, which host the majority of displaced people. As the largest refugee host and transit country, the case of Turkey provides important insights on the role that these instruments and the very notion of “voluntariness” play for migration governance. This article specifically looks at how Turkey de…

  • A crisis mode in migration governance

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Soner Barthoma et al.•ARTICLE•Comparative Migration Studies•2022•Cited by: 14•References: 22

    This paper takes stock of the emerging literature on the governance and framing of both migration and asylum as 'crises'. This study carries forward this line of thinking by showing how the crisis governance of migration is not just a representation or a discourse but emerges as a mode of governance with specific features. The study focuses on the refugee emergency of 2015-2016, covering however a longer time frame (2011-2018) and a wide set of 1…

  • When Do States Repatriate Refugees? Evidence from the Middle East

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Sahin-Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Global Security Studies•2022•Cited by: 4•References: 28

    Which conditions affect whether a state will choose to repatriate forcibly displaced populations residing within its borders? One of the most pressing issues related to the protracted Syrian refugee situation concerns the future of over 5 million Syrians who sought shelter in neighboring states. With host countries pursuing disparate strategies on Syrians’ return, the existing literature has yet to provide a framework that is able to account for …

  • Return Aspirations of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Aysegul Kayaoglu, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2022•Cited by: 14•References: 32

    Voluntary return is proposed as a durable solution for mass displacements, but little is known about how refugees perceive their options. This article discusses what drives the return aspirations of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Based on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data (2017–18), it shows that many Syrians condition their return on the provision of security, regime change and livelihood opportunities in Syria. However, their integr…

  • Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek, Zeynep Sahin-Mencutek et al.•BOOK•Syrian Refugees in Turkey•2023

    This open access book Syrian Refugees in Turkey provides an analysis of Turkey’s response to Syrian mass migration crisis from 2011 to 2020. Free read!

  • The Geopolitics of Return Migration in the International System

    Tamirace Fakhoury, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Geopolitics•2023•Cited by: 8•References: 70

    In an era marked by the twin rise of populist and pandemic politics, the world has witnessed a dizzying array of policy initiatives aiming at ensuring the quick return of refugees, rejected asylum

  • The Geopolitics of Returns

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Geopolitics•2023•Cited by: 8•References: 60

    Despite growing interest in the return of rejected asylum seekers, irregular migrants, and refugees, we do not know enough about how geopolitics affects returns governance. This article addresses this knowledge gap by analysing the case of Turkey, exploring how positions in the global migration regime and relations with countries of origin influence return policies. It first argues that Turkey’s geopolitical reasoning has led it to design an asyl…

  • Bargaining (in)visibility

    Open Access•Rohini Mitra, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Refugee Studies•2024•Cited by: 5•References: 17

    Despite relatively low numbers, Rohingya refugees in India have faced a spiralling, multi-factorial crisis of negative visibility over the past decade, constructed by public opinion, politicians, and media coverage. This paper examines this process of negative visibility, largely outside of the community’s control, its very real consequences, and in response, how refugees navigate within an increasingly hostile policy landscape. Relying on qualit…

  • Rethinking Migration Studies for 2050

    Open Access•Anna Triandafyllidou, Marta Bivand Erdal et al.•ARTICLE•Journal of Immigrant & Refugee…•2024•Cited by: 7•References: 59

    Migration is a complex social process not simply a response to development imbalances, or a solution to problems like unemployment, poverty or population aging. As such migration and mobility are shaped by broader processes of globalization, development, technological transformation, urbanization and in turn contribute to shaping those. This collective paper raises and seeks to answer important research and policy questions about migration and so…

  • Conceptual Complexity About Return Migration of Refugees/Asylum Seekers

    Open Access•Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Asian and African…•2024•Cited by: 6•References: 57

    Return migration is one of the complex categories of migration, which becomes even more complicated in the context of refugees' return to their country of origin. A plethora of terms is used to describe the return of refugees/asylum seekers, having strong political and policy relevance. To unpack the features and drivers of conceptual complexity, I propose three interrelated arguments. The first is that labelling - the choice of one concept over …

  • Diaspora governance during the pandemic

    Bezen Balamir Coşkun, Zeynep Sahin Mencutek•ARTICLE•Journal of Southeast European and…•2025

    The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on migration has been substantial, with border closures leading to the panic mobility of those returning home across the globe while sending states mobilized their resources to bring the citizens abroad back. In the case of Turkey, during the initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, state diaspora institutions like Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) offered distance support, consulates helped f…

Political science (30 works) · Migration, Refugees, and Integration (22 works) · Law (21 works) · Politics (19 works) · Sociology (19 works) · Economics (17 works) · Refugee (17 works) · Law (14 works) · Corporate governance (13 works) · Political economy (13 works)

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