Aysen Ustubici
Biographic Data
| ID | 289022 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Aysen Ustubici |
| GIVEN NAMES | Aysen |
| FAMILY NAME | Ustubici |
| SIGNATURE | USTUBICI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Koç University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1498-0025 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 134 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
“At Least, at the Border, I Am Killing Myself by My Own Will”: Migration Aspirations and Risk Perceptions among Syrian and Afghan Communities
It is well-documented that border controls make migration journeys riskier for people on the move. Policymakers construe deaths in migration journeys as resulting from the individual risk-taking attitudes of migrants. However, risks involved in migration journeys are not only related to border control measures. Based on the analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews conducted with Syrian and Afghan migrants in Turkey, we embrace a social construct…
Migration aspirations in relation to border closures, employment opportunities and risk-taking attitudes: Lessons From an Online Survey Experiment
This article investigates the effect of structural and individual factors on migration aspirations in a secondary migration context. Through an online survey experiment conducted with Syrian migrants (N = 551) living in Turkey, we unpack factors explaining aspirations to stay and move onward from the current country of residence. The findings indicate that open borders alone do not compel migrants to move onward. Instead, employment opportunities…
Daring to aspire: Theorising Aspirations in Contexts of Displacement and Highly Constrained Mobility
Binary distinctions between 'refugees' and 'economic migrants' continue to prevail in humanitarian discourse, with asylum policies heavily focusing on refugees' vulnerabilities and reduced choices. By addressing the paradox between vulnerability and agency embedded in the international protection regime, this article aims to lay the foundations for reconceptualising aspirations in contexts of displacement and highly constrained mobility. First, w…
Aspirations among young refugees in Turkey: Social Class, Integration and Onward Migration in Forced Migration Contexts
The prevailing sentiment is that refugees desire to go to developed countries rather than stay in their first host country. Based on a critical reading of the literature on onward migration, this article analyzes the formation of aspirations for (im)mobility among young Syrian refugees in Turkey, considering their initial access to resources and integration. Our quantitative analysis suggests that obtaining legal status, satisfaction with life, p…
New year message from the editors
Progress of migration scholarship over 60 years of International Migration
A posting on Facebook earlier this year – showcasing the 60th anniversary logo of International Migration – elicited one viewer to exclaim: ‘Congrats on 60 years of migration scholarship!’ Such kind words suggest that the Journal has been a self-evident outlet and a place for the exchange of scholarly knowledge on issues related to international migration and population diversity. Most scholars today have a clear picture of what that entails: it …
Remittances
Remittances are conventionally conceptualized as monetary transfers made by migrants to their family members, friends, and households in their places of origin. This entry summarizes the increasing interest in measuring the amount and the economic and social impact of monetary remittances as the most tangible aspect of the migration–development nexus and of transnational economic practices. Despite the decline expected in 2020, research has point…
How Covid-19 financially hit urban refugees: Evidence from mixed-method research with citizens and Syrian refugees in Turkey
Peering through a lens of disasters and inequalities, this article measures the financial impacts of Covid-19 on citizens and refugee communities in Turkey during a relatively early phase of the global pandemic. Our data comes from an online survey (N = 1749) conducted simultaneously with Turkish citizens and Syrian refugees living in Turkey, followed by in-depth online interviews with Syrian refugees. Our findings indicate that the initial Covid…
Street-Level Justifications’: Service Providers Mediating Refugee Reception in the Urban Context of Istanbul
This article discusses the mediating role of service providers between citizens and refugee reception policies. Based on an analysis of interviews with local government officials and NGO workers and observations in two districts of Istanbul, I examine the ‘street-level justifications’ that service providers use to counter anti-refugee resentments expressed by the citizens. The article suggests that as street-level bureaucrats endeavour to justify…
Tracing Asylum Journeys: Transnational Mobility of Non-European Refugees to Canada via Turkey by Uğur Yıldız
Externalization at work: Responses to migration policies from the Global South
The term “externalization” is used by a range of migration scholars, policy makers and the media to describe the extension of border and migration controls beyond the so-called ‘migrant receiving nations’ in the Global North and into neighboring countries or sending states in the Global South. It refers to a wide range of practices from controls of borders, rescue operations, to measures addressing the drivers of migration. The ambition of this S…
The impact of externalized migration governance on Turkey: Technocratic migration governance and the production of differentiated legal status
The article highlights international dimensions of the emergence and transformation of migration policies in Turkey from the early 2000s onwards, including the context of the Syrian displacement, which made Turkey the top refugee hosting country in the world. While the transformation of migration governance in Turkey has widely been discussed, the effects of externalization on Turkey have remained focused on foreign policy and Turkey-EU relations…
Border closures and the externalization of immigration controls in the Mediterranean: A comparative analysis of Morocco and Turkey
This article traces the recent history of border closures in Turkey and Morocco and their impact on human mobility at the two ends of the Mediterranean. Border closures in the Mediterranean have produced new spaces where borders are often fenced, immigration securitized, and border crossings and those facilitating border crossings criminalized. Here, bordering practices are conceptualized as physical bordering practices, border controls, and lega…
The Governance of International Migration: Irregular Migrants' Access to Right to Stay in Turkey and Morocco
As concern about immigration has grown within Europe in recent years, the European Union has brought pressure to bear on countries that are allegedly not sufficiently governing irregular migration with and within their borders. This book looks at that issue in Turkey and Morocco, showing how it affects migrants in these territories, and how migrant illegality has been produced by law, practiced and negotiated by the state, other civil society act…
Border closures and the externalization of immigration controls in the Mediterranean: A comparative analysis of Morocco and Turkey – Retracted
This article traces the recent history of border closures in Turkey and Morocco and their impact on human mobility at the two ends of the Mediterranean. Border closures in the Mediterranean have produced new spaces where borders are often fenced, immigration securitized, and border crossings and those facilitating border crossings criminalized. Here, bordering practices are conceptualized as physical bordering practices, border controls, and lega…
The Governance of International Migration: Irregular Migrants' Access to Right to Stay in Turkey and Morocco
Eder were always ready to read earlier drafts of my chapters and discuss my ideas.Conducting fieldwork in two different countries would not have been possible without the valuable help of precious people
Living on the Margins: Undocumented Migrants in a Global City By Alice Bloch and Sonia McKay
Political Activism Between Journey and Settlement: Irregular Migrant Mobilisation in Morocco
Research on irregular migrants’ political mobilisation focuses particularly on Western countries, conceptualised as final destinations for migrants, and documents how irregular migrants claim rights despite high risks involved. Based on a qualitative research in Morocco, the article explores the conditions under which individual journeys, allegedly to Europe, give rise to political activism by irregular migrants. Thus, it contributes to the liter…
Banu Senay. Beyond Turkey's Borders: Long Distance Kemalism, State Politics and the Turkish Diaspora. London: I.B. Tauris, 2013, 322 pages
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Reflections from the conference “Turkey debates its social policies: A rights-based turn in social policy making in Turkey
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Impact of Remittances on Human Development: A Quantitative Analysis and Policy Implications
This paper contributes to the discussions on the nexus between migration and development by assessing the effects of remittances on human development. We do so first through a quantitative approach, and second, by elaborating the findings of our quantitative analysis within a broader theoretical and policy framework. By using OLS, we measure the impact of remittances on human development and compare it with the effect of foreign direct investment…
Political Activism Between Journey and Settlement: Irregular Migrant Mobilisation in Morocco
Research on irregular migrants’ political mobilisation focuses particularly on Western countries, conceptualised as final destinations for migrants, and documents how irregular migrants claim rights despite high risks involved. Based on a qualitative research in Morocco, the article explores the conditions under which individual journeys, allegedly to Europe, give rise to political activism by irregular migrants. Thus, it contributes to the liter…
Externalization at work: Responses to migration policies from the Global South
The term “externalization” is used by a range of migration scholars, policy makers and the media to describe the extension of border and migration controls beyond the so-called ‘migrant receiving nations’ in the Global North and into neighboring countries or sending states in the Global South. It refers to a wide range of practices from controls of borders, rescue operations, to measures addressing the drivers of migration. The ambition of this S…
Daring to aspire: Theorising Aspirations in Contexts of Displacement and Highly Constrained Mobility
Binary distinctions between 'refugees' and 'economic migrants' continue to prevail in humanitarian discourse, with asylum policies heavily focusing on refugees' vulnerabilities and reduced choices. By addressing the paradox between vulnerability and agency embedded in the international protection regime, this article aims to lay the foundations for reconceptualising aspirations in contexts of displacement and highly constrained mobility. First, w…
The impact of externalized migration governance on Turkey: Technocratic migration governance and the production of differentiated legal status
The article highlights international dimensions of the emergence and transformation of migration policies in Turkey from the early 2000s onwards, including the context of the Syrian displacement, which made Turkey the top refugee hosting country in the world. While the transformation of migration governance in Turkey has widely been discussed, the effects of externalization on Turkey have remained focused on foreign policy and Turkey-EU relations…
How Covid-19 financially hit urban refugees: Evidence from mixed-method research with citizens and Syrian refugees in Turkey
Peering through a lens of disasters and inequalities, this article measures the financial impacts of Covid-19 on citizens and refugee communities in Turkey during a relatively early phase of the global pandemic. Our data comes from an online survey (N = 1749) conducted simultaneously with Turkish citizens and Syrian refugees living in Turkey, followed by in-depth online interviews with Syrian refugees. Our findings indicate that the initial Covid…
Street-Level Justifications’: Service Providers Mediating Refugee Reception in the Urban Context of Istanbul
This article discusses the mediating role of service providers between citizens and refugee reception policies. Based on an analysis of interviews with local government officials and NGO workers and observations in two districts of Istanbul, I examine the ‘street-level justifications’ that service providers use to counter anti-refugee resentments expressed by the citizens. The article suggests that as street-level bureaucrats endeavour to justify…
Aspirations among young refugees in Turkey: Social Class, Integration and Onward Migration in Forced Migration Contexts
The prevailing sentiment is that refugees desire to go to developed countries rather than stay in their first host country. Based on a critical reading of the literature on onward migration, this article analyzes the formation of aspirations for (im)mobility among young Syrian refugees in Turkey, considering their initial access to resources and integration. Our quantitative analysis suggests that obtaining legal status, satisfaction with life, p…
Border closures and the externalization of immigration controls in the Mediterranean: A comparative analysis of Morocco and Turkey
This article traces the recent history of border closures in Turkey and Morocco and their impact on human mobility at the two ends of the Mediterranean. Border closures in the Mediterranean have produced new spaces where borders are often fenced, immigration securitized, and border crossings and those facilitating border crossings criminalized. Here, bordering practices are conceptualized as physical bordering practices, border controls, and lega…
Border closures and the externalization of immigration controls in the Mediterranean: A comparative analysis of Morocco and Turkey – Retracted
This article traces the recent history of border closures in Turkey and Morocco and their impact on human mobility at the two ends of the Mediterranean. Border closures in the Mediterranean have produced new spaces where borders are often fenced, immigration securitized, and border crossings and those facilitating border crossings criminalized. Here, bordering practices are conceptualized as physical bordering practices, border controls, and lega…
Migration aspirations in relation to border closures, employment opportunities and risk-taking attitudes: Lessons From an Online Survey Experiment
This article investigates the effect of structural and individual factors on migration aspirations in a secondary migration context. Through an online survey experiment conducted with Syrian migrants (N = 551) living in Turkey, we unpack factors explaining aspirations to stay and move onward from the current country of residence. The findings indicate that open borders alone do not compel migrants to move onward. Instead, employment opportunities…
Reflections from the conference “Turkey debates its social policies: A rights-based turn in social policy making in Turkey
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Reflections from the conference “Turkey debates its social policies: A rights-based turn in social policy making in Turkey
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Impact of Remittances on Human Development: A Quantitative Analysis and Policy Implications
This paper contributes to the discussions on the nexus between migration and development by assessing the effects of remittances on human development. We do so first through a quantitative approach, and second, by elaborating the findings of our quantitative analysis within a broader theoretical and policy framework. By using OLS, we measure the impact of remittances on human development and compare it with the effect of foreign direct investment…
Banu Senay. Beyond Turkey's Borders: Long Distance Kemalism, State Politics and the Turkish Diaspora. London: I.B. Tauris, 2013, 322 pages
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Living on the Margins: Undocumented Migrants in a Global City By Alice Bloch and Sonia McKay
Political Activism Between Journey and Settlement: Irregular Migrant Mobilisation in Morocco
Research on irregular migrants’ political mobilisation focuses particularly on Western countries, conceptualised as final destinations for migrants, and documents how irregular migrants claim rights despite high risks involved. Based on a qualitative research in Morocco, the article explores the conditions under which individual journeys, allegedly to Europe, give rise to political activism by irregular migrants. Thus, it contributes to the liter…
The Governance of International Migration: Irregular Migrants' Access to Right to Stay in Turkey and Morocco
Eder were always ready to read earlier drafts of my chapters and discuss my ideas.Conducting fieldwork in two different countries would not have been possible without the valuable help of precious people
The Governance of International Migration: Irregular Migrants' Access to Right to Stay in Turkey and Morocco
As concern about immigration has grown within Europe in recent years, the European Union has brought pressure to bear on countries that are allegedly not sufficiently governing irregular migration with and within their borders. This book looks at that issue in Turkey and Morocco, showing how it affects migrants in these territories, and how migrant illegality has been produced by law, practiced and negotiated by the state, other civil society act…
Border closures and the externalization of immigration controls in the Mediterranean: A comparative analysis of Morocco and Turkey – Retracted
This article traces the recent history of border closures in Turkey and Morocco and their impact on human mobility at the two ends of the Mediterranean. Border closures in the Mediterranean have produced new spaces where borders are often fenced, immigration securitized, and border crossings and those facilitating border crossings criminalized. Here, bordering practices are conceptualized as physical bordering practices, border controls, and lega…
Externalization at work: Responses to migration policies from the Global South
The term “externalization” is used by a range of migration scholars, policy makers and the media to describe the extension of border and migration controls beyond the so-called ‘migrant receiving nations’ in the Global North and into neighboring countries or sending states in the Global South. It refers to a wide range of practices from controls of borders, rescue operations, to measures addressing the drivers of migration. The ambition of this S…
The impact of externalized migration governance on Turkey: Technocratic migration governance and the production of differentiated legal status
The article highlights international dimensions of the emergence and transformation of migration policies in Turkey from the early 2000s onwards, including the context of the Syrian displacement, which made Turkey the top refugee hosting country in the world. While the transformation of migration governance in Turkey has widely been discussed, the effects of externalization on Turkey have remained focused on foreign policy and Turkey-EU relations…
Border closures and the externalization of immigration controls in the Mediterranean: A comparative analysis of Morocco and Turkey
This article traces the recent history of border closures in Turkey and Morocco and their impact on human mobility at the two ends of the Mediterranean. Border closures in the Mediterranean have produced new spaces where borders are often fenced, immigration securitized, and border crossings and those facilitating border crossings criminalized. Here, bordering practices are conceptualized as physical bordering practices, border controls, and lega…
Street-Level Justifications’: Service Providers Mediating Refugee Reception in the Urban Context of Istanbul
This article discusses the mediating role of service providers between citizens and refugee reception policies. Based on an analysis of interviews with local government officials and NGO workers and observations in two districts of Istanbul, I examine the ‘street-level justifications’ that service providers use to counter anti-refugee resentments expressed by the citizens. The article suggests that as street-level bureaucrats endeavour to justify…
Tracing Asylum Journeys: Transnational Mobility of Non-European Refugees to Canada via Turkey by Uğur Yıldız
New year message from the editors
Progress of migration scholarship over 60 years of International Migration
A posting on Facebook earlier this year – showcasing the 60th anniversary logo of International Migration – elicited one viewer to exclaim: ‘Congrats on 60 years of migration scholarship!’ Such kind words suggest that the Journal has been a self-evident outlet and a place for the exchange of scholarly knowledge on issues related to international migration and population diversity. Most scholars today have a clear picture of what that entails: it …
Remittances
Remittances are conventionally conceptualized as monetary transfers made by migrants to their family members, friends, and households in their places of origin. This entry summarizes the increasing interest in measuring the amount and the economic and social impact of monetary remittances as the most tangible aspect of the migration–development nexus and of transnational economic practices. Despite the decline expected in 2020, research has point…
How Covid-19 financially hit urban refugees: Evidence from mixed-method research with citizens and Syrian refugees in Turkey
Peering through a lens of disasters and inequalities, this article measures the financial impacts of Covid-19 on citizens and refugee communities in Turkey during a relatively early phase of the global pandemic. Our data comes from an online survey (N = 1749) conducted simultaneously with Turkish citizens and Syrian refugees living in Turkey, followed by in-depth online interviews with Syrian refugees. Our findings indicate that the initial Covid…
Aspirations among young refugees in Turkey: Social Class, Integration and Onward Migration in Forced Migration Contexts
The prevailing sentiment is that refugees desire to go to developed countries rather than stay in their first host country. Based on a critical reading of the literature on onward migration, this article analyzes the formation of aspirations for (im)mobility among young Syrian refugees in Turkey, considering their initial access to resources and integration. Our quantitative analysis suggests that obtaining legal status, satisfaction with life, p…
Daring to aspire: Theorising Aspirations in Contexts of Displacement and Highly Constrained Mobility
Binary distinctions between 'refugees' and 'economic migrants' continue to prevail in humanitarian discourse, with asylum policies heavily focusing on refugees' vulnerabilities and reduced choices. By addressing the paradox between vulnerability and agency embedded in the international protection regime, this article aims to lay the foundations for reconceptualising aspirations in contexts of displacement and highly constrained mobility. First, w…
Migration aspirations in relation to border closures, employment opportunities and risk-taking attitudes: Lessons From an Online Survey Experiment
This article investigates the effect of structural and individual factors on migration aspirations in a secondary migration context. Through an online survey experiment conducted with Syrian migrants (N = 551) living in Turkey, we unpack factors explaining aspirations to stay and move onward from the current country of residence. The findings indicate that open borders alone do not compel migrants to move onward. Instead, employment opportunities…
“At Least, at the Border, I Am Killing Myself by My Own Will”: Migration Aspirations and Risk Perceptions among Syrian and Afghan Communities
It is well-documented that border controls make migration journeys riskier for people on the move. Policymakers construe deaths in migration journeys as resulting from the individual risk-taking attitudes of migrants. However, risks involved in migration journeys are not only related to border control measures. Based on the analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews conducted with Syrian and Afghan migrants in Turkey, we embrace a social construct…
Political science (20 works) · Migration, Refugees, and Integration (17 works) · Sociology (17 works) · Migration and Labor Dynamics (12 works) · Geography (11 works) · Economics (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (8 works) · Development economics (7 works)