Interactions between family reunification and integration: Marriages of second generation turkish dutch from Turkey

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2017

Öğrenci: GİZEM KOLBAŞI MUYAN

Danışman: YAKUP ATİLA ERALP

Özet:

This thesis explores the interactions between family reunification and integration in the context of marriages of second generation Turkish Dutch (SGTD) from Turkey. The originality of this thesis has resulted from its multilevel, inderdisciplinary (political science, law and sociology) area studies approach. At the macro level, the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and Court of Justice of the European Union and legal framework of the EU and the United Nations and the rights derived from Turkey-EU Association Law were analyzed until 2016. At the micro level, at ethnographic field research during the period of October 2014October 2015, participant observation and sixtynine semi-structured in-depth interviews with SGTDs, advocates, representatives of Turkish origin Dutch NGOs and social workers were employed as methods. As a result of the examination of direct or indirect impacts of policies and legal frameworks at the macro level on v individuals at the micro level, it is concluded that there is a high degree of interplay of all actors at both levels. This research revealed that family reunification of my SGTD participants is not the cause or result of their “success or failure” in their integration process, but mainly related with their transnational and ethnic identities and practices which are not necessarily contraditory or complementary with their integration to the Dutch society. By pointing out the Netherland’s policy shift from “family reunification for integration” to “integration for family reunification”, it is found out that the Netherland’s assimilationist integration policy perspective which has led to restrictive family reunification regulations and their restrictive implementation hampers the integration process of SGTD and triggers their reactive identification since they feel being discriminated and excluded from the Dutch society due to their ethnic origin, their religion (Islam) and violation of their rights.