Introduction

Turkey is of special interest in terms of migration dynamics and the way they relate to this country’s history, social structure, and geography. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Turkey was one of the most important sources of the so-called guest workers who were migrating toward Europe. Later, it turned into a hotspot of transit migration. Since the beginning of the 21st century, especially since the recent armed conflicts in the Middle East, Turkey has become the host country for millions of forced migrants who were fleeing, mainly Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Because of Turkey’s role as a possible transit bridge, the European Union (EU) negotiated an agreement in 2016—the so-called EU–Turkey deal—as a way to control and restrain the migration of refugees toward Europe. This introductory chapter covers some conceptual work that focusses on forced migration in relation to migrants’ life course. It describes the general “landscape” of migration in Turkey in its regional context, especially the challenges of forced and asylum migration from a social scientific perspective. In addition, it provides an overview of comparative international research and introduces the reader to the chapters that follow.