Legal incorporation from within the immigrant habitus the case of the post-1990s Turkish immigrants from Bulgaria

Official URL: http://192.168.1.20/record=b1301409 (Table of Contents)

The Post-1990s immigrants (the new immigrants) from Bulgaria are distinguished from the pre-1990s immigrants (the old immigrants) by their lack of a permanent legal status. The focus of this thesis is the relationship between the new immigrants and the associations established by the old immigrants. The associations' actions for the new immigrants' legal incorporation are examined as they manifest the characteristics of the relationship between the new immigrants and the established associations. This study is based on an ethnographic fieldwork conducted between July 2007 and January 2010 mainly in Istanbul and partly in Izmir as well as interviews and participant observation in two well-established associations, BTSA (Balkan Turks Solidarity Association) in Istanbul and Bal-Göç in Izmir. The case study illustrates that the new immigrants' lack of legal status have created an uneven relationship between the old and the new immigrants in the associations established by the old immigrants. Since only the old immigrants, who are also Turkish citizens, can be active members in the associations, the new immigrants' interests are not officially and fully represented via these migrant organizations. As the associations are subject to the state supervision, any right claim pursued via associations in fact reproduces the immigrant habitus as it used to operate in the legal and political field. Finally this thesis points out that due to the acceleration of irregular migration and the limits of the representation of their interests within the legal framework for associational activities, associations' role as the representatives of the migrant communities can no more be taken for granted.