Constrained paths: legal status and mobility governance of Syrian refugees after the 2023 earthquakes

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaf058

This article examines how legal status shapes the post-disaster mobility of Syrian refugees in Turkey following the February 2023 earthquakes. While it is well established that disasters often exacerbate the vulnerabilities of displaced populations, less attention has been paid to how legal and bureaucratic regimes structure not only who can move, but also where they are permitted to go. Drawing on a review of literature on immigrants and refugees in disaster contexts and post-disaster mobility, as well as fieldwork based on in-depth interviews, we argue that legal status operates as a form of governance that constrains both mobility and its directionality. Although Syrians under Temporary Protection in Turkey possess legal status, their rights to relocate or access services are highly conditional and spatially circumscribed. The earthquake momentarily disrupted—but did not dismantle—these restrictions. The state selectively managed refugee movement, granting temporary permissions while blocking durable relocation to cities like Istanbul. Often seen as a space of refuge, Istanbul has increasingly become a site of exclusion. As such, the paper contributes to debates on legal status and mobility governance in disaster contexts.