Avatkov Vladimir Alekseevith – Sc.D. in Political Sciences, Head of the Department of Middle and Post-Soviet East, INION RAS Sbitneva Alina Igorevna – Research Fellow, INION RAS
The article examines Turkish diaspora in modern Europe. The Turkish diaspora, most concentrated in Germany and other Western European countries, is historically one of the largest in the European space. Through the use of statistical data was compiled a portrait of a representative of the Turkish diaspora living in Europe. As a result of the study, it was revealed that over a long period of stay in a number of developed European countries, Turks were able to move from the class of labor migrants to members of the European community, while maintaining their identity and ties with their homeland. In addition, a large number of mechanisms of influence of the Turkish minority have appeared in the EU space, the most significant are: public organizations and NGOs, political parties, business corporations and the media. The Republic of Turkey considers diaspora citizens living abroad as an effective mechanism of public diplomacy and an integral part of Turkish society. In addition, Turkey provides them with full support for their favorable stay away from their homeland. The authors note the presence in the European Union of significant problems associated with unsuccessful attempts to assimilate migrants arriving in Europe from different countries. Against the backdrop of civilizational and ethnocultural differences between Europeans and members of the diaspora, disordered mechanisms for the reception and adaptation of foreign citizens, as well as the lack of a unified coordinated migration policy, the European community is increasingly faced with incidents involving ethnic hatred and xenophobia. It is noted that some Turkish researchers consider growing racism and Islamophobia on this basis as the main obstacle to the assimilation of members of the diaspora. At the same time, it has been determined that thanks to democratic migration policies, the indigenous population of the European Union, which as a result of its own migration course has acquired the status of a new “melting pot,” today in many areas, in particular demographics, is significantly inferior to representatives of diasporas and national minorities.
Turks, ethnic group, diaspora, European Union, melting pot, Turkish neighborhoods.
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