The institutional and ethnic view on migration decisions: Evidence from the Ottoman migration to the United States during the early twentieth century (original) (raw)
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Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2023
In the age of mass migration, the US became economically crucial with the development of Atlantic trade and attracted labour flows from the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire was suffering severe economic and political problems. The Ottoman citizens of various ethnic origins, such as Turks, Jews, Armenians, and Arabs, moved to different countries, including the US, for economic and political reasons. This paper examines the effect of institutional reforms in the Ottoman Empire during the Second Constitutional Era on immigration decisions of different ethnic groups to the US. Data come from the US census data of IPUMS (the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series) for 1910. The empirical results show that the institutional reforms could reduce emigration from the Ottoman Empire through granting additional civil liberties like free speech and mobility freedom. However, this effect works heterogeneously for different ethnic groups. This result points out the importance of institutional improvements in home countries on reducing migration outflows. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369183X.2022.2064841?forwardService=showFullText&tokenAccess=4ZXTPFF4ZEN6ZRGHQDK2&tokenDomain=eprints&doi=10.1080%2F1369183x.2022.2064841&doi=10.1080%2F1369183x.2022.2064841&doi=10.1080%2F1369183x.2022.2064841&target=10.1080%2F1369183X.2022.2064841&journalCode=cjms20#.YmbeMAkG1mA.twitter
Turkish Immigration to the United State and Europe: Contrast and Comparision
International Journal of Turkish Studies, 2013
AbstractThis study looks at the history of Turkish immigration to the United States and Western Europe and at the process of integration in these two contexts. It argues Turkish migration has been mainly towards the West, namely, Western Europe and the United States. The first wave of Turkish immigrants to the United States, which is the oldest recorded Turkish immigration to the West, consisted primarily of peasants from various parts of Turkey. This While Turkish immigration to the West slowed considerably between the two world wars, it began to increase after Turkey developed closer relationships with the United States and Europe during the Cold War. The United States received a good number of highly skilled Turkish immigrants after Turkey joined NATO in 1952. With the 1980s, Turkish immigration to the United States became much more diversified, including not only highly educated and secular Turkish immigrants, but also blue-collar workers and conservative Muslims. On the other hand, Turkish immigration to Western Europe started mainly in the middle of the 1960s after Turkey signed workers' agreements with countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and it consisted largely of low-educated and blue-collar workers. The expectation from the European host countries needing cheap labor was that these "guest workers" with temporary work contracts would return to their homelands after their contracts ended. However, many of them extended their stays, renewed their contracts and began their families there. The result was the transformation of "guest workers" into immigrants. Although the host countries ended their labor agreements with Turkey, Turkish immigration to Europe continued with family unification and later with asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. Turkish immigrants in the United States show signs of a better integration as a result of their higher education levels, better language skills, and the integrative policies of the United States. In contrast, Turkish immigrants in Europe are considered to be less integrated because of their limited educational and language skills and the more exclusive immigration policies of host countries.IntroductionThe history of emigration from Turkey goes back to the last century of the Ottoman Empire.1 The direction of such migration has always been westward, to the United States and Europe. As many millions from Europe began to migrate to the New World, their movement had great impacts on the diverse religious and ethnic groups of the Ottoman Empire, particularly the non-Muslim Armenians and Greeks, toward the end of the nineteenth century.2 The effects of these human flows were not limited to the non-Muslim groups, however, as thousands of ethnically Turkish and Muslim immigrants also participated. Emigration from Turkey very much slowed during the period between World War I and World War II, the end of World War II, it began to accelerate, this time heading to Europe as well as to the United States.3The Turkish migrations to the United States and to Europe differ on several grounds, including the time periods involved, the nature of the migration waves, and the integration of the immigrants into their host countries. As noted, Turkish immigration to the United States started earlier than Turkish immigration to Europe, the first immigrants from Turkey arriving in the United States in 1820.4 Most of them were Armenians and Greeks, but there were also Muslim Turks and Arabs.5 By contrast, Europe received its first Turkish immigrants in the early 1960s under agreements reached between Turkey and countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and this migration later accelerated with the unification of Turkish immigrant families.While the backgrounds of Turkish immigrants to the United States radically changed over time, the backgrounds of the immigrants to Europe did not. The first wave of peasants from Turkish villages went to the United States along with the non-Muslim minorities who had links with American Protestant missionaries working in the Ottoman Empire. …
2018
During times when the Ottoman Empire gained more land from its foundation in 1299 until declaration of Republic in 1923, by settling Muslim communities in each newly conquered territory, and yet seeking rights of foreign subjects, Ottoman Empire exhibited both a religious and yet liberal and democratic migration policy. Even though migration policies from 1299 to present day have changed over time along with reasons behind the migrations, it cannot be said that concepts of Islamism and Turkism, that have existed/been felt at the core of these laws, have been distanced. During this study, titles such as Immigration and Immigrant Rights during Ottoman Empire, Immigrations and Immigrant Rights in the Republic of Turkey, Migration Policies in Development Plans, will be handled together with Migration Data and respective general assessments were made in the conclusion. The International Migration Movements and Immigrant Policies From the Ottoman Empire 1299 to Republican Turkey 2016
Emigration Policy in the PostConstitutional Period (1908-1914)
Introduction The emigration from the Ottoman Empire to America from the 1820s to 1914 became a long-time matter with a history of about 80-90 years. Immigration to America from Anatolia, Rumelia, and the Arab provinces continued intensely from the last 30-35 years of the Ottoman Empire. In the period after the proclamation of the Second Constitution, not only wealthy and skilled artisans and craftsmen but also unskilled workers and peasants’ participation in this immigration. The immigration movements to America occurred in groups of 3-4 people or 5-10 people. A mass immigration was out of question. It took place on a voluntary basis. Apart from various reasons according to the information revealed in the archive documents and memoirs, these immigrations usually occurred due to economic conditions and forcing factor brought about by the military obligation. It was mentioned also in the archive documents that some Ottoman subjects showed keenness to go to America during the Union and Progress period (BOA.BEO 3743/280651 1328 R 21). During the years of 1908-1914, there were of course several reasons for the emigration movements from the Ottoman territories. According to the opinion of the Ottoman government, in general the reason of the emigrations was economic rather than political. In fact, the causes of immigration to America were associated particularly to military obligation and poor economic conditions (BOA.BEO 3743/280651 1328 R 21.) In the Ottoman archives, some of the reasons of emigration of people were that the industrial enterprises were deprived of capital (BOA.DH.SN THR.45/28 1331 l 23), the intention not to perform military service (BOA. DH. SN.THR 41/86 1331 Ca 01.), the hope to gain wealth (BOA.DH.MKT. 107/35 1311 M 27.), the encouragement of American missionaries who desired to convert people’s religion (BOA.HR. SYS. 72/27, lef 2, 1892 11 20) and due to complicated political and economic situation of the Ottoman (BOA.HR.SYS 70/30, 1911 08 17). Along with the attraction generated by the higher incomes and employment opportunities in the United States, which a typical immigration country, the pushing factors generated due to unemployment and poor economic conditions in the Ottoman State lead to an immigration movement. While economic weakness and military obligation generated a driving force for the people who wished to benefit from higher wages of industrial establishments in America, the transatlantic crossings’ becoming easier and cheaper allowed the emigrant movements to be more attractive than before. However, with the new political area that started with the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Period, the phenomenon of emigration from the Ottoman territories to America began to change character. At this stage, the emigration rate was on the rise for the last time during the years of 1908-1914. Primarily relatively free environment allowed by the Committee of Union and Progress and the Balkan wars had triggering effect in this. But, the immigration policies of the Unionist Government had characteristics that were different from the past. In this study, how the Government of Union and Progress handled the emigration phenomenon between the years of 1908-1914 was examined together with its causes and consequences.
Analysis of The Economic Effects of Syrian Migration on Turkish Labor Market
Migration and Urbanization, 2020
Migration is a multifaceted problem with social, economic, and political dimensions. Following the Arab Spring, Turkey has experienced very strong migration flow in from Syria since March 2011. Due to its dimensions of humanity, the problem of migration has become a problem that requires taking measures on a global scale. The Republic of Turkey has assumed considerable responsibility to host Syrian immigrants. As immigrants to Turkey exceeds 3.5 million people, various policy measures are taken with regard to incoming Syrian immigrants. Adaptation of these migrants at the job market has many obstacles. This research aims to examine the effects of immigration on economy. The global economic effects of immigration are analyzed by means of detailed statistical data. Considering the theories stressing the importance of immigration as an opportunity that creates significant changes in social structure, migration theories are discussed, causes and economic effects of migration are analyzed.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, the old multi-ethnic and multiconfessional Eurasian empires-the Ottoman, the Russian, and the Austro-Hungarian-had to contend with grave challenges to the dynastic order of things from modernizers and nationalists espousing ideas of popular sovereignty and representative government. 1 By the century's end, imperial reforms, geopolitical rivalries, nationalism, and ideas of representative government had forced the Ottoman Empire to regard its subjects through a political lens that proved to be the precursor to national identity, one of corporate, ethno-religious identification. Ottoman reforms had the unintended consequence of prompting non-Muslims to seek equality and rights as groups and in relation to Muslims, and increasingly, by the end of the century, to Turkish Muslims. The integrity of the Ottoman Empire seemed to rest on the government's ability to control the competing claims of ethno-religious groups, and, by demonstrating the success of reforms, to prevent Great Powers from intervening on behalf of its Ottoman Christian subjects. 2 In Acknowledgments: The research and writing of this article was supported by the Max Weber Postdoctoral Programme and the Summer Fellowship Research Program (Old Dominion University). Parts were presented at ASEEES and ICOSEH, where I benefited from questions and suggestions. I am truly grateful to Eran Livni, Brett Bebber, and the anonymous CSSH reviewers for their comments and criticisms. Andrew Shryock offered invaluable support from the beginning, and David Akin graciously guided me in the last stage.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CAUSES AND RESULTS OF MIGRATION: THE CASE OF TURKEY AND MIGRATION OF SYRIANS
International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Research , 2019
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Mig ration is a very old phenomenon, which means that the person is born, the people he liv es with, th e peopl e he leaves. There are many compulsory or option al reasons for add ressing the person. Mig ration has both positive and neg ative consequen ces for both the abandoned pl ace and the mig rated and settled region. The gen eral type of mig rati on is th e direction of mig ration from rural to urb an; wh en abroad, it is towards the rich countri es of th e poor count ries. Even this typ e of dev elop ment sh ows that th ere are many so cio-economic facto rs on the basis of peopl e's mig ration. The reasons, in tensity and dat e of each cou ntry or soci ety may vary depending on its sp ecific characteristics. In Turk ey, th e acceleration began in the 1950s, intern al mig rations, in creasing with each passing day and continu ed until tod ay. Migrations from rural settlements to citi es are called rural mig rations and constitut e a signi ficant propo rtion of intern al mig ration mov ements. Wh en the mig ration from th e vi llage to th e city cannot be prevent ed, the population is decreasing each year in rural areas. For exampl e: in Turk ey, in 1960 whil e 68.1%, i n 1980 to 56.1%, an d to 22.7% in 2012 and decreased to 22 % as of 2014. Esp ecially the young popul ation is decreasing significan tly and the increase in th e nu mber of th e eld erly causes agri cultu ral produ ction to decrease. It has been determin ed th at so me provinces in Central Anatolia, Western Anatoli a and East ern Anatoli a, whi ch have a large number of rural popul ation , giv e more mig ration than the provin ces with low rural population. Simil arly , out-mig ration countri es in the past that Turkey has become an immig ration country in the last way. In particular, th e mos t signi ficant refug ee mov ement s in recent years that "immig ration from Syri a to Turk ey" is very remarkabl e. Ind eed, mig ration from Syria to Turk ey, is much higher than mig ration to Eu rop e. Syrians, especially as a place of politi cal mig ration to prefer Turk ey, said th at based on religious and geog raphical reasons. As a result; In this study, it was histori cally part of Turk ey's effort s to remov e th e map of mig rati on both do mestic and ov erseas; In addition , t he reasons and effects of mig rati ons were analyzed in order to shed light on the future economic and socio-cultural po licies. In this study , literature revi ew, econometri c and statisti cal study results and expert opinions ob tained by qualitative data analysis are includ ed.
Within the politics of nationalism and nation-building, the emigration of ethnic and religious minorities, whether voluntary or involuntary, appears to be a commonly occurring practice. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century, modern Turkey still carried the legacy of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious diversity in which its Armenian, Greek and Jewish communities had official minority status based upon the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. However, throughout the twentieth century, Turkey's non-Muslim minority populations have undergone a mass emigration experience in which thousands of their numbers have migrated to various countries around the globe. While in the 1920s the population of non-Muslims in the country was close to 3 per cent of the total, today it has dropped to less than two per thousand. This article analyses the emigration of non-Muslim people from Turkey and relates this movement to the wider context of nation-building in the country.