The second meeting between the Parliamentary Group NRW-Turkey and AIA NRW fellows took place on December 19th at the NRW state parliament in Düsseldorf. Associate Fellow Dr Inci Öykü Yener-Roderburg shared her insights, based on her field study of the political engagement of Turkish diaspora groups, including external voting during the last national elections in Turkey. In a discussion with the parliamentarians, she stressed that
“The Turkey-originating diasporas in Germany cannot be seen as a homogeneous, AKP-fixated group, nor can their voting behavior in German elections be reduced to a historical preference for the SPD”. She underlined that traditional voting patterns have changed over time, as the Turkish diaspora includes many different social groups with different political preferences. “While Germany remains the primary destination for Turkish emigrants, this community, having lived in the country for generations, is deeply engaged with its societal and political realities, which continually reshape their choices. A Turkish-speaking AfD voter, for instance, is not an anomaly but a reflection of this evolving context”.
Dr Yener-Roderburg cautioned against treating Turkish diaspora voters as a group with clearly pre-defined, shared political interests: “Therefore, their political preferences cannot be reduced to their so-called ‘Turkishness’ but are shaped by a complex interplay of transnational ties and local experiences, highlighting a dynamic identity that defies simplistic assumptions about their political stance/choice.” The discussion will be continued in the near future, building on the mutual interest in a NRW-based Turkish diaspora in Düsseldorf and the Academy in Bonn.
Info:
Inci Öykü Yener-Roderburg
Postdoctoral researcher at Lund University
