MiReKoc-BROAD-ER Wednesday Seminar Series by Nilay Kavur

Dear friends and colleagues, The MiReKoc-BROAD-ER Wednesday Seminar Series for Fall 2023 continues with Dr. Nilay Kavur’s talk “NGOs in Turkey in the midst of the State, the UN, the EU, and Donors” on Wednesday, Jan 3rd, at 12:00 in SOS 143. It will also be available online via Zoom. Registration is required for all participants joining online, and you can register on our MiReKoc website (mirekoc.ku.edu.tr) or here at https://kocun.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpceiqqzwqHtTk4ANC22YYlQ-lAjxCA2PR#/registration. Abstract: Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a big role in filling in the gaps which emerge in the multi-layered “international governance of forced migration”, run by the UN, Member States, regional organisations, the EU, governments of sending, receiving and transit countries, local governments, public and private donors, faith communities and local, national, and international non-governmental organizations. However, most NGOs operate ‘off the record’ and do self-censorship to avoid confrontation with the host states and donors; that inevitably jeopardizes the rights of refugees. Due to the increasing institutionalization, commercialization and managerialism on the one hand and the tightened inspection of the central state, NGOs walk on thin ice. This connotes to the scaling dependency of NGOs existence both on the state and the funders resulting in damaged impartiality. Still, NGOs negotiate their presence, actions, and mobilization to produce strategies. I pose two interrelated questions: A) in what ways do NGOs working for ‘refugees’ in Turkey find themselves diverting from their purpose of ensuring rights given their vulnerable position in the midst of State, the EU, the UN and Donors? B) What strategies do NGOs develop to negotiate their presence, actions, mobilization and coordination and to avoid ‘organizational deviation’? Based on the interviews conducted with 40+ NGO workers in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Gaziantep in spring-summer 2023, this paper explores the strategies developed by NGOs within international governance of forced migration and aims to contribute to a better understanding of multi-layered and multi-directional governance.

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Lifelong Learning