The Role of Temporary Protection Regulation in the Making of the Syrian Precariat in Türkiye

Author : Olgu Karan, Nigel Carter

Abstract :While there has been considerable research documenting the peculiarities of the precarious working lives of Syrians residing in Türkiye, there is much less on their relationship with their legal status. This study aims to contribute to the scholarship on Syrian employment by focusing on the nexus between the temporary protection regime and employment outcomes. The article adopts theoretical and empirical analysis of the relationship between Syrians' legal status and precarious working and daily lives. The research employs analysis of official documents, field observations and in-depth interviews with workers in the manufacturing industry and small business owners in Hatay and Ankara provinces in Turkey. The article contributes to the literature empirically, as it analyses how precarity is shaped and maintained by institutions and regulations. Second, precarity is viewed as separating the working classes from the means of production and a lack of control over their labour. Hence, this study aligns with those scholars who view precarity within an extended historical framework of racialised capitalism, simultaneously noting the close relationship between informality and precariousness in the Global South

Keywords :Temporary protection regulation, precarity, racial capitalism, Türkiye, Syrians.

Conference Name :International Conference on Migration and Development (ICMD-25)

Conference Place Phuket, Thailand

Conference Date 25th Dec 2025