Description
While many aspects of state-diaspora relations have been explored widely over the last decades, the role that youth play in state-led diaspora outreach strategies remains under-researched with the exception of a handful of studies, often framed within the context of heritage tourism or long-distance activism. This article contributes to the literature regarding state-led youth mobilisation in authoritarian contexts where youth are perceived as a long-term investment for regime consolidation and survival. Focusing on the Turkish state’s recent youth diaspora policies, we explore multifaceted channels of youth outreach by the Turkish state in its European diasporas and demonstrate that, similar to domestic youth mobilization policies, diaspora youth policies tailored by transnational state apparatus contribute to authoritarian regime building in the homeland and its survival in the long run. Our analysis suggests that the image of the “ideal citizen” created by the new ruling elites has also been projected on the diasporas in Europe and these policies aim to create a loyal diaspora which mirrors the constituencies of the ruling party in Turkey and then to turn these groups into strategic assets to lobby host governments, and to sustain the current regime by co-optation, propaganda and legitimacy.
