Beyond the Social Distance and Cultural Similarities: Turkish Citizens and Syrians in Şanlıurfa

Abstract

In Şanlıurfa, Syrians and residents have a historical background and cultural similarities such as language and kinship. Nevertheless, the number of Syrian migrants is very high in the city and residents are distant to Syrians. Şanlıurfa case study aims to analyze the variation in social distance of residents toward Syrian migrants. This study argues that the number of migrants in a country (or in a neighborhood) is more important than cultural similarities when explaining social cohesion. In addition, based on multiple regression analysis, the study suggests that under such  circumstance, there are mainly three determinants to explain variation in social distance, which are related to the perception and/or beliefs of Şanlıurfa residents, such as perceived crime and social disorder; their beliefs about Syrian migrants’ personalities; and their linguistic (in)tolerance  increase in criminality (perceived crime) and erosion in identity (and maybe norms, that is social disorder)).