One of the foremost scholars on Turkish migration, the author offers in this work the summary of her experiences and research on Turkish migration since 1963. During these forty years her aim has been threefold: to explain the journeys made by thousands of Turkish men and women to foreign lands out of choice, necessity, or invitation; to shed light on the difficulties they faced; and to elaborate on how their lives were affected by the legal, political, social, and economic measures in the countries where they settled. The extensive research done both in Turkey and in Europe into the lives of individuals directly and indirectly affected by the migration phenomenon and the examination of these research results further enhances the value of this wide-ranging study as a definitive reference work.

Public and even scholarly debates usually focus on the integration problems of Muslim immigrants at the cost of overlooking the role of the growing number of migrant organizations in establishing a crucial link among immigrants themselves, as well as between them and their countries of origin and residence. This book aims to fill a gap in the vast literature on migration from Turkey by contributing the neglected aspect of civic and political participation of Turkish immigrants. It brings together a number of scholars who carried out extensive research on the associational culture of Turkish immigrants living in different countries in Europe and North America. In order to understand the diversity and dynamics within Turkish migrant communities living in these parts of the world yet maintaining transnational ties, this book offers a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to migrant organizations in general and civic participation and political mobilization of Turkish immigrants in particular. This book was published as a special issue in Turkish Studies.