Borderscapes in Eastern Turkey 

Wed 12th Jui 23
11 A.M - 1 P.M
Athéna 049

Abstract:

This panel aims at observing a little known and under-researched area in Turkey, namely the very eastern borderland part of the country. Mainly focused on the borders with Greece or Syria, we are often inclined to forget that Turkey is also sharing borders with Iran and the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan in the eastern part of the country. Through different perspectives, from geography and urban studies to political science and international relations, the panel's contributions wish to offer a better picture of this area by exploring and discussing the concept of borderscape (Rajaram and Grundy-Warr, 2007; Brambilla, 2015). This concept enables us to think of the border as a non-static space and bordering as a process characterised by a constant negotiation between identity and territorial claims. In this way, new lines of sociospatial and political separation and inclusion can be distinguished according to a variety of criteria such as nationality, ethnicity, generation,  gender and legal status (citizen, refugee, temporary protection, international protection, etc.) of people living in the borderland. Beyond a narrow state-centric vision of the border, the four contributions of this panel seek to exceed the territorial trap (Agnew, 1994) and analyse the relationship that people maintain with their own borderland territory. Including the border cities of Van and Doğubayazıt, they provide great insight into this region thanks to knowledge from fieldworks and the literature on migration and border studies. 

Convenor:
Johanna Ollier, School of Political Studies, Université Grenoble Alpes.
Solène Poyraz, CETOBaC, IFEA

Burcu Ateş Middle East Technical University, Vienna University of Technology
Among Bodies and Borders: An Ethnography of Forced Migration in Van

Marie Poulain, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Geneva
Negotiate the border in a mountainous borderland: the Mount Ararat in Turkey

Elif Yıldız, Hacettepe University.
Asylum Seekers Residing in Van during the Process of Settlement in a Third Country: An Evaluation from the Perspective of Human Rights

Johanna Ollier, School of Political Studies, Université Grenoble Alpes.
What is the link between border and security ? Perception of the Turkish-Iranian border by students of the Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi