The Tendency of Collective Violence Against Syrians

In recent years, the right populism and authoritarianism are dominating Turkish politics and media, and the language of hatred and violence towards immigrants has become widespread. In this article, I will discuss the socio-economic background that paves the way for mass violence against Syrians and the effect of adherence to gender and patriarchal culture of honor, which are among the political-psychological roots of the tendency to violence.

Uncertainty and Threat Perception

As a result of the Syrian Civil War, which has been going on since 2011, Turkey has become the country with the largest refugee population in the world (3 million 738 thousand Syrians). The longer the civil war dragged on, the stronger the belief that the Syrians would be permanent. As the economic, political, and social problems deepened in Turkey, the uncertainty brought about by this belief and temporary protection status led to the spread of threat perceptions. Negative emotions, intolerance and violence tendency increased along with threat perceptions.

Thus, Syrians were framed as a problem and placed among the priority issues both in society and in the political scene. With increasing anti-immigration and public pressure, public authorities toughened their policies towards Syrians. Non-governmental organizations that show social solidarity with the Syrians began to be seen as a threat by nationalist and nationalist circles. Social changes brought about by the settlement of Syrian refugees in groups in the suburbs of metropolitan cities for socio-economic reasons triggered competition and conflict between groups. It is seen that any discussion between the locals and the Syrians can turn into lynching in a very short time.

The Tendency of Collective Violence Against Syrians

The tendency to collective violence can be defined as the tendency of people to approve and actually participate in collective physical interventions against individuals and groups who are alleged to have violated the norm in situations where they perceive that the norms are violated, and the social order is disturbed in their own environment. The collective reaction that occurs with traditional social ties, together with the instinct to ‘fulfill the need for justice’ triggered when the norms adopted by the group members are violated, can get ahead of the public authority, and go as far as lynching.

Violence is on the rise when a criminal charge is made against members of out-groups who are seen as foreigners, such as immigrants. The slightest rumor can spread to several neighborhoods in the incidents that turn into lynching against Syrians. According to the data of the International Crisis Group, at least 35 people lost their lives in 146 incidents of violence between Syrians and local people in 2017 alone in Turkey [1]. According to the news I scanned in the media between 2011 and 2021, there were at least 209 acts of mass violence against Syrians in Turkey. 41 of these events took place in Istanbul.

As of November 2021, 536,000 Syrians live in Istanbul, which has the largest Syrian population in Turkey. According to the research conducted by the UN International Organization for Migration in 2019, the total number of registered and unregistered Syrians in Istanbul is around 963 thousand. It is seen that the Syrians are concentrated in the suburbs and neighborhoods of Istanbul with high labor competition, such as Esenyurt, Sultangazi, and İkitelli. In these areas, where public services and security are inadequate, the rising group rivalry between neighborhood residents and Syrians leads to conflicts and violence. In the interviews with the mukhtars, it is reported that when social norms such as rumors of harassment are thought to be violated, large groups of friends, relatives, and fellow countrymen easily come together and apply collective violence against Syrians, and that the locals tend to participate in these actions [2].

Research on the Tendency of Collective Violence Against Syrians in Istanbul

In our research titled ‘The Attitudes Towards Syrian Refugees in Istanbul conducted by Infakto Research for IstanPol, we aimed to measure the tendency towards violence with a survey experiment. In the experiment, in scenarios where a young man is accused of harassment or pickpocketing against a young woman from the neighborhood, it was reported that the young men and their friends were subjected to mass violence by the neighborhood residents, and the participants were asked on a 1-10 scale to what extent they tended to agree with the collective violence trend. It was accepted that those who scored 6 and above showed a tendency towards collective violence. In four different experimental scenarios, the accused person in two different types of events was introduced as ‘Farid from Syria’ or ‘Hakan from the Neighborhood’. The four experimental groups in which the participants were randomly and equally distributed were named as ‘harassment-Syrian’, ‘harassment-neighborhood resident’, ‘pickpocketing-Syrian’, ‘pickpocketing-neighborhood resident’.

In the scenario where the outgroup member is blamed and a harsher alleged violation of the norm (Syrian young male and harassment), the rate of those with a tendency towards mass violence is the highest, with more than one-third of all respondents (35.9%). It is 31.8% in the pickpocket scenario. For Turkish young men, these rates decrease to 29.4% and 23.1%, respectively.

In societies where patriarchal honor culture and gender norms are dominant, men are expected to show a higher level of collective violence tendency than women. In the research, although the highest tendency to violence in both women and men occurs in the scenario of harassment and Syrian, the tendency to violence is higher in men (38.7% vs 27.8%).

In the research, the tendency of the participants to adopt the patriarchal honor culture was measured through a set of questions. Participants were asked to what extent they agreed with the 8 statements that legitimize masculine harshness and violence on a scale of 1-10. According to the answers given, the participants were divided into 3 (Low, Medium, High) on the level of adopting the patriarchal honor culture.

The tendency towards violence against Syrians showed a marked increase among men compared to the level of adopting a patriarchal culture of honor. It was recorded as 16% of those who adopted a low level of violence and 55.9% of those who adopted a moderate level. The tendency towards violence against Syrians reached 60.6% among those who highly adopt the patriarchal culture of honor.

Result

In a country like Turkey where interpersonal trust is very low and democratic rights and freedoms and civil society are suppressed, it is not surprising that the tendency of violence against outgroup members is widespread in conditions of economic crisis and political polarization. The presentation of Syrians as a problem as a result of the right populism prevailing in politics and media spreads the threat perceptions stemming from Syrians and legitimizes the tendency towards violence. The inadequacy of public services and security units paves the way for intergroup competition. Patriarchal culture of honor and rivalry between groups come into play when any social norm is allegedly violated by Syrians, and collective violence against Syrians spreads through ties of kinship and compatriots and turns into lynching.

Fighting hate speech in the media, giving more opportunities and freedom to civil initiatives that can provide social solidarity between Syrians and local people, and increasing the public service and security capacity in the neighborhoods where Syrians live heavily, taking into account not only Turkish citizens but also the immigrant population, are the best things that can be done for social peace and harmony.

[1] International Crisis Group (ICG), Turkey’s Syrian Refugees: Defusing Metropolitan Tensions, Europe Report

No. 248 (Brussels: International Crisis Group 2018)

[2] https://www.istanpol.org/post/the-attitudes-towards-syrian-refugees-in-istanbul