This study discusses Syrian refugees’ migration trajectories and narratives, based on the fieldwork conducted among Syrian refugees in Turkey, Greece, and Germany as three major geo-political countries particularly concerning Syrian refugee communities. The research adopts a qualitative research map, using the Grounded Theory research approach, ethnography and semi-structured interview methods, in six cities and eight refugee protection centres and camps.
The research findings obtained and generated during the field studies are evaluated and analysed using theoretical toolboxes derived from sociology and political science. Especially important are three theoretical frameworks: Power Relations, Digital Habitus, and Political and Social Subjectivities, through which I analysed the Syrian refugees’ practices of mobilities, migration routes, and perception of targeted countries in detail. These theoretical frameworks assist in understanding the implications and limitations of power relations in refugees’ lives, as well as refugees’ use of the internet and media and the influence of these uses on their refugee’s perceptions and desires while being in limbo in refugee camps. Also, the importance of varying capital forms and women refugee’s gender experiences in forced migration and displacement are foregrounded and evaluated.
The research proposes a new methodological system that helps to understand contemporary colonialism while addressing current colonial and exploitation relations - Semi-Autonomous Colonialism. This system considers three mechanisms as (co)-operating drivers: Power relations as pushing and formative forces, Subjectivity as individuals’ agencies, actions, and representations within the scope of their own capacity and capital, and Digital Habitus as a new connecting interface, that assist in understanding refugees’ use of the internet and media and its influence of on the refugee's perception and desires.
In the research, in which the active participation of individuals by consenting to the changing and digitalising systems is discussed, semi-autonomy stands out as a unique character. Contemporary colonialism appears in peoples' agenda even in the daily practices and decisions, particularly when they immigrate, establish a new life and become unseen actors in economic and social relationships. Consequently, Semi-Autonomous Colonialism is a model of modern colonialism in which the strategies and mechanisms of exploitation become invisible.
Keywords: Migration, Forced Displacement, Syrian Refugees, Colonialism, Habitus, Power Relations, Subjectivit
