Navigating Protracted Liminality - An anthropological study of the experiences of Syrian refugees in Istanbul in re-establishing livelihoods after displacement

Abstract: On the basis of ethnographic fieldwork, this thesis sheds light on the experiences of urban Syrian refugees in re-establishing livelihoods in Istanbul after displacement. The first part of the thesis identifies social exclusion mechanisms, including lack of access to a stable legal status, education and permission to work legally, as well as extensive discrimination and harassment as constituting central challenges in the pursuit of livelihoods. Other challenges include the absence of a sense of security, familiarity, community and hope for the future, which constitute key elements for building the feeling of being at home, as well as the inability to follow expected and desired life trajectories and fulfil a process of social becoming. Homebuilding and social becoming are claimed to be existential dimensions crucial for the successful re-establishment of livelihoods. The situation of the informants is characterized as a state of protracted liminality, which cannot easily be terminated, because aggregation is, to a large extent, unavailable in Istanbul. The second part of the thesis is therefore concerned with the tactics applied in order to deal with the protracted liminality and attempt to reach aggregation or at least gain a sense of meaning in life. These tactics include crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece, returning to Syria and engaging in activism related to Syria in Istanbul.