The Unbreakable Link of Syrian State-Business Relationships: Its Impact on Turkey-based Expatriate Syrian Businesspeople

Abstract

State-business relationships in pre-2011 Syria were strongly dominated by the Assad regime. Due to the conflict, millions of Syrians, including thousands of businesspeople, were forced to leave Syria. Home countries have been argued to play a crucial role in a diaspora’s development. Even though many Syrian businesspeople have emigrated to Turkey, long-term strict state-business relationships continue to affect the interactions of the Syrian businesspeople in Turkey. This paper examines how Syrian state-business ties shape the behaviors of the Turkey-based Syrian businesspeople. The paper argues that, although the activities of the business diaspora might need to be conducted cautiously due to their ties with the home government, and in order to improve economic activity in the host country, the businesspeople have developed specific ways to balance the impact of their home government.