REFUGEE CRISIS, GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IZBJEGLIČKA KRIZA, VLADAVINA I JAVNA UPRAVA 73 Refugee Crisis and Local Responses: An Assessment of Local Capacities to Deal with Migration Influxes in Istanbul * Yeseren Elicin** UDK 341.43:352(560 Istanbul) 351.756(560 Istanbul) Original scientific paper / izvorni znanstveni rad Received / primljeno: 14. 6. 2017. Accepted / prihvaćeno: 16. 3. 2018. Although Turkey has been gradually transforming into a country of asylum, its legislation concerning refugees is in- adequate to guarantee the fundamental rights and basic needs of this population, such as accommodation, health- care, and employment. However, following legal modifica- tions effected in 1994 and 2013, persons from non-Euro- pean countries have been allowed to apply for “temporary asylum” in Turkey. Currently, almost 90% of the Syrian refugees in Turkey live in different Turkish cities, while Is- tanbul is hosting the highest number of out-of-camp Syri- ans (as opposed to those who live in refugee camps). The aim of the article is to analyse the legal and administrative framework in Turkey dedicated to providing assistance to * This research has been financially supported by the Galatasaray University Re- search Fund, under Grant 17.104.001. ** Yeseren Elicin, Associate Professor at the Political Science Department of Gal- atasaray University, Turkey (izvanredna profesorica Fakulteta političkih znanosti, Sveučilište Galatasaray, Turska, e-mail:
[email protected]) ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4355-0972 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND COMPARATIVE CROATIAN Elicin, Y. (2018). Refugee Crisis and Local Responses: An Assessment of Local Capacities to Deal ... HKJU-CCPA, 18(1), 73–99 74 refugees at the local level.