Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses how the geopolitical becomes a shared concern among Egyptian exiles in Istanbul, defining their access to legal statuses and settlement polices in Turkey and marking their lifeworlds and political trajectories.

Paper long abstract:

This paper addresses how shifting geopolitical circumstances shape inconsistent state desires among young, displaced Egyptians in Istanbul, defining their settlement decisions in Turkey or pushing them to pursue asylum in Europe. The 2013 military coup against the Muslim Brotherhood government displaced thousands of Egyptians to Turkey. Given the ideological proximity, the majority of them were granted exceptional entry and residency permits and/or the exceptional Turkish citizenship. The two countries cut diplomatic relations up until 2020. Turkey pursued normalization with Egypt, mainly for geopolitical purposes, including redrawing eastern Mediterranean maritime borders for gas exploration. Cairo requested silencing the Istanbul-based exile community and limiting the Turkish military intervention in neighboring Libya. Turkey gradually stopped issuing exceptional legal permits for many Egyptians and asked high-profile activists to leave its territory, which generated fears of deportations to Egypt. Turkey's selective exercise of sovereignty in issuing exceptional legal statuses, to exert pressure then reassure international ties with Egypt, shaped the everyday pursuits for “legal stability” among post-2013 young Egyptians. Located between two rival yet allied MENA states with fluctuating relations, the paper highlights "everyday diplomacy" practices (Marsden 2016) of a group of Egyptians to prevent deportations and secure legal residences in Turkey. The geopolitical becomes a catalyst for local activism and a factor of multiple displacements simultaneously. The paper employs life history-informed methods showing how the geopolitical is a vivid everyday embodied concern.