Abstract:

With the explosion of the Syrian crisis, the number of refugees seeking asylum in another country has increased significantly worldwide. With its open door policy, Turkey has come to the top of the countries most affected by the Syrian crisis, and has become the country that welcomes most Syrian refugees. In the beginning, the attitudes of the Turkish community to the Syrian refugees were positive from the sense of hospitality, while with the increase in the number of Syrians and the duration of their residence, this attitude left the place to the attitudes of foreign hostility.  Studies show that one of the most important factors under negative attitudes and behaviors towards migrants and refugees is the perception of threats. This article discussed the perceptions of the Turkish community of threats against Syrian refugees, and these perceptions of threats were explained within the framework of the Integrated Threat Theory, System Maintenance Theory, Complex Instrument Group Conflict Model and Disease Prevention Model. The Turkish community has concluded that Syrian refugees are considered a threat in three different areas: (1) access to cultural and social, (2) economic, (3) basic services. After examining the perceptions of threats in society, the conflict areas that these perceptions of threats could cause were discussed, and solutions for social harmony were proposed.

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