Hoping in the Shadow of Turkish Authoritarianism: Trajectories of Out‐Migrants in London

ABSTRACT

Authoritarianism is often treated as a condition migrants leave behind. This commentary argues that it also travels with them, shaping how they interpret and mobilise possibility in the destination. Drawing on diaries and interviews with 13 Turkish‐speaking migrants in London, it shows how experiences of future uncertainty in Turkey have become a comparative lens through which adversity in London was understood and coped with. Authoritarianism thus produced a paradox: by enclosing the future and shrinking spaces of citizenship in Turkey, it made alternative futures in London feel more visible and achievable. The commentary concludes with a suggestion for future research to locate migrants' hope beyond individual resilience, with a focus on the specifically urban infrastructures that animate and sustain it.