Diaspora Engagement via Open Education: Four Decades of Turkish Transnational Educational Engagement in Germany

ABSTRACT States increasingly use education to engage diasporas, yet sustained transnational educational programmes remain understudied despite their potential to illuminate how migration governance adapts over time. Focusing on Turkey's Open Education Faculty (AÖF) in Germany, we combine administrative enrolment records (78,138 student‐year records; 32,155 students) with documentary and media analysis to trace participation, institutional design, and policy framing over four decades (1982–2023). We identify five phases, showing a transformation from economic credentialing oriented toward first‐generation male workers to a predominantly digital platform increasingly used by later‐generation, mostly female learners seeking knowledge tied to culture and identity. Programme choices shifted from economics/business toward theology and sociology. We propose a ‘capability‐mediated engagement’ framework: programme durability depends on adapting to evolving capabilities that members value across life‐course and integration contexts. The findings challenge zero‐sum integration models, suggesting transnational education can complement host‐country belonging.