Social engagement and political attitudes of syrian refugees in Turkey and Germany

Which factors shape partisan and democratic attitudes of refugees in host countries? Does social engagement foster political socialisation? This study examines these attitudes among Syrian refugees in Germany and Turkey using original survey data from 3,441 respondents in Turkey and 666 respondents in Germany. Through observational analyses, we assess how a set of social engagement variables; length of stay in the host country, interactions with host-country nationals, host-country language proficiency, and educational experience in the host country, relate to refugees' partisan and democratic attitudes. Social engagement is, in general, significantly associated with partisanship in both countries. Interactions with locals, however, are not significantly associated with either outcome among refugees in Germany. While length of stay and educational experience correlate with democratic attitudes in Germany, these relationships do not hold in Turkey. Overall, these results suggest that social engagement is consistently linked to partisanship, but its relationship with democratic attitudes is contingent on the host country's political and social context.