Neoliberal displacement and “institutionalized” segregation: a comparative analysis of Roma marginalization in Türkiye and Slovakia

This study examines the divergent yet equally exclusionary state policies targeting Roma populations in Türkiye and Slovakia, two cases where the EU’s leverage differs fundamentally, as Türkiye’s accession negotiations are effectively stalled, analyzing how neoliberal authoritarianism and institutionalized segregation systems produce distinct regimes of marginalization. In Türkiye, state-led neoliberal urban governance under the Mass Housing Administration (TOKI) facilitates Roma displacement through market-driven mechanisms, including forced evictions and financialized relocation to peripheral slums. These practices are legitimized through ‘urban renewal’ discourses. By contrast, Slovakia officially opposes Roma segregation through antidiscrimination laws and integration strategies, yet in practice tolerates and at times facilitates segregated outcomes: state-recognized settlements lacking basic infrastructure, physical walls erected around Roma communities by municipalities, and systematic tracking of Roma children into special education. Despite their differences, both approaches converge in their effects: spatial control, economic precarity, and political disenfranchisement. The study highlights a key paradox: while Slovakia’s visible segregation draws EU condemnation, Türkiye’s market-based displacement evades scrutiny, revealing the limitations of current human rights frameworks in addressing neoliberal forms of exclusion.