Trans-State Loyalties and Politics of Turks and Kurds in Western Europe

Abstract

Trans-State Loyalties and Politics of Turks and Kurds in Western Europe Eva Østergaard-Nielsen (bio) The formation and politicization of diasporas is not a new phenomenon, but one that is becoming increasingly prevalent. Most studies of trans-state political activities of diasporas focus on North America, where the trans-state loyalties and activities among well-established groups such as the Jews, the Greeks, and the Armenians have been recognized as a significant component of North American domestic and international politics. 1 Yet, in Western Europe too, transnational communities of immigrants and refugees retain and develop an interest in, and political ties with, their country of origin. 2 Transnational communities confront policymakers with demands for a particular policy toward their homeland. At the same time, homeland governments urge host-countries to restrain the political dissidence of the diasporas. To date, however, there is little research into the trans-state loyalties of contemporary immigrant groups in Western Europe. The cases of Turkish and Kurdish communities in Germany and the Netherlands illustrate that mobilization and activities directed toward the homeland also have national and international ramifications in a Western European context. The success of such activities, however, should not be measured by the extent to which they change the course of events in the homeland via foreign policy lobbying or direct intervention. Such changes in international relations are, in any case, difficult to trace back to the effort of single non-state actors. Rather, in a Western European context it is meaningful to focus on the specific efforts of transnational [End Page 23] communities and how they are acted upon by political institutions in their host country and homeland. Indeed, the dialogue on Turkish politics between representatives from the Turkish and Kurdish communities and the central political institutions in their host-countries raises a number of issues of both specific and general importance for contemporary politics in Western Europe. For instance, to what extent is lobbying for political issues relatied to the homeland considered legitimate in Western European polities? What makes certain political gatekeepers, such as political parties and trade unions, listen more to some groups than to others? To what extent does the bilateral relationship between the host country and homeland influence attentiveness to homeland political lobbying? This article will mainly draw on examples from Germany and the Netherlands to illustrate how Western European political gatekeepers display a marked reluctance to deal with the homeland political lobbying of immigrant communities. 3 Even so, movements within these communities have contributed to introducing the politics of their homeland into the politics of their host country, and a situation of spatial diffusion of domestic politics has emerged. Western European governments’ policies toward ethnic communities within their polity have become intertwined with foreign policy considerations toward the homelands of these communities. Thus the notion of the national “boundedness” of domestic politics is challenged, because Turkish domestic political issues become part of the dialogue between German and Dutch policymakers and minorities of Turkish descent in Germany and the Netherlands. Transnational Communities from Turkey in Western Europe Numbering more than three million, Turkish citizens constitute one of the largest and most widely dispersed immigrant groups in Western Europe. They are the largest single group in Germany (approximately 2.2 million), the Netherlands (approximately 154,000), and Denmark (approximately 36,000). 4 Given that more than two-thirds of the Turkish citizens live in Germany, this article mainly draws on empirical examples from this country. Almost all of the communities originate in post-World War II labor recruitment. But a large percentage of Turkish citizens living in Western Europe were actually raised or even born there. A small proportion of [End Page 24] Turkish citizens in Western Europe arrived as asylum seekers. 5 The Turkish presence in large Western European cities has become increasingly manifest. There are numerous taxi drivers, an abundance of Turkish restaurants and cafeterias, and Turkish newspapers at newsstands. While the restaurants and taxis are patronized by all, the Turkish coffee houses, discos, pop events, mosques, and Koranic schools reflect the self-containment of Turkish communities. Travel agencies, driving schools, banks, and import-export firms headed by Turkish citizens and intended for Turkish citizens are...