Kurdish Diaspora Research Articles

Editorial

The development of a field of studies such as our own, Kurdish studies, depends to a large extent on the existence of an institutional infrastructure of specialised academic departments, libraries, journals, etc. Only very few academic institutions in the world have a well-established tradition of Kurdish studies, and not surprisingly they are found in those countries that have had an imperial interest in Kurdistan: Russia, Great Britain and France. The general marginalisation of area studies in academia in favour of the more strictly discipline-oriented organisation of academic research has affected these established institutions too. The best specialised libraries in Europe are not in universities but in private Kurdish institutes in Paris, Stockholm, Berlin and Vienna, and they were established and funded by members of the Kurdish diaspora with incidental governmental support.

Statelessness in a world of nation-states: the cases of Kurdish diasporas in Sweden and the UK

ABSTRACTMass displacement in the Middle East is a major political challenge for contemporary Middle Eastern and Western states. As a consequence, statelessness has emerged as one of the central political issues in relation to the collapse and weakening of the states in the Middle East. Through deploying a qualitative inquiry and interviews with 50 Kurdish immigrants, this article investigates how members of Kurdish diasporas in Sweden and the UK conceive and experience statelessness in a world of unequal nation-states and hierarchical citizenship. Since diasporas are important non-state actors in nation-building processes, it is important to analyse their diasporic visions and the ways they challenge or reinforce the power of the nation-state in the context of migration. While from a legal or a right-based approach, the solution to statelessness is found in acquisition of a nationality/citizenship, I posit that in a world structured by the political normativity of the nation-state, nations without states will continue to be in search of national self-determination, political autonomy and sovereignty in the international comity of sovereign nations.

Writing across Kurdistan

Gauri Viswanathan asks ‘where is English literature produced?’ and answers not only ‘in England, of course’. This is also true of Kurdish literature, which is not only produced ‘in Kurdistan, of course’. In fact, due to forced migrations, political conflicts and massacres, Kurds have mainly produced literary works outside Kurdistan. Because there is no state and there are no internationally recognized Kurdish territories, the understanding of what we mean by the term ‘Kurdistan’ is blurred; hence, the location of Kurdish literary work may change, as does the development of Kurdish literature, whether or not it is produced in Kurdish territory. Thus, compared to some other literary traditions, the Kurdish tradition is shaped in multiple geographies in terms of writing and publishing processes, multilingual and transnational affiliations, constant mobility and a diverse sociopolitical context that challenges and complicates the national literature, and vividly exemplifies the heterogeneity and discontinuity of national cultures. Drawing on debates on national literature and ideological texts, in this article I offer insights into Kurdish novels through readings of six novels from six spaces (Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian and Turkish Kurdistan, Soviet Armenia and the Kurdish diaspora) in order to explore the relationship between the texts and the boundaries they are set in, and to compare texts and the way they respond to different sociopolitical contexts. In these six fictional texts, I argue that the themes are usually identified with the realm of sociopolitical conflict and tension and the articulation of loss, trauma, war, the longing for return, and disappointment with the return. Furthermore I suggest that in contrast to idealized imaginary, home and nation, and patriotism in the case of statelessness or exile, these texts are articulated through critical discourses that challenge the idea of a unified national literature, and cannot be united under the sound of a single voice or stable ground.

DATING SECRETLY The Role of the Internet in Shaping Transnational Couple Formation in the Kurdish Diaspora

Drawing on twenty-one in-depth interviews, this article discusses the Internet’s role in the formation of transnational marriages among migrant Kurds who live in Finland. In contrast to what is presented in the European media, my findings suggest that transnational couple formation among migrants should be seen as highly diverse and more than just practices that maintain and preserve “traditional” marriage customs. Transnational online dating practices make visible how young adult Kurds actively engage in partner formation and spousal selection. Online dating enables individual autonomy by widening the circle of potential partners outside familial circles and offers a private social space in which people can create relationships on their own terms and evade social monitoring and possibly harmful rumors.

Editorial

Scholarship on the Kurdish diaspora is a relatively new but rapidly expanding field, with approaches from such disciplines as migration and minority studies, transnationalism, social psychology and education, multiculturalism, social movement studies as well as comparative diaspora studies. We are pleased to present a special issue dedicated to this youngest branch of Kurdish studies, after an earlier special issue last year (Vol. 2 No. 2) dedicated to what is probably the oldest branch, Kurdish linguistics. Our guest editors, Bahar Başer, Ann-Catrin Emanuelsson and Mari Toivanen, have already made their mark with pioneering studies of the Kurdish diaspora, and we thank them for their efforts in preparing this issue.

(In)visible spaces and tactics of transnational engagement: A multi-dimensional approach to the Kurdish diaspora

The Kurdish diaspora has been transnationally active and efficient in terms of raising awareness of the plight of the Kurds in Europe and elsewhere. However, there is a clear need to situate the current analysis of the diaspora in the context of rapidly changing political landscapes that includes both local and global power relations conditioning the diaspora’s transnational participation, political mobilisation and action. This special issue contributes to the abundant stream of research by including articles that touch upon various issues regarding Kurdish diasporic behaviour. We hope this will provide new openings for scholars working on the Kurdish diaspora. We present articles from diverse disciplines in social sciences including sociology, anthropology, and political science. This interdisciplinary approach not only enriches the analysis related to Kurdish diaspora mobilisation, but also highlights new perspectives emerging from this initiative. Keywords: Kurdish diaspora; Kurdistan; transnational engagement; political mobilisation; belonging.Meydanên (ne)diyar û rêbazên çalakvaniya siyasî ya fera-neteweyî: Nirxandineke pir-rehendî li ser diyasporaya kurdDiyasporaya kurd ji bo bilindkirina asta hişyariya li ser kambaxiya rewşa kurdan li Ewrûpa û li cihine din bi rengekî fera-neteweyî çalak û karîger bûye. Lê belê, pêdiviyeke berçav bi wê yekê heye ku nirxandina heyî ya diyasporayê di nav wê çarçoveya dîmenên siyasî de bi cih bikin ku bi lez diguhere û ku, bi hewandina pêwendiyên hêzê yên mehelî û gerdûnî, şikl û şertên beşdariya diyasporayê ya navneteweyî û tevger û çalakiyên wê yên siyasî diyar dike. Ev jimareya taybet a kovarê, bi rêya belavkirina gotarên li ser rehendên cihê yên diyasporaya kurd, li wê pêla adan a vekolînan zêde dike. Em bi hêvî ne ku rê û deriyên nû veke li vekolerên diyasporaya kurd. Em gotarên ji dîsîplînên cihê yên zanistên civakî pêşkêş dikin, ji wan sosyolojî, antropolojî û zanistên siyasî. Ev boçûna navber-dîsîplînî nirxandina çalakvaniya diyasporayê dewlemendtir dike, lê her wiha rê dide peydabûn û geşedana perspektîvên nû li ser vê meydana lêkolînê. بەشداری سیاسییانەی رادیكاڵ و تاراوگەی ناوخۆیی كورد لە توركیائەم گوتارە شیكردنەوەیەكە لە سەر مۆبایلیزە كردنی سیاسییانەی تاراوگەی ناوخۆیی كورد لە دەرەوەی دەڤەرە كوردییەكان لە توركیا. ئەم لێكۆڵینەوەیە لەو پێشنیازە دەكۆڵێتەوە كە دەلێت، تاراوگە پشتیوانی لەو ئەكتەرە سیاسییانە دەكات كە زیاتر رادیكاڵن. ئەم گوتارە باس دەکا لە مۆبایلیزە كردن لە لایەن پ.ك.ك وە لە رۆژاوای توركیا و ئەو شێوانەی کە ئەو ڕێکخراوەیە بە ڕەچاوکردنیان توانیویەتی ناسنامەیەکی بەرفراوانی كۆمەڵی كوردی ببووژێنێتەوە. ئەم لێكۆڵینەوەیە بەر لەوەی تاوتوێی رۆڵی چەوساندنەوە لە لایەن دەوڵەتەوە بکات و سەرنج بداتە هەڵاواردنی ئینتنیکی و پەراوێز خستنی ئابووری-كۆمەڵایەتی لە سەر كۆچبەرە كوردەكانی ئەو ساڵانەی دوایی، شێوازە مێژووییەكانی كۆچ كردنی كورد راڤە دەكا. لە كۆتاییدا، ئەم گوتارە پێشنیار دەكات كە ھۆكاری بە دەستھێنانی ئەو پشتگیریە جەماوەرییەی پ.ك.ك لە ناو كوردی رۆژئاوای توركیا دەگەڕێتەوە بۆئەو ستراتیژییە تایبەتە فەزایی و ئایدیۆلۆژییانەی كە ئەو ڕێکخراوەیە پەیڕەوی كردووە، نەك فاكتەرە بەربڵاوە ژینگەییەکان (contextual).

Reflections on the Kurdish diaspora: An interview with Dr Kendal Nezan

In this interview, Dr Kendal Nezan, the director of the Kurdish Institute in Paris, reflects on the development of the Kurdish diaspora, the current state of affairs concerning Kurdish movements in Europe and the past and present of the Kurdish Institute in Paris, first established in 1983. Nezan notes that the institute has been successful in creating a non-partisan public space open for Kurds from all corners of the world as well as to others interested in Kurdish history, language, culture and politics. Furthermore, the institute has been an important platform to raise awareness about the Kurdish cause in Europe. The continued functioning of the institute remains essential and, according to Nezan, not least for the second generation diaspora to be able to engage for the Kurdish cause. To this end, the institute has been negatively affected by the austerity policies of the French authorities and launched a donation campaign to draw contributions to ensure that it can continue to operate as an independent institute.

Radical political participation and the internal Kurdish diaspora in Turkey

This article analyses the political mobilisation of the Kurdish internal diaspora outside of the Kurdish region in Turkey. The paper engages with the long held proposition that diasporas tend to support more radical political actors. It discusses the PKK’s mobilisation in western Turkey and the manner in which it has contributed to the revival of a broader Kurdish collective identity. The paper considers historic patterns of Kurdish migration before detailing the role of state repression, ethnic alienation and socio-economic marginalisation on recent Kurdish migrants. It concludes by proposing that it was the specific ideological and spatial strategies deployed by the PKK rather than broader contextual factors which permitted the PKK to win mass support among Kurds in western Turkey. Keywords: Kurdish migration; the PKK; political violence; diaspora; social movements.Beşdariya siyasî ya radîkal û diyasporaya kurdî ya navxweyî li TirkiyeyêEv nivîsar vekolînek e li ser çalakgeriya siyasî ya diyasporaya navxweyî ya Kurdên li derveyî herêma kurdnişîn a Tirkiyeyê. Ev gotar tevî wê fikr û pê$niyaza kevn dibe ya ku dibêje meyla diyasporayan bêtir li ser bizavên siyasî yên nisbeten tundrewtir e. Nivîsar berê xwe dide çalakgeriya PKKyê li rojavayê Tirkiyeyê û lê dikole ka wê çalakgeriyê bi çi rengî tesîr li vejandina nasnameyeka Kurdî ya cemawerî û berfirehtir kiriye. Di vê xebatê de, pê$iyê şikl û corên koçberiya Kurdan ji nezera tarîxî ve hatine pê$kê$kirin, pa$ê, rola fakterên wek zordestiya dewletê, nebankirina (vederkirina) qewmî û perawêzxistina civakî-aborî ya li ser koçberên heyamên dawî bi hûrgilî hatine nîqa$kirin. Wekî encam, ev xebat pêşniyar dike ku piştgiriya girseyî ku PKK ji Kurdên li rojavayê Tirkiyeyê wergirtiye, ne ew qas ji $ert û mercên gi$tî û çarçoveya berfireh, lê zêdetir bi saya wan stratejiyên taybet yên îdeolojîk û mekanî ne ku PKKyê dane ber xwe. بەشداری سیاسییانەی رادیكاڵ و تاراوگەی ناوخۆیی كورد لە توركیائەم گوتارە شیكردنەوەیەكە لە سەر مۆبایلیزە كردنی سیاسییانەی تاراوگەی ناوخۆیی كورد لە دەرەوەی دەڤەرە كوردییەكان لە توركیا. ئەم لێكۆڵینەوەیە لەو پێشنیازە دەكۆڵێتەوە كە دەلێت، تاراوگە پشتیوانی لەو ئەكتەرە سیاسییانە دەكات كە زیاتر رادیكاڵن. ئەم گوتارە باس دەکا لە مۆبایلیزە كردن لە لایەن پ.ك.ك وە لە رۆژاوای توركیا و ئەو شێوانەی کە ئەو ڕێکخراوەیە بە ڕەچاوکردنیان توانیویەتی ناسنامەیەکی بەرفراوانی كۆمەڵی كوردی ببووژێنێتەوە. ئەم لێكۆڵینەوەیە بەر لەوەی تاوتوێی رۆڵی چەوساندنەوە لە لایەن دەوڵەتەوە بکات و سەرنج بداتە هەڵاواردنی ئینتنیکی و پەراوێز خستنی ئابووری-كۆمەڵایەتی لە سەر كۆچبەرە كوردەكانی ئەو ساڵانەی دوایی، شێوازە مێژووییەكانی كۆچ كردنی كورد راڤە دەكا. لە كۆتاییدا، ئەم گوتارە پێشنیار دەكات كە ھۆكاری بە دەستھێنانی ئەو پشتگیریە جەماوەرییەی پ.ك.ك لە ناو كوردی رۆژئاوای توركیا دەگەڕێتەوە بۆئەو ستراتیژییە تایبەتە فەزایی و ئایدیۆلۆژییانەی كە ئەو ڕێکخراوەیە پەیڕەوی كردووە، نەك فاكتەرە بەربڵاوە ژینگەییەکان (contextual).

Kurdská diaspora ve střední Evropě, její reakce na aktuální vývoj v Sýrii a Iráku a predikce dalšího vývoje

Following article deals with the Kurdish diaspora in Middle-Europe at the background of current conflict with so called Islamic State. Kurds are one of the main actors of this strong regional conflict and their diaspora in Germany and Austria are forced to react to such a situation. The text is focused not only on actual situation in Syria and Iraq, but mainly on Kurdish reaction towards it. Not only for Czech reader there is interesting part dealing with Kurdish community in Czech Republic, although this diaspora is not as numerous and strong as in Germany or Austria. One of the important outcomes of the article is an attempt to predict future scenarios of Kurds situation development. But it is necessary to mention the high dynamics of conflict with Islamic State complicates any such an attempt of prediction.

Tailoring Strategies According to Ever-Changing Dynamics: The Evolving Image of the Kurdish Diaspora in Germany

Germany might be considered as the European country that has suffered the most from the spatial diffusion of Turkey's internal conflicts. It has received the highest number of Kurdish migrants in Europe and it became the core of Kurdish mobilization in transnational space. Germany's approach to the Kurdish Question on its own soil—combined with the strategies that the Kurdish activists used—determined the scope of opportunity structures for the mobilization of the Kurdish movement. This article explains how Kurdish activism has come to be perceived in Germany, and analyzes the German political environment by focusing on the criminalization and stigmatization of the Kurdish movement, especially during the 1990s. It then describes the discursive shift and change in framing strategies that the Kurdish diaspora experienced after the capture of the the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) leader in 1999. Lastly, it touches upon the recent developments in the Middle East, especially in Kobane, and their impact on the image of the Kurdish movement. The article is based on extensive fieldwork in Germany and includes testimonies of Kurdish diaspora activists, with a focus on their own perceptions about their situation and how they respond to securitization policies in the host country.

Identity Formation and Community Organization among Kurdish Diaspora in London

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of Kurdish community organisations in preserving identity among the Kurdish diaspora in London. This study contributes to the discussion on ethnic community organisations and analyse the functions of social network theory among Kurdish community organisations in London. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of ethnic community organisations addressing the specific needs of these Kurdish communities, encouraging their cultural, social and diasporic identity. This study is grounded on a qualitative research design within case study approach. In-depth semi-structured interview employed for data collection. The findings of this study indicated that Kurdish community organizations are places for socialisation, friendship settings, an exercise in ethnic identity awareness and counselling. Keywords: Diaspora, Kurdish, social network theory, ethnic community organisations.

Following Civil Wars Across Borders

The Transnational Dynamics of Civil War. Edited by Jeffrey Checkel. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 319 pp., $95.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-1-107-02553-0). This edited volume has an innovative point of departure: If conflict crosses borders, how should the tools of scholarship follow? Numerous studies have shown that civil wars have increasingly important transnational dimensions. This volume combines insights from the large-N approach to civil war with perspectives from international relations and sociology on peaceful transnational politics. Its theoretical motivation is reflected in the fact that four of the nine chapters are largely theoretical. Large-N studies have shown that more than half of the armed conflicts that the world has experienced since 1945 involve a rebel group with external linkages. Transnational linkages may provide opportunity: rebel groups with limited opportunities to challenge a state often find the opportunity to mobilize greater support abroad. Yet, there may be a boomerang effect, where changes outside the state feed back into the domestic conflict and transform it. As diffusion is a rather vague metaphor for the process by which a conflict in one state spills over into another, this book aims to establish specific ways to make the metaphor operational. Some familiar concepts—emulation, persuasion, flows of resources, framing—are adapted for this purpose. The case studies explore how the rebel movements were affected by transnational processes: Afghani exiles in Pakistan, transnational Islamic militantism in Chechnya, the Kurdish diaspora in Germany, Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army fighting in its neighboring states, and transnational activism on the issue of child soldiers in the Sudan. In all …

Temporal and Generational Impact on Identity, Home(Land) and Politics of Belonging Among the Kurdish Diaspora

The purpose of this article is to examine the experiences of two generations among the Kurdish diaspora in Sweden: those who migrated as adults and those who were born and/or raised in Sweden. The focus will be on issues of identity, home(land) and politics of belonging with regard to generational and temporal aspects. We will argue that there are significant differences among the older and younger generations with regard to their experiences that demand different theoretical and analytical conceptualisations.

The Kurdish Diaspora: <i>Transnational Ties, Home, and Politics of Belonging</i>

The Nordic Journal of Migration Research is a double-blind peer-reviewed, open access international journal that is cost free for authors and readers alike. The journal publishes theoretical and empirical analyses of migratory processes, dealing with themes such as nationalism and transnationalism, ethnic relations and racism, border practices and belonging. The journal gives priority to Nordic issues, but publishes articles also from other geographical contexts.Back content now available in our issue archive.

The Awakening of a Latent Diaspora: The Political Mobilization of First and Second Generation Turkish Migrants in Sweden

This paper explores how political developments in a host country catalyse the awakening of a latent diaspora and lead to the activation of a transnational community that previously consisted of loose and scattered networks. It also draws attention to the generational continuation of identity politics in a diaspora context through analysing a second generation's abrupt interest in homeland politics. By using the Turkish community in Sweden as a case study and by basing its main arguments on extensive research and fieldwork, it suggests that inter-diaspora rivalries and group competition may help to gain a better understanding of the interest that diasporans show in the promotion of homeland politics. It also suggests that although the diasporic discourses are based on contested political issues in their home country, the framing process takes place with regards to the host country context. The paper suggests that there were two significant transformative and triggering factors in Sweden that motivated the Turkish diaspora to participate actively in efforts to affect policymaking mechanisms in Sweden: Kurdish diaspora activism in general and the passage of the Armenian Genocide Bill by the Swedish Parliament on 11 March 2010.

Transnational Diaspora Lobbying: Europeanization and the Kurdish Question

Turkey's European Union (EU) negotiations are generally believed to positively affect the rights of ethnic minorities in Turkey. Through a detailed case study, this article examines how members of the Kurdish diaspora in Europe aim to influence this process through lobbying, and to what extent ‘Europeanization’ is channelling the organisation and strategies of the Kurdish lobby. We focus on three facets of transnational diaspora lobbying: political opportunity structures (understood as formal institutions), discursive opportunity structures and the organisational flexibility of activists to adapt to new opportunities. Drawing on interviews, EU documents and documentation from Brussels-based Kurdish organisations, we find the growing importance of European institutions to be both a boon and a bane for transnational diaspora lobbying on all three counts.

Migrant Mobilization for Homeland Politics: A Social Movement Approach

AbstractFrom the campaign of Chilean exiles all over the world to overthrow the regime of Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s to the contemporary mobilization of the Kurdish diaspora in Western Europe, various cases demonstrate the persistence of homeland ties among migrants, especially those who experienced repression and displacement by the government in their countries of origin. Diverse frameworks and concepts in both the humanities and the social sciences have been deployed to explain the involvement of migrants in politics in their home countries, from “long‐distance nationalism” to “transnational activism.” Each points to different dynamic processes and causal mechanisms. In recent years, scholars have advocated the use of a social movement framework in the analysis of migrant mobilization, despite the marginalization of such studies in theory development. In this article, I examine the concepts put forward by the political process model (PPM) as they apply to the analysis of migrants' involvement in politics in their native land. I propose ways for PPM to be useful in the explanation of the dynamics and processes of homeland‐oriented migrant mobilization.

The Sufi ethics and the spirits of consumerism

In this speculative comment I will suggest that, in analogy with Colin Campbell's argument regarding the Romantic Ethic and the spirit of modern consumerism, there is prima facie evidence that there is also an elective affinity between Sufi-infused Islamic religiosity and the emergent Muslim consumerisms, particularly in Turkey and among Turkish (and Kurdish) diasporas in Europe. The main relevant features of Sufi spirituality in this context are identified as continuous creation, creative imagination and longing.

Kurdish Diaspora Politics in Globalising Processes

Kurdish Diaspora Politics in Globalising Processes

The Kurds in the Former Soviet States from the Historical and Cultural Perspectives

The history of the Kurdish community in Russia concerns several centuries. The Kurds who live in the today’s Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), before USSR, constitue about 2,5% of all Kurdish population, which is the most important part of the Kurdish Diaspora. The number of Kurds has increased in the Russian Federation especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the Kurds began to leave Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Central Asia and began to settle in the Russian Federation. This is a brief study of the Kurds in the former Soviet Union with the study of the demography of the Kurds and their development from historical and cultural perspectives. Special attention is paid to the contemporary situation of the Kurds in the post-Soviet states, in particular on the territory of the Russian Federation. Full text: http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/czasopismo/589/?idno=14760