Inherited Conflicts: Spaces of contention between second-generation Turkish and Kurdish diasporas in Sweden and Germany

Abstract

This thesis aims to contribute to a broader understanding of spill-over of homeland conflicts the host country by diaspora groups and analyses how the repercussions of the Kurdish question in Turkey are reflected in the interactions between second-generation Turks and Kurds in Sweden and Germany. It is argued that the on-going conflict adversely affects the relationship between the two ethnic groups, but that the tensions and conflict dynamics are not an exact reflection of the situation in the homeland, and instead take a different form in each hostland. The contentions between the groups and their grievances are dependent on several factors that are rooted in the hostland and directly or indirectly affect how these groups establish contact with one another. These include: the profile of the migrants; the size of the ethnic communities; the ratio of one ethnic community to another in the hostland; the political and discursive opportunity structures in the hostland; and the relations between the homeland and the hostland. The second generation were selected as the sample group in this thesis as they offer a clearer picture of the host country impact, as well as the persistence of conflict dynamics in the diaspora spaces. The arguments that this thesis makes are based largely on field research, which included interviews with academics, politicians, migrant organisation leaders, as well as first- and second-generation diaspora members. Sweden and Germany were selected on the grounds that both have significant populations of non-European migrants and in particular because they have Turkish and Kurdish populations that show different diasporic tendencies, thus making them relevant cases for comparison. The comparison of their approaches to migrant incorporation; multiculturalism as a formal state policy; the corporatist structures that they have developed with migrant organisations; the profile of the migrants they have received; and, their approach to the Kurdish question in Turkey, sheds light on the varying dynamics of conflict-import to a host country by diaspora groups.