Stateless diaspora groups and their repertoires of nationalist activism in host countries

Abstract

This paper examines the trends of long-distance nationalism of the stateless diaspora groups in their homeland politics. The focus is on activism, protest and propaganda repertoires of two stateless diaspora groups: Kurds from Turkey and Tamils from Sri Lanka. Both of these diaspora groups come from homelands affected by protracted high- or low-scale armed conflict and they show considerable political activism in Europe. By analyzing actions of protest and propaganda ranging from the most extreme cases such as self immolation to simpler ones such as marches, the paper shows how stateless diaspora groups use repertoires of actions to garner attention to their cause by the host country government or public.