Diaspora Governance from Below: A Case Study of Stateless Kurdish Community Associations in Berlin and Jerusalem

• Applicant: Veysi Dag, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Political Science ; Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
• Term: from 2020 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442549651

Diasporas establish a wide range of associations to affect the adaptation of refugees to new societies. They also foster their own culture, provide their members with practical assistance, defend their interests, overcome their isolation and maintain links with the homeland. The role of diaspora associations is crucial in homeland matters, too. However, the subject of stateless diaspora associations is downplayed — how and why they establish their local and trans-border structures; what their key functions are in the management of the refugee incorporation process and their homeland affairs, and; what challenges they face in terms of legitimacy. Furthermore, it is worth emphasising how different political opportunity structures (POSs) at both the urban and national levels shape dynamics and interactions within institutional venues. To address these central blind spots, this project seeks to investigate the contextual conditions as well as the institutional and cultural dimensions specifically relating to the Kurdish diaspora associations in Berlin in the global North and Jerusalem in the Middle Eastern region of the global South. Based on literature reviews, ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, as well as comparative and interpretive analyses, this project will yield fresh insights into complex relationships between diaspora associations, refugees, local and regional authorities and homeland actors. It will shed light on the way in which Kurdish associations enforce a balanced mode of diaspora governance from below that contributes to the refugees’ incorporation, the reformation of migration regimes and the management of homeland affairs.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Israel
• Host: Professor Dr. Dan Avnon