Syrian Kurdish Political Activism: A Social Movement Theory Perspective

Autor/innen

  • Wietse van den Berge Leiden University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17192/meta.2015.4.2520

Schlagwörter:

Syria, Kurds, Political Parties, PYD, KNC

Zusammenfassung

Syrian Kurdish politics is complex. While the political parties appear rather similar in terms of their goals, fierce inter-party rivalry exists, nonetheless. Shedding some light on Syrian Kurdish politics using Social Movement Theory as a theoretical framework, this article deals with how and why Syrian Kurds choose a specific political party. Interviews with Syrian Kurdish political activists in Iraqi Kurdistan provide the data. The interviews point out that a striking cleavage exists: Respondents sympathizing with the dominant political party preferred social equality, while interviewees belonging to other parties have a preference for non-violence.

Autor/innen-Biografie

  • Wietse van den Berge, Leiden University

    is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Terrorism and Counter-terrorism of Leiden University in The Netherlands. His subject concerns political violence in contemporary Middle East, focusing on minorities such as Syria’s Kurds. email: w.van.den.berge@cdh.leidenuniv.nl

Veröffentlicht

2015-05-22

Ausgabe

Rubrik

Off Topic