ABSTRACT
Patterns of homeland political mobilization among Turks and Kurds in Germany are as complex as the multi-level processes and actors involved. Since the 1970s, homeland political trends and movements have come and gone and come back yet again. This chapter presents the political mobilization within the main groups of Turks and Kurds in Germany in order to highlight the political plurality of the various parts of the community: How ‘political’ or ‘transnational’ are these main groups? Of which national and transnational networks are they a part? Who do they represent? Are they established through local initiatives or have they been set up with encouragement or support from organizations, political parties, or governments in Turkey? What are their goals? How would one characterize their relationship with German, Turkish, and European authorities? Once the homeland political engagement within the main groups is established, the chapter addresses the dynamics among the main groups. It explores, in particular, how Turkish politics divides the federal organizations to the extent that it becomes difficult for a common platform to be formed both among the main groups and within them.
