Two waves of Kurdish politicians in exile: a comparative analysis.

This article provides a tour d’horizon of the recent emigration of the Kurdish political elite from Turkey and contextualizes it in its historical course. Specifically, the article discusses the similarities and differences of the exilic waves at the two ends of the chain of pro-Kurdish political parties in Turkey, i.e., the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the Democracy Party (DEP). Based on semi-structured elite interviews, a comparison of the patterns of integration with and differentiation from the Kurdish diaspora organizations in Europe, in particular, reveals significant variation between these two exilic waves despite their common root cause. Such variation, coupled with tensions derived mainly from the hierarchal structure of the Kurdish diaspora organizations, fuels a rivalry that may alter the composition of Kurdish political elites in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]