"The Kurdish movement Ethnic mobilization and Europeanization

Blatte, Andreas. (2003) "The Kurdish movement Ethnic mobilization and Europeanization . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2003 (8th), March 27-29, 2003, pages 29, Nashville, TN.

Abstract

[This paper] explain[s] the rise and the repertoires of the Kurdish movement by looking at the political opportunities it has encountered, i.e. by political factors external to the movement. A widely accepted definition of "political opportunity" is to see it as "consistent-but not necessarily formal, permanent, or national-dimensions of the political struggle that encourage people to engage in contentious politics." One could also look, for instance, at discursive factors such as the "framing" of issues for mobilization, or at the characteristics of social movement organizations. Accepting that these perspectives would contribute to a fuller understanding of the Kurdish movement, the presumption is here that the political opportunity-perspective provides us with the best tool for explaining Kurdish mass mobilization, and the alleged Europeanization.