From Konya to Europe and back: diaspora politics and the reinvention of Kurdish identity in Central Anatolia

This article discusses how the migration of Kurds from the Kulu and Cihanbeyli districts of Konya, Turkey, to Europe has altered the way Kurdish identity is defined among those in the diaspora and in communities of origin. The study draws on 62 qualitative interviews conducted in Germany, Sweden, and Turkey to examine how migration initially provided economic opportunities for Kurds to politicise and express their identities. For Kurds born in Central Anatolia, where nationalism and religion limit ethnic expression, the diaspora provided a new platform for articulating Kurdish identity. However, such transformations were not limited to Europe; migrants maintain strong ties with their hometowns by visiting, staying in touch through new digital forms of communication, and developing emotional bonds. Such transnational connections provided opportunities for politicised identities to re-enter Konya, where political climates could be influenced. While this process is uneven and faces resistance, particularly amid repression in Turkey, the study argues that migration serves as a driver of identity reconstruction. The diaspora serves as a space for both cultural preservation and the imagining and carrying out of political transformation. Migration is defined as a political practice that reshapes the realities of ethnic identity formation and transmission.