The PKK's strategy of shaping the diaspora: The case of Belgium

This thesis aims to explain the PKK's diaspora strategy. Belgium has been chosen as a sample and the answers to two questions were sought in order to understand the PKK's strategy towards the Kurdish diaspora in EU countries. First of all, it was discussed how the PKK organized the radical Kurdish diaspora in Belgium and local groups. 'Political ideological dispersals' and 'trans-national linguistic communities', which are classified under the theoretical framework of 'the nonethnic trans-national formations', were applied in order to explain how the organizations of the group in Belgium come together. Second, this thesis aims to discuss the what purposes the PKK used the groups that it established in Belgium. This is assessed in the light of the theoretical framework of 'trans-national advocacy networks'. By this theory, the 'political opportunity structure' in Turkey and Belgium was detailed and the PKK's activities were explained with 'the boomerang pattern'. Both questions were examined by way of 'case studies', which is one of the analysis methods used in qualitative research. The findings show that the strategy followed by the PKK towards the Kurdish diaspora was shaped in three contexts. The diaspora strategy of the PKK is composed of three dimensions; gaining international legitimacy -survival-, establishing unique representative authority of Kurds, and putting pressure on Turkey. Keywords: PKK, diaspora, Belgium, Kurd, PKK in Europe