Alevist Movements at Home and Abroad: Mobilization Spaces and Disjunction

Abstract

The Alevist movement developed almost simultaneously in Turkey and among Turkish migrants, but it is structured and acts quite differently in these distinct, albeit related, political spaces. This comparative empirical study tries to explain the differences in the discourses and the success of Alevist movements in Turkey and Germany by relating them to the broader institutional and discursive contexts within which they are embedded. Alevist movements are incorporated differently in state policies directed to claim-makers and consequently possess different discursive and institutional resources. Spatially bounded institutional contexts and political agendas frame the discourse and strategies of Alevist claim-making, and result in divergent developments. It is thus necessary to disentangle the multiple levels of claim-and policy-making involved (local, national and supranational), and to analyze their relationships and possible articulations. ‘Transnational’ mobilization has often been understood as a mere continuation of mobilization at home or, oppositely, as its driving force. This paper questions the continuity between mobilizations at home and abroad, and argues that mobilization in migration entails specific dynamics, which may not be re-imported home.

Ideological or religious? Contending visions on the future of Alevi identity

“…However, those earlier efforts were on the periphery of the wide-scale ideological struggle (Massicard 2003). Although an earlier Alevi movement was initiated during the 1960s, many Alevis in urban contexts were more active in left-wing political activism until the early 1980s.…”

“…Alevi identity has taken its own shape among Turkish immigrants in Europe, but identity movements in Turkey and in Europe affected each other. Many analysts strongly argued that it would not be possible to understand the development of the Alevi movement without emphasizing its transnational dimension, meaning the European dimension (Sökefeld 2002, Massicard 2003, Rigoni 2003,Şahin 2005, Özyürek 2009). …”

“…The academic and popular literatures on Alevilik (Aleviness) 7 often refer to the period starting from the late 1980s as the 'Alevi revival' (Kehl-Bodrogi 1996, van Bruinessen 1996, Çamuroglu 1997, Vorhoff 1998, Massicard 2007, Dressler 2008, Sökefeld 2008. This 'revival/transformation' has manifested itself in the form of heightened group consciousness, greater ease in expressing identity in the public sphere, increased public visibility and the making of political and legal claims based on Alevi identity in social and political arenas (Massicard 2003, Köse 2010. The debate and the ongoing competition on the core features and possible leadership and institutional of the modern, urban Alevi identity are still unsettled.…”

Transnational Environmentalism at Europe's Boundaries

“…In the 1990s, communities of Turkish Alevi migrants in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain and Australia established Alevi organizations, websites, research institutes and cultural programmes, and through these efforts provided crucial external financial and organizational support to Alevis in Turkey (Massicard, 2003). Alevi NGOs generally view global civil society organizations as allies, and Alevi groups have ties, at least at a discursive level, to Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and many other environmental groups.…”

Globalizations and the Transformation of Environmental Activism: Turkey since the 1980s

“…Turkish Alevi communities in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain, and Australia established websites, research institutes, and cultural programs, and these communities provided crucial organizational and financial support to Alevis in Turkey (Massicard, 2003). Like Islamists, Turkish Alevis have established ties to global civil society, although for Alevis these ties are ideological as well as pragmatic.…”