Seeking Justice Far from Home: A Multi-sited Ethnographic Inquiry into Diaspora Mobilizations in Sweden and Germany in the Aftermath of the Yazidi Genocide

This postdoctoral project seeks to develop an understanding of the de-localized means of pursuing justice and the transnational social actions associated with it, focusing on the Yazidi diaspora in Sweden and Germany. It explores the role of the Yazidi diaspora in political, legal, and investigative actions, in the respective countries, following the Yazidi Genocide. It investigates diasporization as a form of mobilization, integrating Foucauldian insights on counter-conducts into the field of legal mobilization.
The relationship between diaspora mobilization and international law is currently understudied, and the Yazidi Genocide has not been empirically examined in a comprehensive ethnographic manner. To address these gaps both empirically and theoretically, this project aims to: i. Provide an ethnographic mapping of the legal strategies adopted by the Yazidis; ii. Produce a nuanced, multi-sited ethnography of diaspora mobilization; iii. Examine the compatibilities/inconsistencies between international law and lived experiences; iv. Offer theoretical insights into the field of research on legal mobilization; and v. Shed light on diasporization and mobilization as continuous processes linking lived experiences to political projects.
This multi-sited ethnographic project will be conducted in Sweden and Germany, utilizing participant observations, life-history narratives, interviews, and document analysis to generate ethnographic insights about the Yazidis' justice aspirations and the socio-spatial obstacles to, as well as opportunities for, their mobilization to effect change far from home. The study explores how diaspora actors raise collective claims about genocide recognition and remembrance and strategically use international law to frame them, primarily drawing on the principle of universal jurisdiction.

The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking religious minority whose origins date back more than 6,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. In 2014, the Islamic State (IS) invaded the Kurdish-Yazidi homeland, Shengal (Sinjar), in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and committed forced conversions to Islam, large-scale massacres of men, enslavement of women and girls, and the captivity of boys to be trained as warriors for the ‘Caliphate.’ It is estimated that the attacks killed over 5,000 Yazidis, led to the forced displacement of at least 400,000, and that more than 2,800 women and children remain missing. Despite the widespread recognition of these atrocities as genocide, there are obstacles to establishing an international tribunal, as Iraq is not a party to the International Criminal Court, making the role of other states in investigating and prosecuting these crimes vital to prevent impunity. International law opens such a space with the principle of universal jurisdiction, allowing states' jurisdiction over crimes against international law even if these crimes did not occur in their territories and the victims or perpetrators are not their citizens. Sweden and Germany, marked by the largest Yazidi population in Europe, are taking political and legal steps, including investigative initiatives and prosecutions and convictions of IS members for genocide following universal jurisdiction. Against this backdrop, this research is interested in the strategies adopted by the Yazidi diaspora in Sweden and Germany for their pursuit of justice and the ways they initiate, participate in, and influence political and legal processes. The knowledge generated by research will contribute to the ongoing initiatives in both countries and enable paths toward a peaceful future for the Yazidi community by inspiring further legal and socio-political steps.