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

This project explores diasporization as a form of legal mobilization, incorporating Foucault´s counter-conducts into legal mobilization.

It centers on the Yazidi diaspora in Sweden and Germany, studying their role in political, legal and investigative actions post-Yazidi Genocide.

The relationship between diaspora mobilization and international law remains understudied and the Yazidi Genocide has not been empirically examined in a comprehensive ethnographic manner.

To address these gaps empirically and theoretically, this project aims to:Provide an ethnographic mapping of the legal strategies adopted by the Yazidis.Produce a nuanced, multi-sited ethnography of diaspora mobilization.Examine the compatibilities/inconsistencies between international law and lived experiences.Offer theoretical insights into legal mobilization.Shed light on diasporization and mobilization as continuous processes linking lived experiences to political projects.This 36-month multi-sited ethnographic project will be conducted in Sweden and Germany, employing participant observations, 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.

It explores how diaspora actors raise collective claims about genocide recognition and remembrance and strategically use international law to frame them, primarily drawing on the universal jurisdiction.