Abstract
This article analyzes the making and remaking absence of a Kurdish nation-state - specifically claims to national belonging. Looking at Diyar Turkey, the article examines the political and and pro-Kurdish political parties to shed light identity and the dynamics of Kurdish nationalism there. It suggests that Kurdish nationhood "as a political and cultural form" is being institutionalized in Diyarbakir through the everyday practices of its residents, as pro-Kurdish parties prompt an agenda and vocabulary of Kurdish nationalism that recalls a traumatic past and imagines a common future. The article argues that Kurdish nationalism in Diyarbakir is being built through the urban experience of collectivity in diverse socio-spatial and political encounters, rather than solely through top-down interventions.