10.17192/meta.2015.4.2520 van den Berge, Wietse Wietse van den Berge Syrian Kurdish Political Activism: A Social Movement Theory Perspective Middle East - Topics + Arguments : Vol 4 (2015) Philipps-Universität Marburg 2015 Political Parties Kurds PYD KNC Syria Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS) 2018-01-31 2015-05-22 en JournalArticle https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2015/108/2520 urn:nbn:de:hebis:04-0003-2015-108-25207 https://doi.org/10.17192/meta.2015.4.108 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2015/108/2520/2520.png 2196-629X application/pdf Syrian Kurdish politics is complex. While the political parties appear rather similar in terms of their goals, fierce inter-party rivalry exists, nonetheless. Shedding some light on Syrian Kurdish politics using Social Movement Theory as a theoretical framework, this article deals with how and why Syrian Kurds choose a specific political party. Interviews with Syrian Kurdish political activists in Iraqi Kurdistan provide the data. The interviews point out that a striking cleavage exists: Respondents sympathizing with the dominant political party preferred social equality, while interviewees belonging to other parties have a preference for non-violence. 2196-629X Middle East - Topics + Arguments Vol 4 (2015)