Diasporic Justice: Yazidi Mobilization and Memory in Sweden after the Genocide
Diasporic Justice: Yazidi Mobilization and Memory in Sweden after the Genocide
Tuesday, 8 July 2025: 15:30
Location: SJES026 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
Oral Presentation
August 2024 marked the tenth anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide, the 73rd Decree as referred to and historicized by the Yazidis themselves. However, not only are reparation mechanisms and transitional justice options yet to be developed and impunity overcome, but also the thousands of Yazidis who are still missing, mass graves that are not excavated, along with the hundreds of thousands displaced in refugee camps characterize the genocide as continuing. This paper is a part of a broader project focusing on the diasporization of Yazidis in Sweden and Germany to generate ethnographically deep knowledge on the Yazidis’ justice aspirations, the socio-spatial dynamics of their mobilization to trigger change, and the creative, strategic use of international law in their justice pursuits.
By understanding diasporization as a form of mobilization, this paper ethnographically focuses on the socio-spatial dynamics of community-building among Yazidis in Sweden as they seek justice in the aftermath of the Yazidi Genocide. It examines not only mass protests, which reveal diaspora alliances among different groups and lead to the emergence of alternative juridico-political networks, but also the diasporic justice mechanisms developed to institutionalize remembrance and sustain memory while navigating the challenges of strict migration regimes.
Drawing on Foucauldian nominalist intervention, I analyze various meanings assigned to justice throughout the process of diasporization, as diaspora actors’ subjectivities shift across different regimes, positioning them as genocide survivors or unwanted migrants. I explore how these differing formulations of justice either align with or conflict with the framings of international law and the narrative construction of the Yazidi Genocide in ongoing prosecutions of IS members for genocide in Sweden. In this broader context, courtrooms are understood not merely as mechanisms of subjection for the victim-survivors but as mediums for subjectification, forming one of many avenues of diasporization/mobilization that assign meanings to ‘justice.'
By understanding diasporization as a form of mobilization, this paper ethnographically focuses on the socio-spatial dynamics of community-building among Yazidis in Sweden as they seek justice in the aftermath of the Yazidi Genocide. It examines not only mass protests, which reveal diaspora alliances among different groups and lead to the emergence of alternative juridico-political networks, but also the diasporic justice mechanisms developed to institutionalize remembrance and sustain memory while navigating the challenges of strict migration regimes.
Drawing on Foucauldian nominalist intervention, I analyze various meanings assigned to justice throughout the process of diasporization, as diaspora actors’ subjectivities shift across different regimes, positioning them as genocide survivors or unwanted migrants. I explore how these differing formulations of justice either align with or conflict with the framings of international law and the narrative construction of the Yazidi Genocide in ongoing prosecutions of IS members for genocide in Sweden. In this broader context, courtrooms are understood not merely as mechanisms of subjection for the victim-survivors but as mediums for subjectification, forming one of many avenues of diasporization/mobilization that assign meanings to ‘justice.'