Kurdish public activities in Poland compared to the activities of Kurdish minorities in Western Europe

Abstract

The authors raise questions about the forms and types of public activity of Kurds in Poland during the last half-century, the impact of the political transformation on this activity, and the similarities and differences between the activities of Kurdish minorities in Poland and in Western countries. On the basis of an analysis of documents and academic studies, as well as examining the organizations described, the authors point to the demographic differences between Kurdish minorities in Poland and in the West, the advancing integration of Kurdish public activity with Polish public life and, finally, the inability to use the social capital of members of this minority for achieving common, long-term goals.