Politiser la provenance. Les organisations d'originaires de Sivas à Istanbul et Ankara

Abstract

This paper aims to disentangle the relationship between hemşehri organizations and politics, going beyond issues of vote catching and electoral negotiations. It focuses on Sivaslıorganizations in Istanbul and Ankara, which like the Sivas province itself, are very dissimilar. Despite their apolitical image, some hemşehri organizations - more openly on the province or sub-province scale, but in some cases even on a village scale - have been political channels. Links with hemşehri associations can be functional for political organizations and projects, enabling them to mobilize. For hemşehri leaders, engaging in politics can also make sense career-wise, which is demonstrated by the numerous key-players involved in both hemşehri and openly political organizations. Yet, the relationship between hemşehrilik and politics remains partial, ambiguous and illegitimate.