CHAPTER 3 TRANSNATIONAL SOLIDARITY OF CIRCASSIANS IN-BETWEEN CAUCASUS AND MIDDLE EAST 1 Ulaş Sunata ABSTRACT The history of Circassian diaspora by expressing experiences of Syrian Circassians with oppression and resistance was informed by Archer’s three- stage cycle in the context of analytical structure-agency dualism leading to social change. In the last period, Turkish Circassians’ political awakening in the name of “return to homeland” overlaps the last forced migration experi- ence of Syrian Circassians. As a matter of fact, return to the homeland is nothing but a return to the past and a call to account for solidarity in the diaspora. Therefore, the new refugee experience of Syrian Circassians has strengthened social construction of return to the past and recalled a search for reassessing their past. But, more importantly, it shows transnational soli- darity of diasporic subjects beyond nation-states. Keywords: Migration network theory; structure; agency; Circassians; Syria; Turkey; Russia; forced migration; integration INTRODUCTION Development in communication and transportation technologies in the last dec- ades facilitates and increases contacts across nation-state borders. This relative independency from national territories and physical spaces positively affects transnational spaces and raises the importance of diasporas. Filling the gap of class struggle in a world of belittled communist experiences, political Conflict and Forced Migration: Escape from Oppression and Stories of Survival, Resilience, and Hope Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Volume 51, 71À88 Copyright r 2019 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 0163-2396/doi:10.1108/S0163-239620190000051004 71