Eric Hobsbawm’s “Age of Empire” covers the four decades that led up to the first world war. There are frightening parallels between that period and the imperial rivalry of the world today. This politics has no time for minority peoples unless they can be used as pawns in the bigger game, and Kurds find themselves again caught up in other people’s wars. Kurds are also facing a new hostility in Europe, where racism and deference to Turkey distort asylum decisions.