Iraqi Kurdistan S Statehood Aspirations

This edited volume addresses the issues of Iraqi Kurdistan’s political economy with historically grounded, theoretically informed, and conceptually relevant scholarship that prioritizes comparative politics over international relations. The book seeks to explore the dynamics of Iraqi Kurdistan at the stage of referendum for independence from a political economy perspective within its own debates, conflicts, and interests. Overall, the authors contribute to these debates by exploring key questions in novel ways, focusing on comparative methodology that serve to expand the scope of scientific inquiry and place it into more solid understanding.

As Lawrence relates in his fascinating and timely study of the Iraqi Kurds, while their ambition and determination grow, their future will be largely dependent on whether America values a budding democracy in the region, or decides to yet again sacrifice the Kurds in the name of political expediency.

This book looks at Kurdish Nationalism in Iran and examines the links between the structural changes in the Kurdish economy and its political demands. Farideh Koohi-Kamali argues that the transition of the nomadic, tribal society of Kurdistan to an agrarian village society was the beginning of a process by which Kurds saw themselves as a community of homogenous ethnic identity. The political movements of Kurds in Iran are discussed to illustrate that the different phases of economic development of Kurdish society played a great role in determining the way in which Kurds expressed their political demands for independence.

Many of the existing juridical states in the Third World remain fragile and prone to collapse. Yet, these conditions have not always given way to anarchy. In some cases, the breakdown of weak and often arbitrary states has given way to more coherent and viable, though not necessarily benevolent, political entities. This book examines the extent to which these sub-units - ' states within states ' - represent alternatives that the international community could look to in a long-term effort to bring stability, security and development to peoples in the Third World.

Examines how the idea of Kurdistan, as a homeland and a source of national identity, was created within international political history.

The Iraqi Kurds have enjoyed de facto statehood in the north of Iraq for over a decade but Intra-Kurdish fighting, military incursions by Turkey and Iran and the constant threat posed by Saddam Hussein have plagued this 'democratic experiment'. In this book, Stansfield explores the development of the Kurdish political system since 1991. He examines the difficult and often violent relations between the two dominant powers, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and their relationship with the Kurdish Regional Government in order to understand the current state of Iraqi Kurdish politics and the operation of the state. This topical in-depth study identifies the main dynamics of Iraqi Kurdish politics, analyzes the record and potential of the 'Kurdish democratic experiment', and identifies the present and future Kurdish leaders.

The second scientific World Kurdish Congress was held in October 2012 at Hewler with the theme of improving the quality of life, science and culture for progress in Kurdistan. The papers presented focused on various important aspects of culture, economy, education, health, industry and political science in Kurdistan. The objective of this conference was to create a network of academicians to exchange and develop knowledge and work together with the Kurdistan Regional Government on how to further enhance the progress within the Kurdish society. This volume is a collection of 26 studies presented at the Congress and includes an introduction by the editors and a summary report of the Congress. The topics presented here are diverse, covering several areas pertinent to the current Kurdish situation. The studies are divided into ten areas: namely, agriculture and rural development; diaspora; education and research; health and quality of life; industry; information technology and e-government; infrastructure and development; language; human rights; and politics. In the last part of the volume, the organization committee provides a compilation of recommendations from the Congress to the Kurdistan Regional Government.

This edited volume introduces the political, social and economic intra-Kurdish dynamics in the Middle East by comparatively analyzing the main actors, their ideas, and political interests. As an ethnic group and a nation in the making, Kurds are not homogeneous and united but rather the Kurdish Middle East is home to various competing political groups, leaderships, ideologies, and interests. Although many existing studies focus on the Kurds and their relations with the nation-states that they populate, few studies analyze the Kurdish Middle East within its own debates, conflicts and interests from a comparative perspective across Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. This book analyzes the intra-Kurdish dynamics with historically-grounded, theoretically-informed, and conceptually-relevant scholarship that prioritizes comparative politics over international relations.