The making of stalled national movements: Evidence from Southern Sudan and Northern Iraq

Abstract

This article studies the strength of ethnonationalism among Iraq's Kurds and Sudan's southerners. The primary research question concerns whether the level of political development of these two militant minority groups enables them to achieve their stated national objectives. The following five criteria are included in the analysis: land and people, origins of the problem, nature of demands, extent of political development, and environmental constraints. The study shows that the southern Sudanese and Iraqi Kurdish movements are inherently weak, and incapable of pursuing achievable objectives. Lack of solidarity, underdeveloped national feeling, nonconciliatory governmental position, and nonsupportive regional and international powers make the success of present autonomy proposals highly unlikely for both Iraqi Kurds and southern Sudanese.