The National Movement of the Kurds of Iraq (the Twentieth Century and the Present)

Abstract

The subject of the study is Kurdish nationalism, which is revealed by the example of the national movement of the Kurds of Iraq in the twentieth century. The modern period is also touched upon. A number of stages through which Kurdish nationalism in Iraq has passed are consistently described. Special attention is paid to the period following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, when representatives of this people had the greatest chances to gain their own statehood. The period of the "September Revolution" (1958-1975) is considered in detail, during which the leaders of the national movement managed to raise the issue of granting autonomy to the national minority. The current stage (1992 - present century) is also considered in detail, within the framework of which the question of the existing urgent problems of the Kurds in Iraq is raised. The work is based on the principles of consistency and historicism, as well as extensive literature on the topic of Kurdish nationalism (by Soviet, modern Russian and Western authors). Firstly, the work sets out a set of reasons according to which the leaders of the national movement of the initial stage failed to succeed in establishing an independent statehood. Secondly, the periodization of the stages of the formation of the national movement of the Iraqi Kurds is proposed. Thirdly, the situation in the autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan is analyzed as of the current moment. Currently, the leadership of the Autonomy is facing serious challenges, which it seems extremely difficult to overcome. This is due, not least, to the lack of unity in the national movement (between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan). In other words, modern Kurdish nationalism (as far as practical, political practice is concerned) completely inherits the shortcomings of the national movement of the previous stages.