Kurdish Politics Research Articles

Intertextual Context in Kurdish Political Discourse, with Reference to Referendum Discourse

This study is entitled "Intertextual Context in Kurdish Political Discourse, with Reference to Referendum Discourse". Intertextual context is Norman Fairclough’s perspective in critical discourse analysis which is concerned with explaining the sources of discourse production. It highlights what these sources are and where they relate to other texts. This subject is at the second level of critical discourse analysis which is known as discourse interpretation level. It is a significant part which aims at reaching the common knowledge sources of discourse participants via interpreting the intertextual context of a given discourse. The aim is to achieve a common interpretation, for, in this regard; any discourse or linguistic act is in a deep relationship with some other texts. The current study is an attempt to interpret and to a large extent identify the sources of the referendum discourse (the whole face to face speeches of Massoud Barzani, Chairman of the High Council for Referendum). This study employs the descriptive analysis method. It, first, presents Fairclough’s view on intertextual context. Then, the depicted examples of this are presented in the referendum discourse.

The Return of the Oppressed: Notes on Kurdish Anti-colonialism

Abstract This article critically examines the historical trajectory and contemporary manifestations of Kurdish anti-colonialism. The analysis unfolds in two parts, dissecting the intricate relationship between theory and action within the Kurdish struggle. The historical dimension delves into Ottoman-era Turkish-style colonization, elucidating the displacement strategies employed by the Ottoman state. The study underscores the delayed integration of the colonialism concept into the Kurdish intellectual framework, shedding light on the challenges faced by the oppressed in articulating their anti-colonial narrative. The second part scrutinizes the ideological challenges within the Kurdish anti-colonial discourse. The instrumental use of the slogan “Kurdistan is a colony” is explored, emphasizing the dominance of socialist objectives over national liberation aspirations. The impact of socialism and pan-Islamism on Kurdish politics and the linguistic complexities that obscure the colonial difference through language are examined. Contemporary dynamics, such as the Peace and Democracy Process and political violence, are analyzed to provide insights into the evolving nature of the Kurdish struggle. The resurgence of colonial theory within Kurdish society, particularly through techno-Kurdishness, is explored, highlighting the role of modern communication technologies in reshaping the narrative. The article concludes by reflecting on the potential of the Kurdish struggle to inspire global resistance movements.

THEORETICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES TO THE KURDISH SEPARATIST MOVEMENT AFTER 2000

Due to the current economic and international balances in the world, instead of using direct military force against each other, states support illegal organizations within the hostile country and conduct operations on the hostile state through proxy wars. This method, which has been used in every period of history, aims to create civil war within the hostile state. In this context, the "Separatist Kurdish Political Movement", which started in the last century of the Ottoman Empire and has evolved into international terrorism over time, is the most commonly used terror method of imperialist states, although it has manifested itself in different forms. This study examines the change in the theoretical and philosophical approach of the Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization under the name of "Kurdistan Workers' Party" (PKK), which is the last form of the separatist Kurdish movement and was founded in 1978, with the international support it has received since the beginning of the 2000s with the Gulf War. In addition, the study will analyze the separatist Kurdish movement, which gained international support after 2000, increased its goals, and focused on the goal of "Greater Kurdistan" by taking advantage of the chaos in Syria, and will propose original solutions with theoretical and philosophical approaches to political actors and the academic world.

Kurdish gender politics: Funeral ceremonies of female fighters

AbstractThe funeral ceremonies of female fighters are a relatively recent phenomenon that gained popularity in Kurdish politics in Turkey in the early 2000s and after the 2011 uprisings in Syria. As a sociocultural rite, these funerals have become a spectacular site, a political means, and a symbolic investment serving an intersectional agenda pursuing Kurdish national and gender‐egalitarian aspirations simultaneously. The funerals provide a ground for mobilizing women to claim symbolic authority in public and inscribe women as nation builders to the notion of nation. Women undertaking this intersectional task through national discourse garnered significant academic interest in the national dimension of the ceremonies. However, the emphasis on the national aspect overshadowed the gendered strategy the ceremonies signify. This article investigates the gender aspect of funerals to draw attention to the use of national discourse to subvert patriarchal dynamics within society, highlighting the role of national struggle in women's pursuit of liberation from social oppression. Therefore, it speaks to the scholarship focused on gender in nationalist endeavors and revisits the discussions on gender‐nation relations by focusing on national discourse instrumentalization serving the gender agenda. The analysis reveals the intricate dynamics between gender and nation and how they intersect in pursuing women's liberation.

Kurdish Politics in Iran: Crossborder Interactions and Mobilisation since 1947, by Allan Hassaniyan

Kurdish Politics in Iran: Crossborder Interactions and Mobilisation since 1947, by Allan Hassaniyan

Linguistic Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in English and Kurdish Political Speeches

Linguistic Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in English and Kurdish Political Speeches

Ethnicity and the Kurdish Questions in the Middle East

The Kurdish question could be considered as an ethnic question in Middle East politics, which remains unsolved. As the largest stateless ethnic groups, most of its population exists in the four Middle East countries: Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. In contemporary times, the polarisation along ethnic lines has become central to the Kurdish question in Middle East politics. Presently, most existing expertise on Kurdish politics gave the numbers aspect of the Kurdish national struggle in the Middle East. The historical exclusion and assimilation of Kurd ethnic identity by dominant ethnic identity and challenges faced by the Kurds, such as statelessness, marginalisation, and conflict, always look like the Ethnic matter of the Kurdish question in the Middle East. This research paper delves into the complex interplay between ethnicity and the Kurdish question in the Middle East. The paper begins by tracing the historical origins of the Kurdish people. It examines the evolution of the Kurdish question, analysing the socio-political and cultural factors that have shaped their struggle for self-determination.

Kurdish Cause (1975-1980) and its Impact on Iraq-Syria Relations

Throughout the stages of contemporary Kurdish history, the Kurdish issue has had an impact on regional relations in general and the relationship between Iraq and Syria in particular. This impact became more evident during the Algiers Agreement, which marked the end of one of the most prominent Kurdish revolutions—the Aylool revolution. Simultaneously, it worsened Iraq-Syria relations. Researching the Kurdish question and its effect on the Iraq-Syria relationship during the Algiers Agreement reveals its distinctive characteristics. During this period, the strained relations between the two states were reflected in the Kurdish issue. Through the method of analysis and ascertaining of political events and incidents, we can highlight the significance of this matter. While the post-1975 era marked the emergence of new political parties in the Kurdish political and military landscape, the proliferation of these parties did not substantially influence the Kurdish issue. Additionally, the Kurdish political orientation in the region shifted, particularly in relation to Iraq and Syria. The Kurdish issue experienced a difficult phase, characterized by internal divisions and disarray within the Kurdish community. Meanwhile, the Kurds were unable to capitalize on the strained Iraq-Syria relationship. Despite a complete ban on political activities, Syria extended comprehensive support and cooperation to all South Kurdistan forces and political parties due to its deep-rooted disputes with Iraq. This financial and military assistance played a significant role in revitalizing the new revolution. Syria’s contrasting policy towards the Kurdish cause is evident. It is clear that regional countries utilized the Kurds as a means of pressure against each other, particularly for maintaining a balance in the region. This dynamic persisted until the 1980s, but with the changes that both Iraq and Iran underwent, including the collapse of the Algiers Agreement and shifts in regional relationships, Iraq’s disputes with Syria and Iran intensified. As a result, the Kurdish issue entered a new phase.

Engaging minorities under emergency: Turkish modular emergency and the Kurdish case revisited

ABSTRACT Minorities are particularly vulnerable during times of emergency, particularly those that challenge the state. However, it is not understood how minorities can be targeted through emergency decrees despite the government agreeing they had nothing to do with the reasons for declaring the state of emergency. The Turkish emergency in 2016 highlights this little-understood tendency where the government constructed an emergency around a threat from coup plotters, but then much of the subsequent extraordinary legislation targeted the Kurdish minority. We argue that this was possible because the Turkish government engaged in modular emergency rule. Modular emergency rule combines modes of ordinary rule with emergency powers, thus blurring the boundaries between the two. Emergency measures were laid on top of already existing policies that sought to restrict Kurdish politics in public life. In this way, modular emergency rule became more than just a transient form of government.

Biography And Role of Ale Abdullah in The Kurdish-Iraqi Liberation Movement Between the Years (1945-1958)

The study about the role of Kurdish people and investigate about their different life state in various aspect are very important in Kurdish history, because they are affected most of the important events that have occurred lately, all of the positive results are due to their struggle in the past, and they had a lot of roles in changing the direction of these events. One of the Kurdish political and cultural figures was (Ali Abdulla), who had an important and prominent role in the Iraqi nation's movement for freedom since the twentieth century. He has been tried to success this movement 70 years continually for Kurdish freedom movement especially and for Kurdistan and especially for the southern part. And without a doubt, his works clearly appear in society and educational aspect. The aim this study is to put emphasis on his role in those groups and parties that he has been an organ of them for a long time, and he was continue according to the changing the political state.

Dynamics of Saudi Arabia–KRG Relations: From 2003 Iraq War to 2017 Referendum and Beyond

Numerous studies have examined the decades-old Saudi-Iranian rivalry, which has played out in various regional arenas, notably Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and the Gulf. This article explores the place that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq occupies within this rivalry. As the KRG’s foreign relations have attracted scholarly attention since the late 1990s, the article examines the Saudi Arabia–KRG relations in the post-2003 Iraq War, with a special focus on growing Iranian influence in Iraq. The end of Saddam Hussein’s rule and the subsequent rise of Shiite-dominated governments in Baghdad has shaken the regional balance, bringing out Iran as an influential actor in the Middle East. This laid the foundation for new understandings in the Saudi regional policy as Riyadh emphasized its relations with Iraq and the KRG, which became a crucial factor that can balance and imbalance power in the Middle East. It argues that common concerns for security and relative gains paved the way for a closer relationship between Riyadh and Erbil to counter threats emanating from both Iran and ISIS. Through case-specific information to those interested in Kurdish politics and the Middle East, it not only delves into the driving forces behind Riyadh-Erbil relations but also aims to present the Saudi interpretation of the 2017 Kurdish referendum.

Book Reviews

Zerrin Özlem Biner, States of Dispossession: Violence and Precarious Coexistence in Southeast Turkey, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020, 264 pp., (ISBN 9780812251753). Salih Can Açıksöz, Sacrificial Limbs: Masculinity, Disability, and Political Violence in Turkey, Oakland: University of California Press, 2020, 272 pp., (ISBN: 9780520305304). Reviewed by Marlene Schäfers, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Andrew Bush, Between Muslims: Religious Difference in Iraqi Kurdistan, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2020, 240 pp., (ISBN: 9781503611436). Reviewed by Metin Atmaca, Social Sciences University of Ankara, Turkey Mneesha Gellman, Democratization and Memories of Violence: Ethnic minority rights movements in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador, London and New York: Routledge, 2018, 226 pp., (ISBN: 9781138597686). Reviewed by Vera Eccarius-Kelly, Siena College, United States Seevan Saeed, Kurdish Politics in Turkey: From the PKK to the KCK, London and New York: Routledge, 2017, 150 pp., (ISBN: 978-1-138-19529-5 (hbk); 978-1-315-63848-5 (ebk)). Reviewed by Michael M. Gunter, Tennessee Technological University Mohammedali Yaseen Taha, Media and Politics in Kurdistan. How Politics and Media are Locked in an Embrace, London: Lexington, 2020, 145 pp., (ISBN: 9781793611031). Reviewed by Kerem Schamberger, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany. Philip G. Kreyenbroek and Yiannis Kanakis, "God First and Last": Religious Traditions and Music of the Yaresan of Guran. Volume I: Religious Traditions, by Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2020. XIV+188 pp., (ISBN 9783447114240). Reviewed by Martin van Bruinessen, Utrecht University, Netherlands Seyedeh Behnaz Hosseini, The Yārsān of Iran, Socio-Political changes and Migration, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, 229 pp., (ISBN 978-981-15-2634-3). Reviewed by Hamidreza Nikravesh, Free University of Berlin, Germany Mohammed Ihsan, Nation building in Kurdistan: Memory, Genocide and Human Rights, New York: Routledge, 2017, 194 pp., (ISBN: 9781472466792). Reviewed by Ugur Ümit Üngör, NIOD Institute, University of Amsterdam

Asim Al-Haidari His life and his political and cultural role

This study attempts to investigate one of the great Kurdish political and intellectual figures (Hasim Haydari) who had played a great role in the twentieth century in the development of the national freedom movement of Iraq. In addition, he has worked in many Kurdish and Arabic newspapers. He has also used literary genres to raise peoples’ awareness. In spite of all these great achievements, he has not been very well-appreciated and valued in the history of his nation. Therefore, we have dedicated this study to this under the title (Hasim Haydari 1921-1971 political and cultural role). Apart from the introduction, this study consists of two main parts. The first part is devoted to his biography and his role in the national freedom movement in Iraq and kurdistan.  The second part Its focuses on the cultural role and an axis divided into two topics, the first talks about his writings and publication in newspapers and magazines, and the second deals with his articles translated in the political and literary aspects.

The Concept of the Kurdish Political

Recently, some have read Turkish political developments from the perspective of Carl Schmitt’s political theory. This paper aims to modify aspects of these readings and offer in response a Schmittian answer to the Kurdish question. By applying Schmitt’s conceptual framework, this paper argues that the Kurds, especially in their struggles for autonomy and independence, can be viewed as fulfilling Schmitt’s criterion for tellurian partisanship and forming an at least nascent constituent power. We argue that Turks and Kurds are enemies in Schmitt’s explicitly political sense. They constitute a threat to each other’s political existence. The Kurds exhibit the behavior of a Schmittian people or nation. They fight, against Turks, for their political existence. They aim to govern themselves, and so instantiate the de facto attributes of state sovereignty. They thus seek to constitute themselves as a free and independent people, thereby achieving a genuine political existence in the Schmittian sense.

Iraqi Kurds: The dream of nation state

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to analyze why the 2017 Kurdish independence referendum failed. We aim to do that by analyzing the multilevel factors that we argue worked dialectically to block Iraqi Kurds’ state‐building project. On the Kurdish level, we argue that the Kurdish political and economic spheres are built on partisan bonds and loyalties at the expense of collective and national interest, thus, Iraqi Kurds lack a unified vision, ideology, and central leadership for how to achieve independence. Politically, Kurdish parties disagreed on the timing and the legality of the referendum. Economically, the Kurdish leadership has been unsuccessful in establishing a sustainable political economy able to endure the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) as a reaction to the 2017 referendum. On the regional level, we argue that the Middle Eastern states are prone to ally with the Kurds and build economic and political relations with them as far as the Kurds remain a minority within Iraq. We discuss how Iraq, Turkey, and Iran took immediate and serious measures against the 2017 referendum, thus, shacking the status quo of IKR. Finally, on the international level, we argue that the international community have historically resisted the secession of the Kurds from Iraq. Thus, in 2017 they sustained, yet again, that the territorial integrity of Iraq should be preserved.

Introduction: The Transformations in Kurdish Politics and Society in Turkey Since 2000

ABSTRACT This special issue focuses on the main actualities taking place in Kurdish politics in Turkey during the 2000s and 2010s and critically evaluates their various dimensions and features. In more concrete terms, it investigates and sets out the following themes: the ideological transformation of the PKK; the rise of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi, HDP) since 2012 and the success it had in the general elections in 2015; the transformation of the Kurdish Islamist Hizbullah movement; 2009 and 2015; and the political economy of Turkey's Kurdish question.

The PKK’s Ideological Odyssey

ABSTRACT The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has been the dominant actor in Kurdish politics in Turkey since the early 1980s. During the 1980s and 1990s, the PKK organized a guerrilla insurgency against the Turkish state and managed to mobilize many Kurds. However, in 1999, after its leader Abdullah Öcalan was captured by Turkey, the PKK began to undergo a radical ideological transformation that has significantly altered the movement’s long-term objectives and the demands for the Kurds. This article will focus on the ideological evolution of the PKK and discuss the reasons behind the transformation in its political objectives from national liberation through armed struggle to radical democracy and the resolution of the Kurdish question through ‘democratic confederalism’ and ‘democratic autonomy’.

Negotiating the meaning of Kurdishness: the construction of a secular Kurdish identity perception by Kurdish political and intellectual elites in Turkey

This article examines the process of the construction of a secular Kurdish perception of identity by Kurdish political elites since the 1960s. It argues that despite the variance in group-making tactics employed by different Kurdish political groups or figures, something has remained unchanged: the construction and promotion of a secular Kurdish identity perception, which dissociates Islam from the cultural content of Kurdish ethnic identity. Kurdish political and intellectual elites in Turkey, during and after the 1960s, took a radical stance against religion and started to construct and promote a Kurdish ethnic identity perception based only on certain myths, ruling out Islam from the cultural content of Kurdish ethnic identity. Although Kurdish political elites adopted a friendlier language towards religion after the 2000s, in response to certain political and practical challenges, they never gave up on this secular Kurdish identity perception.

Mincing Words: The Three Layers of the AKP’s Narrative on Kurdish Politics

In 2009–2015, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) put forward several initiatives to end insurgency in Kurdish majority areas. However, successive “openings” failed to make progress. The electoral and international goals of the AKP gradually became incongruent with the peace process, and the AKP espoused heavy-handed tactics in July 2015. The ups and downs of the process in 2009–2015 show that it was already fragile. Some causes of this fragility were external to the AKP, such as the opposition parties’ eagerness to use the process to poach nationalist voters and the PKK’s violence. However, I argue that the contradictory nature of the AKP’s narrative was also a crucial factor. The party’s earlier narrative required the strict separation of two layers: security policies to fight terrorists and democratization policies to address the legitimate grievances of citizens. However, the intersubjective strategies that it experimented later required a gray area between these two fields. The AKP, instead of changing strategies, has constructed a three-layered, contradictory narrative.

Developments in the Kurdish Issue in Syria and Turkey in 2017

This article explores the main political developments taking place in Kurdish politics in Syria and Turkey in 2017. It first focusses on the developments taking place in Syria and provides an account of the Kurds’ ascendency there, including the establishment of a de facto Kurdish-led autonomous region in Syria’s north and northeast. Then an account of Turkey’s Kurdish conflict is provided, highlighting the positive developments during the 2000s and the first half of the 2010s that transformed it. However, since the summer of 2015 these positive developments have been reversed with an acceleration of violence in the conflict. In conclusion, I briefly assess the future prospects for the Kurds in Syria and Turkey in light of the developments connected to the ongoing Syrian conflict and the wider region.