The Kurds in the Middle East: Enduring Problems and New Dynamics (Kurdish Societies, Politics, and International Relations)

Description

While dramatic changes taking place in the Middle East offer important opportunities to the Kurdish century-long struggle for recognition, serious obstacles seem to keep reemerging every time the Kurds anywhere make progress. The large Kurdish geography, extending from western Iran to near the eastern Mediterranean, and a century of repression and denial have engendered various Kurdish groups with competing and at times conflicting views and goals. The Kurds in the Middle East: Enduring Problems and New Dynamics, with an emphasis on continuity and change in the Kurdish Question, brings together a group of well-known scholars to shed light on this complex issue. Cover The Kurds in the Middle East Series page The Kurds in the Middle East: Enduring Problems and New Dynamics Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Section I: Continuity and Change in Turkey’s Kurdish Question Chapter 1 Kurdish Political Representation in Turkey Kurdish Descriptive Representation through the Center-Right Turkish Political Parties The Rise of the Pro-Kurdish Democratic Movement Conclusion Notes References Chapter 2 Kurdish Public Opinion in Turkey Framing Kurds and Kurdish Conflict From Broken Promises to Denial Recognition with a Stick AKP Era: Hope and Hopelessness The Kurdish Street and Cultural and Political Rights Conclusion Notes References Chapter 3 The Political Economy of Turkey’s Kurdish Question The Deformation of Ottoman Kurdistan and Bordering Regions: De-development in ESA from the First World War until the 1980 Coup (1914–1980) The Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the Forced Deportation of Ottoman Kurds in 1916: An Economic Catastrophe Society, Economics and Politics in the Republican People’s Party Era (1923–1950): Consolidation of the “National Economy” and the “Reform” of the East (1923–1929) The Great Depression, the Second World War, and the End of the Republican Era (1929–1950) Transition to a Turbulent Democracy and “Incorporation” of ESA (1950–1980) Incorporation of the Kurdish Elite Agriculture-Led Growth Crisis of Agriculture-Led Growth Systematic Denial of the Kurds Restoration of the Status Quo Ante and the Failed Promise of Land Reform Intensification of Regional Inequalities and Massive Underdevelopment of the Kurdish Region Derisory Public and Private Investment Unbalanced Sectoral Distribution of Public Investment Stunted Industrial and Agricultural Development Conclusion Notes References Section II: Continuity and Change in Syria Chapter 4 The Evolution of Rojava Variations of Rojava Tools of State-building: War, Education, and Maps Conclusion Notes References Chapter 5 Non-State Actors and Governance Syrian State and the Kurds: Invisible People From Rebellion to the Reappropriation of State Power Constructing Non-State Governance Administration Security: Justice, Military, and Police Legitimization Diplomacy and War in Rojava Conclusion: Feasibility and Challenges Notes References Chapter 6 Continuity and Change in Syrian Kurdistan Background The Revolution in Rojava Foreign Relations of Rojava: Curse or Opportunity? Syrian Opposition, the Kurds, and the Assad Regime Conclusion: Prospects for Rojava Notes References Chapter 7 Evolution of Kurdish-Led Administrations in Northern Syria The Rojava Revolution and West Kurdistan From the Rojava System to Federalism New North and East Syria Administration Concluding Remarks Notes References Section III: Continuity and Change in Iraq-Kurdish Relations Chapter 8 The Kurdish Question Pre-WWI History: Kurds in the Ottoman Empire The Kurdish Question in Iraq Conclusion Notes References Chapter 9 Making Sense of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Civil War of the 1990s The Tortured History of Land Tenure in Iraq Kurdistan The Illusive Dream of Land Reform (1958–1983) Saddam’s Land Reform by Death and Destruction: The Anfal Campaign in Kurdistan Region Ghosts of the Far and Near Past: Kurdistan Agrarian Communities in Post 1991 Gulf War On the Definition of Insanity Notes References Section IV: Continuity and Change in Iran–Kurdish Relations Chapter 10 A Contemporary Political History of the Kurds in Iran Persian Nation-Building in Iran The Establishment of the Republic of Kurdistan in 1946 The Military Struggle of the 1980s The Civil Struggle of the Kurds since 1990 Changing Political Strategy to Escape another Military Defeat Notes References Chapter 11 Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou and the Kurdish Resistance in Iran Suppression of Kurdish Identity Ghassemlou’s Cultural and Political Background Political Vision The Iranian Revolution Adept, Approachable, and Compassionate Leader Holy War against the Kurds Time for Dialogue Relations with Iraqi Regime Dialogue with the Islamic Republic State Terrorism Current Dynamics in Iranian Kurdistan Notes References Section V: Imagining Kurdistan from Abroad Chapter 12 Diaspora Identity, Collective Memory, and Artistic Expression Methodology Diasporas and Collective Memory Kurdistan in Germany Envisioning a Kurdish Exhibit in Germany Splintered Kurdish Communities in the United States Kurdish Activism and Art in the United States Notes References Chapter 13 Diasporic Narratives of Assimilation and Resistance Crafting National Sameness through Assimilation Outlawing and Dehumanizing Kurdish Identity Internalizing Kurdish Subjugation and Turkish Superiority Limits and Possibilities of Diasporic Resistance Conclusion Notes References Chapter 14 Return Mobilities of Highly Skilled Young British Kurdish People to Kurdistan Methodology and Background Information Theoretical Debate on Return Migration and Return Mobilities From Displacement to Return Mobilities Diasporas and Return Mobilities: The Kurdish Context Motivations and a Typology of Return Mobilities Access to the Labor Market in the Conflicted Region Challenges to Returnees Conclusion Acknowledgment Notes References Index About the Editors and Contributors