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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.
List of contents
1. Iraqi Kurdistan's Statehood Aspirations and Non-Kurdish Actors: The Case of Turkomans.- 2. Iraqi Kurdistan's Statehood Aspirations and Non-Kurdish Actors: The Case of Turkomans.- 3. Human Security versus National Security and the Function of Nationalism as 'Security-Provider': An Analysis of the Kurds and the Turkish State.- 4. Ideological Distance, Nationalist Projects, and Kurdish Extra- and Cross-Communal Relations.- 5. Statehood, autonomy or unitary coexistence? A comparative analysis of how Kurdish groups approach the idea of self-determination.- Part III: Interests.- 6. Ethnic Capital Across Borders and Regional Development: A Comparative Analysis of Kurds in the Middle East.- 7. In Search of Tomorrow: Speculation, Futures, and Capitalism in Iraqi Kurdistan.- 8. Explaining Variation in Political Gains: The Case of Iranian Kurdistan.- Conclusion.
About the author
Emel Elif Tugdar is Visiting Scholar of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University, USA. Her research agenda includes ethno-politics, human rights, politics of gender with a major focus on Middle East, specifically Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan.
Serhun Al is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Izmir University of Economics, Turkey. His research interests include politics of identity, ethnic conflict, security studies and social movements. His recent publications have appeared in journals such as Ethnopolitics, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, Nationalities Papers, Globalizations, Journal of International Relations and Development, and Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies.
Summary
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.
