Issue 142 (2019)

B. Kozhukhar, Master’s Student

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2019.142.3

THE CONFLICT AMONG KURDS IN THE KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ

Kurds are an Iranian ethnic group that compactly resides in a large geographical area, at the junction of Asia Minor, the Caucasus, the Iranian Highlands, and Mesopotamia, called Kurdistan. Currently, the region is divided between four states - Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Ethnic Kurdistan has been constantly in a state of instability since the 20th century. Because of this, the Kurdish issue is one of the most pressing problems in recent history and is at the forefront of the political life of the Middle East region. Kurds are the most numerous people who, at the present stage of human development, do not have their own statehood and have existed for a long time without autonomy. For a long period of time, they have been fighting for self-determination, and Iraqi Kurdistan has a major role to play in it. It is this region that has made the most progress in the political sphere, notably thanks to the creation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1946. For almost half a century, under unfavorable conditions, its activities have helped to develop a new political culture and the so-called "pluralism of thoughts". The split within this party has shown that no national movement is unitary and combines the interests of different social and political groups. Further deepening of the contradictions, in addition to the difficult situation of Iraq in the international arena, resulted in armed conflict. During the civil war, both Kurdish parties from other countries and the armed forces of Iraq, Iran and Turkey intervened in it. In fact, the inter-Kurdish conflict in Iraqi Kurdistan has become a significant step towards the realization of the issue of autonomy.

Key words: Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish military conflict, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, autonomy.

Received by the editorial board: 05.08.2019

References

1. Stepanova, N. (2005). The Kurdish Question in Iraq. Moscow: Moscow State Institute of International Relations. [In Russian].

2. Stepanova, N. (2005). The Kurdish Question in Iraq. In A. Voskresenskij (Ed.), Ethic Groups and Confessions on the East: Conflicts and Cooperation. Moscow: Moscow State Institute of International Relations. [In Russian].

3. Fawcett, L. (2001). Down but not out? The Kurds in International Politics. Reviews of International Studies, 27, 109-118.

4. Gunter, M. (1996). The KDP-PUK Conflict in Northern Iraq. Middle East Journal, 50(2), 224-241.

5. Gunter, M. (1997). The Foreign Policy of the Iraqi Kurds. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 20(3), 1-19.

6. Izady, M. (1992). The Kurds: A Concise Handbook. Washington, D.C.: Crane Russak.

7. Kelly, M. (2008). Ghosts of Halabja: Saddam Hussein and the Kurdish Genocide. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

8. Kurdish Agreement Signals New U.S. Commitment. (1998, September 29). The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieve from https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/kurdish-agreement-signals-new-u.s.-commitment.

9. Leezenberg, M. (2005). Iraqi Kurdistan: Contours of a Post-Civil War Society. Third World Quarterly, 26(4-5), 631-647.

10. McDowall, D. (2004). A Modern History of the Kurds. New York: I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd.

11. Pike, J. (n.d.). Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Global Security. Retrieved from https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/puk.htm.

12. Plotz, D. (1996, September 28). The Kurds. Slate Magazine. Retrieved from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/1996/09/the-kurds.html.

13. Stansfield, G. & Anderson, L. (2004). The Future of Iraq: Dictatorship, Democracy, or Division? New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

14. Van Bruinessen, M. (2004, November 19). The Kurdish Question: Whose Question, Whose Answers? The Kurdish Movement Seen by the Kurds and by their Neighbors. Wadie Jwaideh Memorial Lecture in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures & Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program. Bloomington: Indiana University.