Independence referendums and nationalist rhetoric: the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

O’Driscoll, Dylan; Başer, Bahar

doi:10.1080/01436597.2019.1617631

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Indeed, the nationalist rhetoric prominent in Kurdistan made it difficult to speak out for voting against. Although the overall vote in favor of independence was 92.7 percent, the results outside the KDP-controlled provinces of Erbil and Duhok tell a slightly different story: in Sulaymaniyah province, only 80 percent voted in favor (O'Driscoll and Baser, 2019). In short, the five major political parties are nationalist in two aspects.…”

Section: Ethno-nationalist Orientationsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Political Parties and the Political System in Iraqi Kurdistan

Hama

Abdullah

2020

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has a multi-party system which has been held up as a model for democratic pluralism in the whole region. The nature of Kurdistan’s political parties is strongly related to the position of Kurds in Iraq. From the mid-twentieth century, the dominant Kurdish political party in Iraq was the Kurdistan Democratic Party; in a later partisan split the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was born. Moreover, in the last three decades other political parties have come into being, which have all influenced the characteristics of Iraqi Kurdistan’s political system. This paper’s main argument is that Iraqi Kurdistan shares many of the characteristics of its main political parties, including reliance on charismatic leadership, a focus on nationalism, and the lack of transparency. This paper analyzes the primary characteristics of the Kurdish political parties and their influence on the institutional functions of the political system in the Kurdistan Region.

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Section: Ethno-nationalist Orientationsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Political Parties and the Political System in Iraqi Kurdistan

Hama

Abdullah

2020

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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“…This is definitely a very complicated issue to be resolved, for its strong link with the development of Kurdistan’s regional autonomy as well as the development of its paradiplomacy (Nader et al , 2016, pp. 37–38; O’Driscoll and Baser, 2019).…”

Section: Internal Structural Variables Explaining the Secessionist Or...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2005, a movement called the “Kurdistan Referendum Movement” organized an informal referendum that was rejected by the nationalist parties in the region and the regional government, and its results showed that 98% of the Kurdish Kurds want independence. However, in addition to the great role of the nationalism variable, the 2017 referendum came as a result of the great development of Kurdistan’s paradiplomacy, especially at the level of the region’s considerable recognition and legitimacy that realized in the international arena, which in turn stimulated the Iraqi Kurds’ nationalism (O’Driscoll and Baser, 2019).…”

Section: Kurdistan Independence Referendum 2017 Between Nationalism A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Iraqi Kurdistan Region: from paradiplomacy to protodiplomacy

Ababakr

2020

REPS

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Purpose This paper aims to examine the secessionist orientation of Kurdistan Region’s paradiplomacy in the context of two main variables: the internal structural variables in Iraq after 2003 and the nationalism variable. Design/methodology/approach This study relies on the theory of neoliberalism to explain the transformation of Kurdistan’s paradiplomacy to protodiplomacy. It also relies on legal approach through using the Iraqi constitution and the draft constitution for the Kurdistan Region. Findings The internal structural variables are one of the main variables to motivate the region with advanced nationalism to pursue a protodiplomacy. Secession or forming an independent state of Kurds is a historic requirement supported by the advanced nationalism of Iraqi Kurds. Practical implications This study encourages focusing on the crucial role of the internal structural variables that drive the regions, especially with the advanced nationalism to pursue a protodiplomacy. Also, this study recommends giving more focus on the external variables and Kurdistan’s secession. Originality/value This paper reveals the reality of Kurdistan’s protodiplomacy.

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“…In the post‐Ottoman Empire context, ethnic and sectarian identities were formulated, and they increasingly contested over access to political power. In the case of the Iraqi Kurds, O’Driscoll and Baser point out that Kurdish nationalism thrived throughout the twentieth century as a reaction to “policies of oppression, which included Arabisation, assimilation, denial of Kurdishness as a separate identity and ethnic cleansing” (2019, p. 2,019). These policies of oppression convinced Iraqi Kurds on the necessity of establishing their state.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iraqi Kurds: The dream of nation state

Mohammed

Alrebh

2020

Digest Mid East Studies

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The 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.

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Independence referendums and nationalist rhetoric: the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Cited by 25 publications

References 34 publications

Political Parties and the Political System in Iraqi Kurdistan

Political Parties and the Political System in Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan Region: from paradiplomacy to protodiplomacy

Iraqi Kurds: The dream of nation state

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