Shaping Iraqi Kurdish Nationalism: The influence of Baghdad, international entities, and the emerging symbolic and economic significance of Kirkuk
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2008
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Haverford College. Department of History
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
This thesis seeks to explore how the Iraqi Kurdish transition from a divided tribal ethnicity into a politically cohesive autonomous region has resulted in a successful autonomous region. Using primary and secondary sources and drawing from theories about ethnicity and nationalism, chapter one begins with the origins of the Kurdish internal divide that prevented them from utilizing international support to create an independent state. From there, the Kurds spent nearly a century attempting to establish autonomy within Iraq, shifting from tribal politics to founding political parties to represent Kurdish interests in negotiations with Baghdad and international superpowers. The Kurds have been successful over the past decade in large part due to their common interest in claiming Kirkuk as part of Kurdistan. Not only is it centrally located between the two Kurdish sides located in Arbil and Sulaimaniya, it is also a large source for oil in Iraq. The domestic motives that unite the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) over Kirkuk are connected to their interest in; Kirkuk’s oil, their interest in collaborating to avoid more destruction, and the result of a cultural shift toward a more cohesive ethnic identity. Their nationalism has been shaped by external factors, and they now maintain a stable region largely due to international protection, which includes the no-fly zone. Due to the combination of uniting over Kirkuk and external influences shaping their now cohesive nationalism, the Kurds have, for the time being, resolved their internal divisions.