The Impact of Consociational Democracy in Iraqi Kurdistan on Iranian Kurdish Anti-Revolution Parties

IntroductionIranian Kurdish anti-Revolution parties have been a source of insecurity in western Iran, undergoing significant changes in their movement over time. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, they exploited the vacuum in central power and the nascent revolution, creating instability and insecurity in Iran’s territories against the central government and people residing in Kurdish regions. Later, as the central government established itself and brought peace and order to the country, these parties sought refuge in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s regime, which was then at war with Iran. After Saddam’s fall, they fled to northern Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, citing a shared Kurdish identity as the reason. Understanding the roots of their presence in northern Iraq and their impact on Iraqi Kurdistan requires examination of the current power structure in Iraq and sociological analysis of its ethnic and religious dynamics, especially during the democratization process in the post-Saddam era.The overthrow of Saddam Hussein had a profound impact on Iraq’s political structure, resulting in consociational  democracy as the replacement. Consociational   democracy, as an alternative for majoritarian democracy, relies on the cooperation and agreement of the power elite and parties involved in heterogeneous societies. Given Iraq’s unique cultural, social, and historical factors, it was not feasible for majoritarian democracy to ensure public participation and protect minority rights. Even consociational democracy has its own consequences and effects. In Iraq, consociational democracy led to changes in the power dynamics and positions of the Iraqi Kurds. These changes had implications beyond Iraq, affecting the Kurds of other countries—including Iranian Kurdish anti-Revolution parties—given their shared identity and common historical and cultural background. The main question of the research is, what is the impact of consociational  democracy and the institutionalization of power in Iraqi Kurdistan on Iranian Kurdish anti-Revolution parties? Literature ReviewUsing analytical and descriptive methods, Pourahmadi et al. (2016) examined the obstacles facing the democratization process in Iraq. The results revealed multiple factors including ongoing insecurity and political instability, low levels of economic and social development indicators, weak civil political culture, and other factors that exacerbate these crises. Nasri and Rezaei (2018) adopted an analytical–descriptive approach to examine the limitations and possibilities of the Iraqi Kurdistan region in achieving independence. The results concluded that currently, due to structural constraints, geopolitical nature, and resistance from neighboring countries, complete independence for the Iraqi Kurdistan region is not feasible. Relying on the content analysis method, Mohammadi (2008) studied ethnic divisions and their role in ethnic divergence within the country. The results indicated that in regions with higher social divides, there is greater ethnic divergence, while areas with intersecting divides experience lesser divergence.Materials and MethodsThe present research used a qualitative method and a descriptive–analytical model to investigate the impact of consociational democracy and institutionalization of power in Iraqi Kurdistan on Iranian Kurdish anti-Revolution parties.The research employed Lijphart’s perspective on consociational democracy as a theoretical framework and applied it to the Iraqi context. The main objective of the study was to offer a thorough analysis of how consociationalism and power institutionalization in Iraq have impacted Iranian Kurdish anti-Revolution parties.Lijphart identified four key criteria for consociational democracy: grand coalitions, proportionality, mutual veto rights, and segmental autonomy or federalism. These criteria were incorporated into the government structure of Iraq after 2005. This study analyzed the impact of this democratic process on Iraqi society, including the Kurdish population, and assessed the effects of changes in Iraqi Kurdish society on Iranian Kurdish movements, particularly anti-Revolution movements. To ensure the study’s reliability, the researchers relied on 20 experts, including university professors and specialists in the issues related to Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Kurdish anti-Revolution front. Additionally, the results of in-depth questionnaires were used to formulate and compare the findings.ConclusionIn conclusion, the consociational democracy and institutionalization of power in Iraqi Kurdistan have led to a shift in the autonomy strategy and the adoption of federalism among Iranian Kurdish anti-Revolution parties. As a result, their independence and centrifugal tendencies have increased. The discourse of autonomy among these parties has evolved into a discourse of federalism, influenced by Iraqi Kurdish politics. This shift does not diminish the significance or meaning of the process, but rather opens up a more nuanced discussion of separatism, including the right to self-determination and a Kurdish independence referendum within a federal framework. Federalism is a more appealing and populist concept for the anti-Revolution parties. These armed groups have continued to provide military and urban warfare training to the Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan region and occasionally engage in guerrilla attacks on Iran’s borders. Since the fall of Saddam’s regime, Iraqi Kurdistan has become a base of support for Kurdish anti-Revolution forces, enabling them to create pursue instability in western Iran and pursue their separatist agenda through both soft and hard tactics.Due to the strong sense of Kurdish identity, the Kurdish society and the Kurdish anti-Revolution are inevitably influenced by Iraqi Kurdistan. This issue should be addressed in order to control the peace and security of the borders. In this line, it is suggested that the costs of hosting the Kurdish anti-Revolution in the Iraqi Kurdistan region be increased for both the regional government and the central government of Iraq. This can be achieved by relying on soft power, diplomatic efforts, and negations with the Kurdish and Iraqi authorities, or if necessary, by resorting to military power

The Effect of Iraqi Kurdistan Associative Democracy on the Iranian Kurdish Counter-Revolution

Kurdish counter-revolutionary movements are one of the causes of insecurity in the west of the country, which fled to northern Iraq after the imposed war. On the other hand, the fall of Saddam in 2003 changed the political structure of Iraq. In the context of Iraq's ethnic and religious heterogeneity, a consensus-based democracy was chosen to govern Iraq instead of Western-majority democracies. This model of government had effects and consequences that sometimes led to a change in the position and power of the Iraqi Kurds. Given the unified identity and identical historical and cultural background of the Kurds, this change will have implications for the Kurds of other countries, including the Iranian Kurdish counter-revolutionary parties. The purpose of this study was to provide an appropriate explanation regarding the impact of this trend on counter-revolutionary currents. This research is of applied type and qualitative method with descriptive and analytical approach. The theoretical framework of Lechfart's model of association democracy is based on 20 Kurdish counter-revolutionary experts and the Iraqi Kurdistan region to ensure the reliability of the research. It is suggested to increase the cost of hosting Iranian Kurdish anti-revolutionary parties for the Kurdistan region of Iraq

Application of filtration blocking models to describe fouling and transmission of large plasmids DNA in sterile filtration

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Membrane Science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2013.02.055Sterile filtration is considered as a final step in processing pharmaceutical grade plasmid DNA. During the development of the filtration process, fundamental understanding on the mechanism of fouling is critical to improve filtration operations. The mechanism of fouling of pQR150 (20 kb) and pGEc47 (56 kb) plasmids DNA during constant pressure filtration inside 0.22 μm PVDF membrane is experimentally investigated. The decline of filtrate flux as a function of time is analysed using the framework of classical and combined blocking models. The results for both plasmids indicate a transition between fouling mechanisms. Initially, during the early part of the filtration, the intermediate blocking model provided the best fit of the experimental results suggesting that fouling of the membrane was mainly caused by deposition of particles onto its surface. Afterwards, the result trends were best captured by the standard blocking model indicating that internal fouling of the membrane was the dominant fouling mechanism. A study of the transmission of both plasmids shows a significant reduction of plasmid transmission which coincides with the transition of the fouling mechanism from intermediate to standard blocking. The study highlights how the fouling behaviour of large plasmid DNA during sterile filtration is determined by the complex interplay between the flexibility of the molecules and the internal structure of the membrane

Grain Yield Stability of Bread Wheat Cultivars under Irrigation in Cold and Temperate Climatic Conditions of Iran

In order to study yield stability of bread wheat cultivars including Alvand, Alamout, Zarrin, Navid, Azar 2, Sabalan, Omid and Bezostiya under irrigation an experiment was conducted in RCBD for three cropping seasons (2007-2010) at six locations. Simple and combined analysis of variances for three years, each location and also combined analysis of variances for 3 years and 6 locations were implemented. Lin and Binns parameter, environmental coefficient of variations and rank method were used for determination of stable cultivars. Results of combined ANOVA (three years x six locations) showed that interaction effect of year x location x genotype was significant. The highest grain yield belonged to the Alvand cultivar  with 3.74 tha -1. Results of stability analysis with Lin and Binns method also showed that Zarrin cultivar had the lowest within location variance for grain yield and lowest environmental coefficient of variations was belonged to cultivars Zarrin and Sabalan. The results of rank method showed that cultivars Alvand and Sabalan had the lowest rankingand cultivars Sabalan and Bezostiya had the lowest SDR among the experimental cultivars. It can be concluded that Zarrin and Sabalan cultivars had the highest yield stability and thus it can be recommended for locations in which it was studied