Women in post-conflict Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan does much better on women’s rights issues in comparison to the rest of Iraq, yet many challenges remain

Floating or sinking? The state of democracy in Turkey and the rise of the HDP

This just serves to highlight the pessimistic state of Turkish democracy today. What is more, it should certainly not be assumed that the HDP are the great democratic hope of Turkish politics

The Kurdish question

This chapter traces the origins of the Kurdish question back to its roots in the Ottoman Empire. It examines how the Kurdish question emerged, how to characterise the nature of the confrontation and the basis of different perspectives on the issue, how it evolved under the Turkish republic up until the present day, and the future prospects for the Kurdish question in Turkey. It makes two modest but important points: (1) the Kurdish question needs to be placed in its historical context for any adequate understanding; and, (2) at its core is a political contestation whose form and shape is defined by the political response of the state as well as its own internal political dynamics

Constructing identity through symbols by groups demanding self-determination: Bosnian Serbs and Iraqi Kurds

This contribution revisits the question over which much ink has been spilled in the study of national self-determination; who are the people? More specifically, the authors ask how national identity in self-determination claims is constructed. Drawing on observations from two case studies, they submit that cultural/ethnic definitions of national identity continue to underwrite self-determination claims. The authors argue that these practices have been central to the process of defining and reproducing the group identity on behalf of which the claim to political autonomy is made. The use of symbols and practices referring to territorially bound distinct nations with different linguistic and cultural features compared with other groups inhabiting the state reinforces the assertiveness of self-determination claims. Despite their differences, Bosnian Serbs and Iraqi Kurds typically follow similar trajectories in their use of ethnic, cultural and territorial symbols to reinstate the validity of their demands

Iraq synthesis paper: understanding the drivers of conflict in Iraq

It has now been over a year since the liberation of Mosul by Iraqi government forces in July 2017. The aftermath of this successful military campaign clearly represents a window of opportunity where a sudden reduction in politically motivated violence offers the Government of Iraq and its allies the opportunity to deal with long-term underlying drivers of instability that have repeatedly given rise to organised violence since 2003. However, as the examples of 2003 and 2007, along with the rapid reconstitution of ISIS after 2017 indicate, if these underlying drivers are not properly identified and mediated through accurately targeted policy interventions, then a return to the levels of organised violence that have dominated Iraq for the majority of the last fifteen years is likely. This paper is an attempt to identify those underlying drivers of conflict using the Conflict Research Programme’s four key analytical concepts – moral populism, the political marketplace, public authority and ‘civicness’

Measurement of differential cross sections in the kinematic angular variable phi* for inclusive Z boson production in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Measurements of differential cross sections d sigma/d phi* and double-differential cross sections d(2)sigma/ld phi*d/y/ for inclusive Z boson production are presented using the dielectron and dimuon final states. The kinematic observable phi* correlates with the dilepton transverse momentum but has better resolution, and y is the dilepton rapidity. The analysis is based on data collected with the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The normalised cross section (1/sigma) d sigma/d phi*, within the fiducial kinematic region, is measured with a precision of better than 0.5% for phi* <1. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions and they agree, typically, within few percent.Peer reviewe

Measurement of associated Z plus charm production in proton-proton collisions at root s=8TeV

A study of the associated production of a Z boson and a charm quark jet (Z + c), and a comparison to production with a b quark jet (Z + b), in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1), collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The Z boson candidates are identified through their decays into pairs of electrons or muons. Jets originating from heavy flavour quarks are identified using semileptonic decays of c or b flavoured hadrons and hadronic decays of charm hadrons. The measurements are performed in the kinematic region with two leptons with pT(l) > 20 GeV, vertical bar eta(l)vertical bar 25 GeV and vertical bar eta(jet)vertical bar Z + c + X) B(Z -> l(+)l(-)) = 8.8 +/- 0.5 (stat)+/- 0.6 (syst) pb. The ratio of the Z+c and Z+b production cross sections is measured to be sigma(pp -> Z+c+X)/sigma (pp -> Z+b+X) = 2.0 +/- 0.2 (stat)+/- 0.2 (syst). The Z+c production cross section and the cross section ratio are also measured as a function of the transverse momentum of theZ boson and of the heavy flavour jet. The measurements are compared with theoretical predictions.Peer reviewe

Search for a singly produced third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for a singly produced third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark. Associated production of a leptoquark and a tau lepton is considered, leading to a final state with a bottom quark and two tau leptons. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section of the third-generation scalar leptoquarks as a function of their mass. From a comparison of the results with the theoretical predictions, a third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark, assuming unit Yukawa coupling (lambda), is excluded for masses below 740 GeV. Limits are also set on lambda of the hypothesized leptoquark as a function of its mass. Above lambda = 1.4, this result provides the best upper limit on the mass of a third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the underlying event activity in inclusive Z boson production in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

This paper presents a measurement of the underlying event activity in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV, performed using inclusive Z boson production events collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 2.1 fb(-1). The underlying event activity is quantified in terms of the charged particle multiplicity, as well as of the scalar sum of the charged particles' transverse momenta in different topological regions defined with respect to the Z boson direction. The distributions are unfolded to the stable particle level and compared with predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators, as well as with similar CDF and CMS measurements at center-of-mass energies of 1.96 and 7TeV respectively.Peer reviewe

Constraints on models of scalar and vector leptoquarks decaying to a quark and a neutrino at root s=13 TeV

The results of a previous search by the CMS Collaboration for squarks and gluinos are reinterpreted to constrain models of leptoquark (LQ) production. The search considers jets in association with a transverse momentum imbalance, using the M-T2 variable. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV, recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). Leptoquark pair production is considered with LQ decays to a neutrino and a top, bottom, or light quark. This reinterpretation considers higher mass values than the original CMS search to constrain both scalar and vector LQs. Limits on the cross section for LQ pair production are derived at the 95% confidence level depending on the LQ decay mode. A vector LQ decaying with a 50% branching fraction to t nu, and 50% to b tau, has been proposed as part of an explanation of anomalous flavor physics results. In such a model, using only the decays to t nu, LQ masses below 1530 GeV are excluded assuming the Yang-Mills case with coupling kappa = 1, or 1115 GeV in the minimal coupling case kappa = 0, placing the most stringent constraint to date from pair production of vector LQs.Peer reviewe