The Political, Cultural, and Military Re-Awakening of the Kurdish Nationalist Movement in Iran

Middle East InstituteThis article aims to shed light on the modern history of the Kurds in Iran, with particular reference made to the main Kurdish political and social movements of the 20th century following World War I and the establishment of an Iranian nation-state. The modernization and centralization of the new state deprived the non-Persian ethnic groups, including the Kurds, of democratically expressing their national aspirations. The consequences of this policy and the struggle of the Kurds against it throughout the remainder of the century and up to the present are the main issues discussed in this article.The Leverhulme Trus

The Kurdish protest movement and the Islamic republic of Iran: the securitisation of Kurdish nationalism

The Islamic Republic of Iran has proven to be intolerable of any domestic dissent and opposition and the country’s whole population has suffered from the regime’s authoritarian rule. However, people of the peripheral regions of the country have been disproportionally impacted by such authoritarianism. The Iranian government has an inherent fear of a multi-ethnic society and peripheral nationalism, embodied in the movements and activities of the country’s Kurds, Azeris, Arabs, Baluchis and Turkmen. This paper examines the Kurdish-state conflict in Iran, and argues that Kurdish nationalism, due to its demands for democratisation and decentralisation, and its resistance to the Islamic Republic’s value system, has been regarded by the regime and the ruling elite of the Persian majority as a major threat to Iran’s national cohesion and territorial integrity. While Kurdish nationalism has mobilised its forces to protest and resist assimilation and exclusion, the Iranian government’s reaction is motivated by fear and anxiety toward Kurdish independence and secession. Consequently, Kurdish nationalism has been massively securitised, and the Kurds suffer immensely from a wide range of coersive measures aimed at defusing this nationalism

British Society of Gastroenterology guidance for management of inflammatory bowel disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting unprecedented pressures on healthcare systems globally. Early insights have been made possible by rapid sharing of data from China and Italy. In the UK, we have rapidly mobilised inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) centres in order that preparations can be made to protect our patients and the clinical services they rely on. This is a novel coronavirus; much is unknown as to how it will affect people with IBD. We also lack information about the impact of different immunosuppressive medications. To address this uncertainty, the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) COVID-19 IBD Working Group has used the best available data and expert opinion to generate a risk grid that groups patients into highest, moderate and lowest risk categories. This grid allows patients to be instructed to follow the UK government's advice for shielding, stringent and standard advice regarding social distancing, respectively. Further considerations are given to service provision, medical and surgical therapy, endoscopy, imaging and clinical trials

The Islamic State, the Kurdistan Region, and the Future of Iraq: An Assessment of UK Policy Options

PublishedArticleThe fall of Mosul in June of 2014 was followed in July by the establishment of a self-proclaimed Caliphate by the Islamic State of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Since then, the Islamic State has continued to expand its operations, persistently pushing into Sunni-dominated parts of Iraq and Syria, nearly defeating the Kurds of Iraq, and moving against the Kurds of Syria, in Kobani, as well as army units of the Syrian state. By doing so, it has maintained an astonishingly high tempo of operations and has shown itself capable, agile and resilient. It has also proved itself to be adept at utilizing social media outlets, and in pursuing brutal tactics against civilians and prisoners that have been aimed at shocking adversaries—potential or actual—and observers both in the region and beyond. The rise of the Islamic State poses a challenge not only to the security of Iraq and Syria, but to the state system of the Middle East. Western powers have been drawn into a conflict in a limited fashion—through air strikes and advising ground forces; the UK, while engaging slightly later than other countries against the Islamic State, has followed this pattern, though targeting Islamic State forces solely in Iraq. This article considers the nature and scale of the threat posed by the Islamic State, and assesses three possible areas of further policy engagement that they UK may, or may have to, follow

The Implications of Elections for Federalism in Iraq: Toward a Five-Region Model

For most observers, Iraq\u27s recent elections were an important first step on the road to democratic normalcy. However, three related outcomes - the political marginalization of Sunni Arabs, the electoral gains made by Shi\u27a religious parties, and the triumphant performance of the Kurds - render the task of crofting Iraq\u27s permanent constitution significantly more problematic. In this paper, we examine the implications of these election results for the design of Iraq\u27s federal system. Our focus is on the character of the subunits in any future system, specifically on whether Iraq should adopt a form of territorial federalism based on the country\u27s existing eighteen provinces (as most scholars argue) or whether a form of ethnic, or plurinational, federalism based on five regions would, be better able to address the very significant problems created by the election results. After assessing the relative merits of the various proposals for a federal Iraq, we conclude that a system based on five broad regions, though not ideal, is the least bad of the options available

Avoiding Ethnic Conflict in Iraq: Some Lessons From the Åland Islands

The current struggle to define the basic contours of Iraq\u27s political system pits those who support a loose federal arrangement against advocates of a return to centralized rule. Increasingly, this struggle is being defined in ethnic terms, with (mainly) Kurds defending the constitutional status quo against concerted efforts on the part of (Arab) Iraqi nationalists to reconfigure the balance of power between the center and the regions. The March 2010 election seems certain to strengthen the latter at the expense of the former. This paper outlines an alternative approach to Iraq\u27s federalism dilemma. Using the exemplar case of the Åland Islands, it is argued that a strongly centralized Arab Iraq is not inherently incompatible with an autonomous Kurdistan Region, and that by anchoring the Kurds\u27 autonomous status in international law, a destructive descent towards violent ethnic conflict can be avoided. © 2010 The Editor of Ethnopolitics

Crisis in Kirkuk: The Ethnopolitics of Conflict and Compromise

With immense oil reserves and a diverse population of Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmens, Kirkuk\u27s history has been scarred by interethnic violence and state-sponsored ethnic cleansing. This book offers a dispassionate analysis of the struggle for control of Kirkuk, arguing that Iraq\u27s future stability depends on resolving the crisis in this region

The role played by the Kurdistan regional government in the reconstruction of the Iraqi state

The Iraqi Kurds have stood firmly at the forefront of many changes and challenges in the Middle East and Iraq since 1991, taking the opportunity to stand firm and to become a semi-autonomous entity with an establish regional government. Events after 2003 offered a second historical opportunity to determine their present and future position on the Iraqi political map as a major partner constructing the new Iraqi State and developing their region. The thesis aims to address and challenge the claim that the Kurds have become more integrationist than secessionist since the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Through a descriptive and analytical narrative of the evolution of the KRG’s situation and the Kurds’ assertion of their national demands towards Iraq. The study identifies four major dimensions of KRG policy towards Iraq. These include the need to address chronic problems and political disputes through commitment to the new Iraqi Constitution; to apply federal system and maintain democratic principles guaranteeing the rights of all ethnic and religious minorities, through full implementation of Article 140; to resolve the legitimacy of KRG’s international and regional oil contracts through real power sharing between regional governments and the federal government; address the dilemma of the rights and duties of the Kurdish forces (Peshmerga) vis-a-vis the Iraqi army. As national forces protecting the Kurdish region, the Peshmerga also fought Saddam Hussein’s regime participated with US troops in its downfall and joined in fighting terrorism elsewhere in Iraq. Iraqi factions and parties need genuine political will to overcome tribal and religious differences. Strengthening the current political consensus and implementing a constitution to prevent violations by factions or political groups will help to secure Iraq as a unified state, and to prevent regional interventions of the sort that have so far led to insecurity and destabilisation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo