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THE MAKING and UNMAKING of KURDISH ETHNO-NATIONALISM in IRAN by MEHRI GHAZANJANI Department of Sociology Mcgill University

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THE MAKING and UNMAKING of KURDISH ETHNO-NATIONALISM in IRAN by MEHRI GHAZANJANI Department of Sociology Mcgill University THE MAKING AND UNMAKING OF KURDISH ETHNO-NATIONALISM IN IRAN by MEHRI GHAZANJANI Department of Sociology McGill University, Montreal November 2019 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ©mehrighazanjani2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACROYNMS .................................................................................................................................. iv TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ix 1 CONTRIBUTION TO ORIGINAL KNOWLEDGE ................................................................ 1 2 CONTRIBUTION OF AUTHORS ........................................................................................... 4 3 INTRODUCTION: THE KURDS OF ROJHELAT ................................................................. 5 4 THE MAKING AND UNMAKING OF KURDISH ETHNO-NATIONALISM IN IRAN ..... 9 5 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH ..................................................................................... 26 5.1 Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 27 5.1.1 Interviews .................................................................................................................. 27 5.1.2 Archival Research ...................................................................................................... 31 5.1.3 Participant Observation ............................................................................................. 32 5.1.4 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 33 5.2 Ethics of Research ............................................................................................................ 34 5.3 Strengths and Limitations of the Research ....................................................................... 35 6 IRANIAN KURDS AND THE SHIFTING CHARACTER OF ETHNO-NATIONALISM . 38 6.1 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 38 6.2 Data and Methodology ..................................................................................................... 43 6.3 The Stages of Kurdish Ethno-nationalist Insurgency in Iran ........................................... 45 6.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 90 7 WHY DO THEY JOIN? THE STORIES OF REBELS IN KURDISTAN ............................ 93 7.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 93 7.2 The KDPI: A Brief Introduction ....................................................................................... 95 7.3 Previous Research on Civil War Mobilization ................................................................. 96 7.4 Participation and Recruitment ........................................................................................ 101 7.5 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 103 7.5.1 Issues of access and trust ......................................................................................... 103 7.6 Members’ Demographic Information ............................................................................. 104 7.7 Why Do They Join? ........................................................................................................ 106 7.7.1 Individual Factors .................................................................................................... 107 7.7.2 Organizational Factors ............................................................................................. 121 7.8 Conclusion and Discussion ............................................................................................. 129 ii 8 ETHNO-NATIONALISM AND REGIONAL GEOPOLITICS: THE CASE OF THE KURDS ........................................................................................................................................ 135 8.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 135 8.2 Iran and Turkey .............................................................................................................. 138 8.3 Iran and Iraq .................................................................................................................... 155 8.4 The Impact of Geopolitical Games on Kurdish Cross-border Alliances ........................ 166 8.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 171 9 CONCLUDING REMARKS ................................................................................................ 173 10 FURTHER THOUGHTS: THE STATUS OF KURDISH ETHNO-NATIONALISM IN IRAN ........................................................................................................................................... 178 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. 187 APPENDIX I: INTERVIEW GUIDES ................................................................................... 187 APPENDIX II: LIST OF CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS ...................................................... 189 APPENDIX III: CODING SAMPLE ...................................................................................... 191 APPENDIX IV: WHITE HOUSE MEMORANDUM: PROGRESS REPORT ON THE KURDISH SUPPORT OPERATIONS ................................................................................... 192 APPENDIX V: FIELD OBSERVATION: LIST OF ATTENDED EVENTS ........................ 194 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 195 A. Primary Sources .................................................................................................................. 195 B. Secondary Sources .............................................................................................................. 203 C. Other Sources ...................................................................................................................... 211 iii ACROYNMS AKP: Justice and Development Party ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria KDP: Kurdistan Democratic Party (Iraq) KDPI: Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran KNC: Kurdish National Council Komala: Organization of Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan Komala J.K.: The Committee of the Resurrection of Kurdistan KRG: Kurdish Regional Government KRI: Kurdistan Region of Iraq PJAK: The Kurdistan Free Life Party PKK: Kurdistan Workers’ Party PUK: Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PYD: Democratic Union Party RKDPI: Revolutionary Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran SAIRI: Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq SAVAK: National Organization for Security and Intelligence YDG-H: The Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement iv TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Demographic Profile of KDPI Members ....................................................................... 133 Figure 1: Kurdish-inhabited regions of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria ............................................. 8 Figure 2: Geographic Origins of KDPI Members ....................................................................... 134 v ABSTRACT This project provides a comprehensive analysis of the Kurdish ethno-nationalist movements of Iran. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Kurdish experts, leaders and members of major Iranian Kurdish organizations, and archival data: First, it will be argued that the level of political expression in an ethno-national community is dependent on its organizational resources, the opportunity structure of its environment, and its subjective assessment of the chances of success. The major Iranian Kurdish ethno-nationalist uprisings only emerged in significant form at times when the Iranian state was weak: the 1920s (armed revolts), 1945-1946 (ethno-nationalist separatism), and the early 1980s (full-scale war). These were all instances when the state’s willingness and capacity to repress were severely compromised, when powerful allies were available, the institutionalized channels were closed, and Kurdish leaders had a high level of optimism about the prospects of insurgency. Second, focusing on Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, I look at the dual dimensions of ethnic mobilization: individuals’ decision to participate in conflict, and the effect of organizational recruitment strategies on this decision. I argue: first, individual decisions are motivated by family conditions, friendship networks and emotional relationships, prison experience, grievances, material and nonmaterial incentives; and second, the organization proactively engages in recruitment strategies and determines the processes through which individuals can learn about its activities by engaging young individuals in clandestine urban cells in Iran, on social media,
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