DOCSLIB.ORG

14. Reconfiguring the Kurdish Nation on Youtube: Spatial Imaginations, Revolutionary Lyrics, and Colonial Knowledge

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
14. Reconfiguring the Kurdish Nation on Youtube: Spatial Imaginations, Revolutionary Lyrics, and Colonial Knowledge 14. Reconfiguring the Kurdish Nation on YouTube : Spatial Imaginations, Revolutionary Lyrics, and Colonial Knowledge Andrea Fischer-Tahir Abstract Around the globe, colonized nations and indigenous peoples make use of colonial photography of the nineteenth and early 20th century to provide documentation of oppression, slavery, and extinction, as well as of resist- ance and survival. In Iraqi Kurdish nationalist discourse, for example, this mode of representation can be observed from the 1960s and the first Kurdish modern guerrilla war. The digital age has multiplied the pos- sibilities of translocating knowledge and has promoted Kurdish national aspirations for a nation state. Yet, this chapter will show that colonial images of the Kurdish bodies and of Kurdistan’s geography still have use value in identity discourses shaped by the aid of social media and mobile media, which bears witness to the simultaneity of modes of representation. Keywords: Youtube, Kurdistan, cultural memory, nation Marx wrote in 1852 that women and men ‘make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; […] but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past’ (1972, p. 115). As Marx is still popular in Kurdish nationalist discourse, at least among its left wing,1 I will take him as a point of departure to discuss aspects of nationalist space production in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Herêm-î Kurdistan), or as the Kurds alternatively call it, South Kurdistan (Kurdistan-î başûr). However, this 1 Recently, Capital has been translated from Persian into Kurdish Sorani; to this day, Kurdish leftists, at least in Iraq, have relied on the Arabic or Persian translations. Strohmaier, A. and A. Krewani (eds.), Media and Mapping Practices in the Middle East and North Africa: Producing Space. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2021 doi 10.5117/9789462989092_ch14 300 ANDREA FISCHER-TAHIR chapter more or less leaves aside the conflicts over new borders established by the Kurdish movement, as well as over resources (oil, gas, and water, for example) and political power that usually preoccupy studies on Kurdistan in Iraq (Stansfield 2003; Natali 2010; Zedalis 2012). Instead, this chapter predominantly deals with the discursive side of space-making and with representations of history and geography in discourses on Kurdish identity. This chapter will first expound the problems of Kurdistan in geography – that is, ‘the Kurds’ place’ in metageographies (Lewis and Wigen 1997), on the one hand, and Kurdish representations challenging the hegemonic geographical order, on the other. The second section will provide some notes on the issue of colonialism in the context of Kurdistan, and it will shed light on the colonial heritage in imaginations of Kurdistan and the Kurds, shifting the analytical perspective from the ‘perceived’ to the ‘conceived space’ (Lefebvre 1991). In the third section, I will discuss a YouTube video representing a Kurd- ish anthem as well as photographic documents of Kurdish revolts between 1918 and 1991. The discussion aims to identify and contextualize imaginations of geography and history in this particular discourse. The question is to what extent cultural heritage and colonial knowledge are constructed as opposition or to what extent these different corpora of ‘substantive assertions and ideas’ to ‘act on the world’ (Barth 2002, p. 2) become harmonized to conceive of Kurdistan as a geographical entity of historical legitimacy. The discussion will exemplify how those constraints resulting from pre-existing circumstances structure practices of representation. It will become clear that the specific experience of European as well as of internal colonialism in the context of Kurdistan resulted in an ambivalent relationship to European colonialism and its respective discourses ‘to tame’ the unfamiliar Oriental (Said 2003, p. 54). Metageography and Dissident Geography The number of Kurds in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, Caucasus, Central Asia,2 and the diaspora in Europe varies between 36 and 45 million, depending on sources such as official state censuses, assess- ments of human rights groups, or international organizations such as the European Commission. In their homeland, Kurds make up approximately 85 per cent of the population.3 The problems of assessments in terms of 2 For Kurds in the Caucasus and for deportations to Central Asia, see Müller 2000. 3 See: http://www.institutkurde.org/en/info/the-kurdish-population-1232551004 (last accessed 17 November 2020). ReOF C N IGURING THE KURDISH NATION ON YOUTUBE 301 numbers predominantly result from politics of marginalization, oppres- sion, and cultural assimilation pursued by the Iranian, Turkish, Iraqi, and Syrian states since their respective independence. In Turkey, for example, the existence of Kurds has been denied for many decades, whereas state politics in Iraq involved the vague acceptance of cultural difference to the Arab main population as well as genocidal persecution.4 In contrast to the statistical numbers and the relatively compact territory of settlement, Kurds are labelled ‘minority’ not only in the administrative logic of the states where they live but also in international political and academic imaginations of the MENA region. The term ‘minority’ is deeply embedded in legal discourses on the protection and rights of non-dominant groups within states, defined in terms of nation, ethnicity, religion, language, and/or indigeneity. Yet, the definition of majorities and minorities depends on scale (Derichs 2017, p. 35) as well as on the system of reference; namely, the geographical order of the world. Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen argue that there is a ‘set of spatial structures through which people order their knowledge of the world: the often unconscious frameworks that organize studies of history, sociology, anthropology, economics, political science, or even natural history’ (1997, p. ix). They call these imaginations about the segmentation of the world into continents, subcontinents, world regions, and states ‘metageographies’. These frameworks, however, are the result of historical processes – namely, capitalism, colonialism, and nation-building – and at the same time these frames persist due to geopolitical power relations, normalization, and educa- tion; the prevailing Eurocentrism inherent to knowledge production; and the authoritative ‘myth of the nation state’ (Lewis and Wigen 1997, p. 7). From my perspective, it is striking that despite the constructivist turn in studies on nations and nationalism and the canonic status of Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities, inquiry in social science and the hu- manities continues to rely on internationally recognized nation states as a system of reference. Consequently, when ‘minorities’ manage to establish command over areas of their settlement, these territories are still conceived of as anomalous, if not as a security problem or threat to the regional order (Nolutshungu 1996; Caspersen and Stansfield 2011). One such ‘anomaly’ is the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This administratively and politically semi-independent unit is first and foremost the outcome of a decades-long struggle of the Kurdish movement, a movement that is in itself heterogeneous and conflictual, and at the same time transnationally entangled with strands of the Kurdish movement in Turkey, Syria, and 4 For an overview of Kurdish history, see McDowall 1996. 302 ANDREA FISCHER-TAHIR Iran. Governed by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) since 1992, the territory comprises 73,000 spare kilometres, making up 20 per cent of Iraqi territory. The borders of the region are disputed, under constant pressure, and subject to military conflict. These borders, however, are the result of the Kurdish uprising in March 1991 and the events that followed in that spring: brutal repression of the revolt by the Iraqi regime, international humanitar- ian intervention, establishment of a no-flight zone under predominantly US protection, and negotiations between the Kurdish parties and the Iraqi regime (Cook 1995). In May 1992, the Kurds elected their own parliament and constituted the Kurdistan Region, whose borders coincide more or less with the borders of the governorates of Dohuk, Erbil, and Sulaimaniya. During the war of 2003, which led to the overthrow of the Iraqi regime, and during the war against the Islamic State since 2014, the Kurds have expanded their territory. In September 2017, the Kurdistan Regional Government held a referendum for independence with more than 90 per cent of the votes cast agreeing to separation from Iraq. The Iraqi central government, as well as Iran and Turkey reacted promptly with embargo, political isolation of the KRG and military reconquest of Kirkuk and other parts of South Kurdistan. Indeed, Kurds in Iraq speak about the area in question as ‘Kurdistan’, ‘region’ (herêm), ‘homeland’ (welat), or ‘South Kurdistan’ (Kurdistan-î başûr). This latter term partly results from British and French colonial partition of the Middle East. Kurdish geography describes the homeland of the Kurdish people as situated in West Asia (xorawe-î asiya) and segmented into North, West, East and South Kurdistan, with each of the single parts ‘under the command’ (bindestî) of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, respectively. Alternative views add to Greater Kurdistan a Northeastern part; namely, the Kurdish settlements in the Caucasus. The territory comprises between 475,000 and 506,000 square kilometres, depending
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Intro Cover Page
    EXCERPTED FROM The Kurds of Iraq: Building a State Within a State Ofra Bengio Copyright © 2012 ISBN: 978-1-58826-836-5 1800 30th Street, Ste. 314 Boulder, CO 80301 USA telephone 303.444.6684 fax 303.444.0824 This excerpt was downloaded from the Lynne Rienner Publishers website www.rienner.com Contents Preface ix List of Acronyms xi Map of Kurdistan xiii 1 The Evolution of Kurdish Nationalism 1 Part 1: The Kurds and the Iraqi State, 1968–1980 2 The Long Road to Kurdish Autonomy 27 3 Paved with Good Intentions 47 4 Unholy Alliances 65 5 Deteriorating Relationships 83 6 Marginalizing the Kurds 99 7 An Imposed Autonomy 113 8 A Time for War 125 9 Interregnum 153 Part 2: Caught in the Crossfire, 1980–1998 10 “One War Begets Another”: The Iran-Iraq War 169 11 Rising from the Ashes 197 12 The Birth Pangs of Kurdish Self-Rule 209 13 Uncivil War in Kurdistan 231 vii viii Contents Part 3: A Kurdish Entity in the Making, 1998–2010 14 The Foreign Relations Imbroglio 245 15 From Victims to Victors 273 16 The Great Leap Forward in Post-Saddam Iraq 297 Part 4: Conclusion 17 “No Friends but the Mountains” Reconsidered 315 Bibliography 321 Index 331 About the Book 346 1 The Evolution of Kurdish Nationalism I met her in a Parisian café in October 1993. She had fled sometime before from Saddam‘s Iraq, where she had worked as a scientist. She was very friendly but, at the same time, extremely frightened. She dis- closed neither her name nor any personal details, except for the fact that she was a Kurd and had lived a nightmarish existence in Iraqi Kurdistan.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kurds; History and Culture
    Western Kurdistan Association publications Jemal Nebez The Kurds; History and Culture Jemal Nebez THE KURDS History and Kulture Presentation held in German on the 19th September 1997 in the Kurdish Community- House in Berlin, Germany First published in German in 1997 by: The Kurdish Community House in Berlin, Germany First publication in English, including a Bio-Bibliography of Jemal Nebez, by: WKA Publications - London 2004 Translated into English by: Hanne Kuchler Preface by: Dr. Hasan Mohamed Ali Director of the Board of the Kurdish Community House in Berlin, Germany 1 Jemal Nebez The Kurds; History and Culture 2 Jemal Nebez The Kurds; History and Culture PREFACE On the occasion of the inauguration of the Kurdish community-house in Berlin, Germany in September 1997, the well-known Kurdologist Dr. Jemal Nebez held a warmly received speech under the title: The Kurds – their history and culture. This speech was not only of great importance because of its contents and coverage, but also because it was based on precise data and historic scientific evidence. In his speech Dr. Nebez covered various subjects, e.g. pre- Christian ancient history and the mythology of the Kurds, the cultural height and depth of the Kurdish people in the shadow of the numerous expeditions by alien peoples through Kurdistan, the astounding variety of religions in Kurdistan, with special stress on syncretism as the most striking feature of the Kurdish religious culture, delineating syncretism as inherently different from mixed religions. As an analytically thinking scientist (physicist) the speaker did not get stuck in the past, nor was his speech 3 Jemal Nebez The Kurds; History and Culture an archaeological presentation, but an Archigenesis, which in fluent transition reaches from past epochs to the present situation of the Kurdish people.
    [Show full text]
  • Iraq: Opposition to the Government in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)
    Country Policy and Information Note Iraq: Opposition to the government in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) Version 2.0 June 2021 Preface Purpose This note provides country of origin information (COI) and analysis of COI for use by Home Office decision makers handling particular types of protection and human rights claims (as set out in the Introduction section). It is not intended to be an exhaustive survey of a particular subject or theme. It is split into two main sections: (1) analysis and assessment of COI and other evidence; and (2) COI. These are explained in more detail below. Assessment This section analyses the evidence relevant to this note – i.e. the COI section; refugee/human rights laws and policies; and applicable caselaw – by describing this and its inter-relationships, and provides an assessment of, in general, whether one or more of the following applies: • A person is reasonably likely to face a real risk of persecution or serious harm • The general humanitarian situation is so severe as to breach Article 15(b) of European Council Directive 2004/83/EC (the Qualification Directive) / Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as transposed in paragraph 339C and 339CA(iii) of the Immigration Rules • The security situation presents a real risk to a civilian’s life or person such that it would breach Article 15(c) of the Qualification Directive as transposed in paragraph 339C and 339CA(iv) of the Immigration Rules • A person is able to obtain protection from the state (or quasi state bodies) • A person is reasonably able to relocate within a country or territory • A claim is likely to justify granting asylum, humanitarian protection or other form of leave, and • If a claim is refused, it is likely or unlikely to be certifiable as ‘clearly unfounded’ under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
    [Show full text]
  • Conflict Profile
    MODERN CONFLICTS: CONFLICT PROFILE Iraq (Kurds) (1961 - 1996) The Kurds are an ethnic group in northern Iraq and neighboring Turkey and Iran. There are longstanding conflicts between the Kurds and the governments of all three countries (see also Turkey-Kurds conflict profile). Sustained warfare between the Iraqi government and Kurdish fighters dates from 1961. In the first phase of the war, the Iraqi government controlled the cities and major towns, while Kurdish peshmerga fighters controlled the mountains. Iraq used aerial bombardment while the Kurds relied mainly on guerrilla tactics. An agreement that would have granted autonomy to the Kurds in was almost signed in >> MODERN CONFLICTS 1970, but the two parties could not agree to the division of oil rights and the fighting HOME PAGE resumed. With increased support from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the Iranian government, the Kurds escalated the war. In 1975, when the CIA and Iran cut off >> CONFLICTS MAP their support, the Kurdish forces were significantly weakened. This phase of the war was >> CONFLICTS TABLE characterized by mass displacements, summary executions, and other gross human rights >> PERI HOME PAGE violations. In 1979, when Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq, he intensified the repression against the Kurds. Though Kurds resisted, large-scale fighting did not resume until the mid-1980s when Iran, now fighting its own war with Iraq, renewed support for the peshmerga. In 1987, Saddam Hussein appointed his cousin, General Ali Hassan al-Majid, to subdue the Kurds. “Chemical Ali,” as he came to be known because of his use of chemical weapons, launched the Anfal campaign that resulted in the deaths of approximately 100,000 Kurds, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of others, and the destruction of more than 2,000 Kurdish villages.
    [Show full text]
  • 5. Kurdish Tribes
    Country Policy and Information Note Iraq: Blood feuds Version 1.0 August 2017 Preface This note provides country of origin information (COI) and policy guidance to Home Office decision makers on handling particular types of protection and human rights claims. This includes whether claims are likely to justify the granting of asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave and whether – in the event of a claim being refused – it is likely to be certifiable as ‘clearly unfounded’ under s94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. Decision makers must consider claims on an individual basis, taking into account the case specific facts and all relevant evidence, including: the policy guidance contained with this note; the available COI; any applicable caselaw; and the Home Office casework guidance in relation to relevant policies. Country Information COI in this note has been researched in accordance with principles set out in the Common EU [European Union] Guidelines for Processing Country of Origin Information (COI) and the European Asylum Support Office’s research guidelines, Country of Origin Information report methodology, namely taking into account its relevance, reliability, accuracy, objectivity, currency, transparency and traceability. All information is carefully selected from generally reliable, publicly accessible sources or is information that can be made publicly available. Full publication details of supporting documentation are provided in footnotes. Multiple sourcing is normally used to ensure that the information is accurate, balanced and corroborated, and that a comprehensive and up-to-date picture at the time of publication is provided. Information is compared and contrasted, whenever possible, to provide a range of views and opinions.
    [Show full text]
  • Istanbul Technical University Graduate School of Arts
    ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES TRANSFORMATIONS OF KURDISH MUSIC IN SYRIA: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS M.A. THESIS Hussain HAJJ Department of Musicology and Music Theory Musicology M.A. Programme JUNE 2018 ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES TRANSFORMATIONS OF KURDISH MUSIC IN SYRIA: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS M.A. THESIS Hussain HAJJ (404141007) Department of Musicology and Music Theory Musicology Programme Thesis Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. F. Belma KURTİŞOĞLU JUNE 2018 İSTANBUL TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ SURİYE’DE KÜRT MÜZİĞİNİN DÖNÜŞÜMÜ: SOSYAL VE POLİTİK ETKENLER YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ Hussain HAJJ (404141007) Müzikoloji ve Müzik Teorisi Anabilim Dalı Müzikoloji Yüksek Lisans Programı Tez Danışmanı: Doç. Dr. F. Belma KURTİŞOĞLU HAZİRAN 2018 Date of Submission : 7 May 2018 Date of Defense : 4 June 2018 v vi To the memory of my father, to my dear mother and Neslihan Güngör; thanks for always being there for me. vii viii FOREWORD When I started studying Musicology, a musician friend from Syrian Kurds told me that I am leaving my seat as an active musician and starting a life of academic researches, and that he will make music and I will research the music he makes. It was really an interesting statement to me; it made me think of two things, the first one is the intention behind this statement, while the second was the attitude of Kurds, especially Kurd musicians, towards researchers and researching. As for the first thing, I felt that there was a problem, maybe a social or psychological, of the Kurdish people in general, and the musicians in particular.
    [Show full text]
  • Genealogy of the Concept of Securitization and Minority Rights
    THE KURD INDUSTRY: UNDERSTANDING COSMOPOLITANISM IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY by ELÇIN HASKOLLAR A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School – Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Global Affairs written under the direction of Dr. Stephen Eric Bronner and approved by ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ Newark, New Jersey October 2014 © 2014 Elçin Haskollar ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Kurd Industry: Understanding Cosmopolitanism in the Twenty-First Century By ELÇIN HASKOLLAR Dissertation Director: Dr. Stephen Eric Bronner This dissertation is largely concerned with the tension between human rights principles and political realism. It examines the relationship between ethics, politics and power by discussing how Kurdish issues have been shaped by the political landscape of the twenty- first century. It opens up a dialogue on the contested meaning and shape of human rights, and enables a new avenue to think about foreign policy, ethically and politically. It bridges political theory with practice and reveals policy implications for the Middle East as a region. Using the approach of a qualitative, exploratory multiple-case study based on discourse analysis, several Kurdish issues are examined within the context of democratization, minority rights and the politics of exclusion. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, archival research and participant observation. Data analysis was carried out based on the theoretical framework of critical theory and discourse analysis. Further, a discourse-interpretive paradigm underpins this research based on open coding. Such a method allows this study to combine individual narratives within their particular socio-political, economic and historical setting.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Online Open Access for articles in this issue is sponsored by Ahmed Foundation for Kurdish Studies (USA). OBITUARY: KHANNA Prof Dr Ol’ga Zhigalina (1946–2013) OMARKHALI Professor Ol’ga Ivanovna Zhigalina, the well-known Russian Kurdologist and Iranist and director of the Kurdish Cabinet at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Science (Institút vostokovédenija Rossíjskoj akadémii naúk) in Moscow, sadly passed away at her place of work on 23rd October, 2013. Over four decades Professor Zhigalina made an immense contribution to the field of Kurdology and the modern history of the Kurds, and her work continues to resonate in this field. Russia is often considered the cradle of Kurdish studies (kurdovédenie), which developed in Leningrad,1 Yerevan and Moscow. One might, however, not realise that Kurdish studies in the Soviet Union was founded and devel- oped as an independent interdisciplinary field. The USSR then ranked first in the world in Kurdish studies; no other country had as large and as qualified team of specialists. 75 Most readers outside of Russia are unlikely to have ever heard of Ol’ga Zhi- galina, since her works are practically not available in any language other than Russian.2 She was, however, one of the prominent Kurdologists who contrib- uted greatly to the survival of Kurdish studies in Russia,3 particularly in Mos- cow. Ol’ga Zhigalina completed her degree in Romano-Germanic Philology at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moskóvskij gosudárstvennyj universitét ímeni M.V. Lomonósova) in 1969.4 In the same year she began to work at the Institute of Oriental Studies and the following year was appointed as a junior research fellow in the Central Asia Division of the Institute, led at that time by Khanna Omarkhali is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Iranian Studies, University of Göttingen, Germany.
    [Show full text]
  • Kurdistan Rising? Considerations for Kurds, Their Neighbors, and the Region
    KURDISTAN RISING? CONSIDERATIONS FOR KURDS, THEIR NEIGHBORS, AND THE REGION Michael Rubin AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE Kurdistan Rising? Considerations for Kurds, Their Neighbors, and the Region Michael Rubin June 2016 American Enterprise Institute © 2016 by the American Enterprise Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any man- ner whatsoever without permission in writing from the American Enterprise Institute except in the case of brief quotations embodied in news articles, critical articles, or reviews. The views expressed in the publications of the American Enterprise Institute are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, advisory panels, officers, or trustees of AEI. American Enterprise Institute 1150 17th St. NW Washington, DC 20036 www.aei.org. Cover image: Grand Millennium Sualimani Hotel in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, by Diyar Muhammed, Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons. Contents Executive Summary 1 1. Who Are the Kurds? 5 2. Is This Kurdistan’s Moment? 19 3. What Do the Kurds Want? 27 4. What Form of Government Will Kurdistan Embrace? 56 5. Would Kurdistan Have a Viable Economy? 64 6. Would Kurdistan Be a State of Law? 91 7. What Services Would Kurdistan Provide Its Citizens? 101 8. Could Kurdistan Defend Itself Militarily and Diplomatically? 107 9. Does the United States Have a Coherent Kurdistan Policy? 119 Notes 125 Acknowledgments 137 About the Author 139 iii Executive Summary wo decades ago, most US officials would have been hard-pressed Tto place Kurdistan on a map, let alone consider Kurds as allies. Today, Kurds have largely won over Washington.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dubai Initiative
    The Dubai Initiative Working Paper Securing the Peace: The Battle over Ethnicity and Energy in Modern Iraq Justin Dargin Securing the Peace: The Battle over Ethnicity and Energy in Modern Iraq Dubai Initiative – Working Paper Justin Dargin Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative Better Center for Science and International Affairs Harvard University June 2009 SeCURIng THe Peace: THe Battle oveR eTHnICITy AnD eneRgy In MoDeRn IRAq | 1 “There is something very sinister to my mind in this Mesopotamian entanglement.” Winston Churchill letter to Prime Minister David Lloyd George, August 1920 I. Introduction This article examines the legal and political impediments to the Kurd- ish Regional Government’s (KRG) exploration and production contracts, which the central government in Baghdad has refused to recognize. The newly estab- lished Iraqi national constitution significantly opened as many petroleum-control questions as it resolved. Negotiated in 2005, the constitution not only separated branches of government, but established Federalism as its lodestar. When faced with unresolved issues over regional and national control over petroleum resourc- es, however, International Oil Companies (IOCs) function in an ambiguous legal environment that fails to clearly distinguish between federal and regional powers Article 112(1) of the constitution grants the central government a condi- tional right to “…undertake management of oil and gas extracted from present oil and gas fields…” (emphasis mine). Reflective of Iraq’s commitment to federalism, the right to manage oil fields is shared by the central government, the produc- ing governorates and the regional governments. Article 112(1) could, therefore, be construed to mean that the central government has no right to exercise authority over nonproducing fields and future fields: rights that are not explicitly granted to the federal government may be held as residual rights by the regional authori- ties.
    [Show full text]
  • To Appear in Kurdish Studies Language
    To appear in Kurdish Studies Language attitudes and religion: Kurdish Alevis in the UK Birgul Yilmaz1 2 Abstract In this article I report on results of a Matched Guise Tests (MGT) study investigating attitudes towards Bohtan (BHKr) and Maraş Kurmanji (MRKr) spoken among the UK diaspora. I focus on BHKr, which I use to refer to the Kurmanji that is identified as “good Kurmanji”, also referred to as “academic”/ “proper”, and MRKr to refer to the Kurmanji that is referred to as “bad Kurmanji” by Kurmanji speakers in the UK (Yilmaz, 2018). The MGT, and questions pertaining to perceptual dialectology such as respondents’ perceptions of region, religion, gender and class in this study, show that attitudes towards what is perceived as BHKr and MRKr differ significantly. By concentrating on language attitudes towards Kurmanji which have never been studied in the UK context before, this paper investigates negative and positive evaluations of both BHKr and MRKr in relation to religious affiliation. Keywords Language attitudes, religion, matched guise tests, Kurdish-Kurmanji, Alevis 1 Birgul Yilmaz is a British Academy Postdoctoral Researcher at UCL Institute of Education in London Centre for Applied Linguistics | 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL Email: [email protected] 2 I wish to thank Michael Chyet, Ruth Kircher, Jeff Izzard and the reviewers of this special issue for their feedback on earlier versions and thoughtful suggestions. 1 Introduction Sociolinguistic studies have dealt with social factors such as social status, gender and age (Labov, 1966), and the ways in which these are intertwined with change and variation (Eckert 2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Ottoman Reforms and Kurdish Reactions in The19th Century Di Sedsala Xixem De Reformên Osmanî Û Reaksiyonên Kurdan
    Ottoman Reforms and Kurdish Reactions in the19th Century Di Sedsala XIXem de Reformên Osmanî û Reaksiyonên Kurdan Rahman DAG* PUXTE: Dewleta Osmanî ji ber ku di seranserî sedsala 19an de hin reformên leşkeri, aborî, îdarî û civakî xistiye meriyetê, mirov dikare vê sedsalê wek sedsala reforman bi nav bike. Ji sala 1514an heta sedsala 19an hevsengiyek di navbera têkiliyên dewleta Osmanî û eşîrên kurdan de hebû. Eşîrên kurdan û dewleta Osmanî li ser rêveberiyeke otonom li hev kiribûn û ev rewş ji her du hêlan ve jî hatibû parastin. Lêbelê ji bo dabînkirina lêçûnên leşkerî, bicihkirina modernizasyona burokrasiyê, piştî rakirina Ocaxa Yeniçeriyan sazkirina arteşeke nû û pêdiviyên mirovî mesrefeke mezin derket holê. Ji ber van sedeman têkilî û hevsengiya navborî xera bû û di navbera eşîrên kurdan û navendê de têkoşînek dest pê kir. Ev rewş heta hilweşandina imparatoriyê berdewam kir. Li ser vê rewşa bicihbûyî ya navbera her du aliyan, eşirên kurdan ji bo parastina pozisyona xwe, ketin nav liv û lebatekê, ev jî nîşan dide ku reformên vê serdemê * Dr. Science-Literature Faculty, Adıyaman, Turkey. yên herî gîrîng reformên îdarî, ango navendîbûniyê Dr. Zanîngeha Adiyamanê, bûn. Bi vê agahiyê ez dixwazim vê diyar bikim ku Fakulteya Fen-Edebiyatê, armanca serhildanên eşîrên kurdan ên di sedsala Adiyaman, Turkiye. 19an de qewimîne, ne avakirina Kurdistaneke e-mail: serbixwe bû ku xwe dispart netewperweriya kurdî, [email protected] berovajî vê yekê, divê ev serhildan wek karvedaneke li hember reforman bêne nirxandin. Di nav vê Jimar 2 Sal 1 2014 47 Rahman DAG konteksê de serhildana Ebdurrahman Paşa ya sala 1806an, serhildana Mîr Mihemmed Paşayê Rewandizî ya sala 1834an, serhildana Bedirxan Beg a sala 1840an, serhildana Şêx Ûbeydulahê Nehrî ya sala 1880an de pêk hatine, dê ji bo piştrastkirina vê angaştê bên nirxandin.
    [Show full text]