Iraq's Democratic Dilemmas: from Entrenched Dictatorship to Fragile
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Stability in Iraqi Kurdistan (Reality Or Mirage?)
WORKING PAPER Number 2, June 2009 STABILITY IN IRAQI KURDISTAN: REALITY OR MIRAGE? LYDIA KHALIL WORKING PAPER Number 2, June 2009 STABILITY IN IRAQI KURDISTAN: REALITY OR MIRAGE? LYDIA KHALIL Saban Center Working Papers are meant to stimulate debate and discussion on difficult policy questions. As with all Brookings pa- pers, Working Papers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Saban Center, the Brookings Institution, or the Institution’s board of trustees. All Saban Center Working Papers are available online at www.brookings.edu/sabancenter, and comments may be sent to [email protected]. Table of Contents Acknowledgements. iii Executive Summary. iv About the Author. ix Introduction. 1 Good News, Bad News. 3 The Oil Law Controversy: Does Energy Independence Mean Territorial Independence?. .5 Kirkuk: The Powder Keg. 16 Internal Challenges: The Two Kurdistans . 21 Turkey and the KRG: Mending Fences. 30 KRG: Looking in a Different Direction. 35 Recommendations for U.S. Policy. 37 S tabi L it Y I N IRAQI KURDISTA N : R E A L it Y O R M ira GE? The Saban Center at The Brookings Institution ii Acknowledgements hank you to the Saban Center for Middle East My thanks also to the many Kurdish and Iraqi offi- TPolicy for providing me the opportunity to cials who took the time to speak candidly with me publish this paper. Special thanks to Martin Indyk about the challenges that lay ahead. Because many and Ken Pollack, who was an early mentor and pa- of our conversations were off the record, they have tiently guided the paper’s drafting and publication. -
Iraqi Kurdistan: the Internal Dynamics and Statecraft of a Semistate1 Matan Chorev
The Fletcher School Online Journal for issues related to Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilization Fall 2007 Iraqi Kurdistan: The Internal Dynamics and Statecraft of a Semistate1 Matan Chorev The semistate possesses many of the features The third section will emphasize how this commonly associated with the modern nation- experience impacts and shapes the worldview state but remains unrecognized as a sovereign and strategic calculus of the Kurdish leadership. entity. Semistates (such as Abkhazia, Nagorno- The third section will emphasize how this Karabakh, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and Iraqi experience impacts and shapes the worldview Kurdistan) inhabit the central conflict fault-lines and strategic calculus of the Kurdish leadership. of Southwest Asia’s strategic landscape at the dawn of the twenty-first century. In order to The Logic of Semistates concoct effective conflict management approaches, Since the attacks of September 11, 2001 directed policymakers must develop a framework for attention to the failed state of Afghanistan, the comprehending internal dynamics and statecraft dangers that weak and failing states present to of these entities. How do they function in the international security have been well absence of international recognition? What impact documented. However, the preoccupation, did the dynamics of conflict and political among policymakers and academics alike, with development under such conditions have on the the stark bipolarity of “strong” and “weak” states nature of the semistate? What is the entity’s has obscured -
From Foreign Relations to Foreign Policy
From Foreign Relations to Foreign Policy: Transformation of the Kurdish de Facto State into an Independent Foreign Policy Actor Submitted by Hajar Bashir Kalari Sadoon to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Middle East Politics In June 2017 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other university. (Signature) 1 Abstract In 1991, following its defeat in the Second Gulf War and as a response to the international humanitarian protectionist umbrella provided to the three Kurdish- population governorates in Northern Iraq, the Government of Iraq (GOI) under Saddam Hussein centrally seceded from the area. The vacuum that ensued was soon filled by the leadership of the Iraqi Kurdistan Front (KNA) and soon a de facto state resurrected from the ashes of destruction besieging Iraqi Kurdistan for many decades. Hence, the precarious existence of what came to be known as the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) in a highly challenging geopolitical environment and the strategic imperative of preserving the de facto independence of the entity forced the Kurdish leadership to give high priority to building foreign relations and pursuit of foreign policy. Foreign policy as a political activity is of paramount importance to all actors including sovereign states to preserve and promote their national interests. -
FIFA Ban to Hit Erbil Hardest
Price $1 Issue no.66 Jan 8 - 21, 2010 SOMA Digest is a subsidiary of KHAK Press & Media Center. ‘Autonomy is GIRL POWER sufficient’ FIFA ban to hit An American professor underscores the similarities between the Kurds and the Albanians of Kosovo in their aspirations Erbil hardest for statehood, and their centuries’ long resistance to foreign occupation. REGION page 3 Darya Ibrahim cision even though they no longer have SLEMANI any authority,” says Aziz. “We have also Strength of nation IFA’s decision to put an end to made contact with the new IFA. The deci- The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Iraq’s participation in interna- sion is unfair, but at least we can still par- (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic tional tournaments will have ticipate in domestic Iraqi football games Party (KDP) are in talks to unite an adverse effect on Iraqi foot- even if we cannot take part in the Asia their Peshmarga forces under the ball in general, but particularly championship.” jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Fon the progress of the Kurdistan Foot- Aziz believes that Erbil’s team in par- Regional Government. ball Association. Critics have panned the ticular will lose their capacity if they do REGION page 4 decision as undue ‘political interfer- not take part in matches, whether friendly ence’. or competitive, both at home and at the in- The lost children The FIFA Emergency Committee sus- ternational level. pended the Iraq Football Association Insofar as pressure applied on the Halabja families continue to pray for Baghdad and Kurdistan regional govern- the children they lost in the 1988 (IFA) last November after the Iraqi Olympic Committee dissolved the IFA ments to find a solution, Aziz says: “We chemical bombardment after 21- tried hard through the Regional Olympic year-old Ali Asmin returned to find and security forces seized control of its headquarters. -
London School of Economics and Political Science FROM
London School of Economics and Political Science FROM REBELLION TO DE FACTO STATEHOOD: INTERNATIONAL AND TRANSNATIONAL SOURCES OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE KURDISH NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT IN IRAQ INTO THE KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT Yaniv Voller A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, June 2012 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 93,566 words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Mrs Jennifer Abel. Abstract In 1991, following its defeat in the first Gulf War and out of fear of a humanitarian catastrophe, the Iraqi army and state-apparatus were forced to withdraw from the three Kurdish-population governorates in Northern Iraq. This left an administrative vacuum that was filled by the leadership of the Kurdish fragmented guerrilla movement – now a de facto Kurdish state in Northern Iraq, known as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). -
Does the Price of Watermelons Matter? Economic Performance and Political Legitimacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran A. Nicholas Gossen
The Fletcher School Online Journal for issues related to Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilization Fall 2007 Does the Price of Watermelons Matter? Economic Performance and Political Legitimacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran A. Nicholas Gossen Despite Ayatollah Khomeini’s famous to which that gap has affected the political comment that the Iranian revolution was “not legitimacy of the Iranian regime. about the price of watermelons,” the Islamic Republic of Iran was in part founded on economic PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY promises of redistribution, equality, and justice. The strength of this rhetoric has formed a core The Economic Performance/Public Support basis of political support for the regime, but it has Dynamic also established public expectations that the The relationship between economic Islamic Republic has been chronically unable to performance and public meet. Many analysts have cited Iran’s poor support for a political Despite Ayatollah economic performance since the revolution and regime or incumbent Khomeini’s famous resulting public dissatisfaction as a key weakness administration is a of the clerical regime and a potential source of its subject that has received comment that the downfall. Indeed, this is a crucial element of the substantial attention in Iranian revolution was argument advanced by advocates of stronger developed countries, “not about the price of multilateral economic sanctions against Iran in particularly Britain and the dispute over its nuclear program. However, the United States. Due to watermelons,” the underlying this logic is an implicit assumption the paucity of high- Islamic Republic of Iran that regime legitimacy is tied to economic quality survey data was in part founded on performance. -
The Future of the Iraqi Kurds
The Future of the Iraqi Kurds Soner Cagaptay, editor Policy Focus #85 | July 2008 All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any infor- mation storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2008 by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Published in 2008 in the United States of America by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1828 L Street NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036. Design by Daniel Kohan, Sensical Design and Communication Front cover: Kurdish Regional Government peshmerga survey the terrain south of Dahuk, Iraq, April 1, 2003. Copyright AP Wide World Photos/Kamran Jebreili. About the Authors Soner Cagaptay is a senior fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. His writings on U.S.-Turkish relations and other issues have appeared in numerous scholarly journals and major inter- national print media, including Middle East Quarterly, Middle Eastern Studies, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. He also appears regularly on Fox News, CNN, NPR, Voice of America, al-Jazeera, BBC, CNN-Turk, and al-Hurra. His most recent book is Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who Is a Turk? (Routledge, 2006). A historian by training, he holds a doctorate from Yale and was the Ertegun professor in Princeton University’s Department of Near Eastern Studies in 2006–2007. Currently, he serves as a visiting professor at Georgetown University and chair of the Turkey Advanced Area Studies Program at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute. -
Walking a Tightrope
WALKING A TIGHTROPE NEWS MEDIA & FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST A REPORT BY LAYLA AL-ZUBAIDI, SUSANNE FISCHER & MAGDA ABU-FADIL Walking a Tightrope News Media and Freedom of Expression in the Middle East Authors: Layla Al-Zubaidi, Susanne Fischer and Magda Abu-Fadil Copy-editor: Emily Dische-Becker Published by: First published in 2004 by Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs) Updated version published by hbs Beirut in November 2012 Pictures: Pictures on pages 8, 12, 15, 19, 26, 33, 93, 100, 119, 131, and 149 © Layla Al-Zubaidi Pictures on pages 25 and 70 (also printed on cover) © Matthew Cassel Pictures on pages 34 (also printed on cover), 40, and 45 © Sana Sbouai Pictures on pages 50 and 109 © Cynthia Karam Pictures on pages 60 and 64 © Randa Shaath Pictures on pages 75 (also printed on cover), 81, 85 and 87 © Susanne Fischer Location of picture on page 132: Bustan al-Qasr, Aleppo, Syria Location of picture on page 139: Homs, Syria Location of picture on page 141: Al-Shaar, Aleppo, Syria Location of picture on page 143: Al-Sekkari, Aleppo, Syria Location of picture on page 145: Kafer Souseh, Damascus, Syria Source of picture on cover depicting man holding Egypt-sign: tumblr Available for download at www.lb.boell.org This work is licensed under the “Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License”: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Middle East Office. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the opinion of the Foundation.