Christian Minorities and the Struggle for Nineveh: The Assyrian Democratic Movement in Iraq and the Nineveh Plains Protection Units Gregory J. Kruczek Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Planning, Governance and Globalization Ariel I. Ahram Joel Peters Rachel M. Scott Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr. December 13, 2018 Alexandria, VA Keywords: Second-order minorities, self-determination, collective action, Iraq, civil war, mobilization, homeland, Assyrians Copyright 2018 by Gregory J. Kruczek All Rights Reserved Christian Minorities and the Struggle for Nineveh: The Assyrian Democratic Movement in Iraq and the Nineveh Plains Protection Units Gregory J. Kruczek ABSTRACT Northern Iraq’s Christians are a second-order minority. That is, they are a minority within a minority. They occupy a tenuous position between the Arab-dominated central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. All Christians in northern Iraq desire to remain in their historic homelands. Yet efforts to advance a common political goal have been rare. Differences within the Iraqi Christian community center on three interrelated points: 1) the adoption and advancement of the Assyrian ethno-nationalist identity; 2) the struggle for leadership of the community between secular parties and church officials; and 3) the securing of group rights through either Baghdad or Erbil, which is typified by the debate over a province for minorities in the Nineveh Plain. The Islamic State’s invasion in June 2014 made this dynamic even more complex. This dissertation explores how a second-order minority mobilized to protect its homelands during state breakdown and state recalibration. It examines how an Iraqi Christian political party, the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), responded to the rise and spread of the Islamic State. More specifically, it analyzes the ADM’s creation of a self-defense force, the Nineveh Plains Protection Units (NPU), and how the party positioned itself for the post-conflict state. Data generated through ethnographic fieldwork, combined with existing primary and secondary sources, reveals a detailed process whereby security threats shaped mobilization. Notions of historic homelands and distrust of both the central government and KRG were the central factors shaping this outcome. The ADM created the NPU to liberate occupied lands. More importantly, the NPU was created to ensure Christians retained a place in their historic homelands after the Islamic State was evicted. The use of the name “Nineveh Plains Protection Units” held strategic importance. The binding principle of the NPU was an indigenous-based attachment to the Nineveh Plain, including the right to defend it, and Christianity in Iraq. Both elements captured the common threads among all Iraqi Christians and the claim they make on the state. The ADM, therefore, was particularly attuned to Iraq’s pre-Islamic ancient Mesopotamian heritage. This ironically echoed earlier efforts by the Ba’ath regime to instill a Mesopotamian identity among citizens by glorifying a common Assyrian and Babylonian heritage all could presumably share. Second-order minority status meant the ADM had to eventually align with either Baghdad or Erbil. The ADM chose Baghdad, effectively balancing against ISIS and the KRG in the Nineveh Plain. Baghdad proved a willing partner for a time. The ADM, however, was left alone to navigate the Nineveh Plain’s position in the September 2017 Kurdistan referendum on independence. Christian Minorities and the Struggle for Nineveh: The Assyrian Democratic Movement in Iraq and the Nineveh Plains Protection Units Gregory J. Kruczek GENERAL AUDIENCE ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the Assyrian Democratic Movement’s response to the Islamic State. It analyzes the ADM’s creation of a self-defense force, the Nineveh Plains Protection Units, and how the party positioned itself for the post-conflict state. Data generated through ethnographic fieldwork conducted in northern Iraq combined with existing primary and secondary sources reveals a detailed process whereby security threats shaped mobilization. Homeland claims and distrust of both the central government and KRG were the central factors driving this process. Second-order minority status meant the ADM had no choice but to pick sides between Baghdad and Erbil. The party eventually aligned with Baghdad. However, it was left alone to navigate Nineveh Plain’s position within the Kurdistan independence referendum. To Mirna, my Iraqi sister iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful to the numerous individuals and institutions that helped make my education and this dissertation possible. I received research funding from the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa. Scholars whose work was particularly influential include Adam H. Becker, John Joseph, Laura Robson, Ariel Ahram, Alda Benjamen, Sargon Donabed, Robert William De Kelaita, Albert Hourani, Adeed Dawisha, Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr., Harris Mylonas, Nadav Shelef, Fotini Christia, Vahram Petrosian, and J.F. Coakley. I would also like to thank my parents and friends for their support, including Adam Holmes, Brian Glenn, Joe Karle, Marc Jasper, Joe Kushner, Craig Johnson, Dallas Shaw, and last, but certainly not least, my four-legged companion Sophie. To my Assyrian and Iraqi-Christian friends, this project does not happen without you. Special thanks goes to Mona Malik, Michael Youash, Elmer Aboo, Martin Youmaran, William Lazar, Mardean Isaac, Sheelan Sher, Azheen Elia, Alexander David, Zia Yawoo, and Athra Kado. Other individuals who played a critical role in this project’s development include Nathaniel Hurd and Stephen Rasche. Finally, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the following teachers: Karen Mateyak, Inas T. Messiha, Arthur Goldschmidt, Dennis Jett, Ariel Ahram, Joel Peters, Gerard Toal, and Giselle Datz. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 How Do Second-Order Minorities Mobilize to Protect Historic Homelands? The Case of Iraq’s Christians and the Islamic State .................................................................................. 1 Scholarly Contributions ........................................................................................................ 6 Policy Implications ............................................................................................................... 9 Argument ........................................................................................................................... 11 Conceptual Clarification ..................................................................................................... 12 Going Forward ................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................. 17 Relevant Literature ............................................................................................................ 17 Mobilization, Second-Order Minorities, Changes in the Territorial Claims Leaders of Stateless Nations Make, and Alliance Formation ................................................................ 17 A Mechanism-based Account of Second-Order Minority Group Mobilization ..................... 22 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 26 Case Selection Justification: The Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) ......................... 26 Scope Conditions: June 2014-October 2017 ......................................................................... 27 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 27 Data Accumulation ................................................................................................................ 28 Subject Identification and Sampling Method ........................................................................ 29 Interview Strategy 1: Christian Politicians ............................................................................ 30 Survey/Interview Strategy 2: Nineveh Plains Protection Units Soldiers/Officers ................. 31 Interview Strategy 3: Displaced Persons ............................................................................... 31 Data Integration and Final Analysis ...................................................................................... 33 Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................. 35 From “Syrian” to “Assyrian” to “Iraqi-Assyrian” and a Second-order Minority in Northern Iraq .................................................................................................................................... 35 The Origin and Development of Assyrian Nationalism ........................................................ 36 Geography, Autonomy, and Dhimmitude ............................................................................. 36 From “Syrian” to “Assyrian”: The Nestorians, the European Powers, Western Missionaries, and Colonial Machinations ...................................................................................................