Charles University Faculty of Science Geography Regional and Political Geography Bc. Filip Sommer Geopolitics of Iraqi Kurdistan: A Role of External and Internal Actors in Kurdish Issue Geopolitika Iráckého Kurdistánu: analýza role vnitřních a vnějších aktérů kurdské otázky v Iráku Diploma Thesis Supervisor: RNDr. Libor Jelen, Ph.D. Prague, 2021 Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou práci zpracoval samostatně a že jsem uvedl všechny použité informační zdroje a literaturu. Tato práce ani její podstatná část nebyla předložena k získání jiného nebo stejného akademického titulu. V Praze, 11. 12. 2020 Bc. Filip Sommer Acknowledgment First of all, I would like to thank to my supervisor RNDr. Libor Jelen, Ph.D., for his professional guidance of the submitted master’s thesis, valuable advice, comments and all other help. I would also like to thank to all my family who was very patient during my trips and adventures in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. My thanks also belong to my friend Tomáš Kaválek who was my personal guide on this subject (not only in northern Iraq), for his advice and the hour-long debates, and for providing the background during my first field research. I would also like to thank to my Kurdish friends, especially to dr. Aziz Barzani, Shivan Fazil, Kamaran Palani and others who wished to remain anonymous. Without them, this thesis could not have arisen. My other thanks belong to some of my non-Kurdish friends living in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for longer time. Last but not least, I would like to thank to Falah Mustafa Bakir, the KRG’s Head of Foreign Relations during my first visit, for providing an interview and valuable advices that greatly enriched this thesis. I would also like to thank all the other people who contributed to this thesis and to all my friends for their support. Abstract This thesis represents a comprehensive analysis of the geographical and geopolitical position of the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) as an official political institution of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI). Firstly, it focuses on the internal issues of this institution and its division between two main Iraqi Kurdish political parties: KDP and PUK. Secondly, it examines the form of the relationships between the KRG and central government in Baghdad. The regional position of the KRG is explained by capturing the relationships among the KRG, the governments of the key regional countries (Turkey, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel) and important Kurdish political parties operating in this area (PKK, PYD, PJAK, HDP, ENKS and KDPI). Thirdly, the global actors (United States of America, Russian Federation and China) and their position towards the Iraqi Kurds, is also included. And finally, this thesis deals with the problematics of the Kurdish referendum of independence in 2017 and the role of ISIS as an “game changing” actor in the regional dynamics. This thesis builds on extensive search of scientific literature (about 70 titles), field research in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in the form of the interviews with 20 respondents and media reports on this topic and region. Additionally, this thesis is enriched by interview with Falah Mustafa Bakir, then KRG’s Head of Foreign Relations. Key words: Kurdistan regional government, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Turkey, US, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Abstrakt Tato práce představuje komplexní analýzu geografického a geopolitického postavení kurdské regionální vlády (KRG) jakožto oficiální politické instituce Regionu Iráckého Kurdistánu (KRI). Práce se zaměřuje na vnitřní záležitosti této instituce a její rozdělení mezi dvě hlavní irácké kurdské politické strany: KDP a PUK. Dále zkoumá formu vztahů mezi KRG a ústřední vládou v Bagdádu. Regionální postavení KRG pak vysvětluje zachycením vztahů mezi KRG, vládami klíčových regionálních zemí (Turecko, Sýrie, Írán, Saúdská Arábie a Izrael) a důležitými kurdskými politickými stranami působícími v této oblasti (PKK, PYD, PJAK, HDP, ENKS a KDPI). Mimo jiné se věnuje problematice globálních aktérů (Spojené státy americké, Ruská federace a Čína) a jejich pozic vůči iráckým Kurdům. V neposlední řadě se pak zabývá problematikou kurdského referenda o nezávislosti v roce 2017 a rolí Islámského státu (ISIS) jako aktéra „měnícího hru“ v rámci regionální dynamiky a vztahů. Tato práce je postavena na rozsáhlé rešerši vědecké literatury (okolo 70 titulů), terénním výzkumu v oblasti Iráckého Kurdistánu formou rozhovorů s 20 respondenty a mediálních zpráv, zaměřujících se na toto téma a region. Tato práce je navíc obohacena o rozhovor s Falahem Mustafou Bakirem, tehdejším ministrem zahraničních věcí kurdské regionální vlády. Klíčová slova: Irácký Kurdistán, Kurdská regionální vláda, Strana kurdských pracujících (PKK), Turecko, USA, Islámský stát Content List of figures, graphs and tables ........................................................................................... 8 List of abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 8 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 10 2. State of art ................................................................................................................. 14 3. The Middle East ....................................................................................................... 18 4. Kurdistan region of Iraq - defining the region and setting research questions .................................................................................................................................... 21 5. Methodology ............................................................................................................. 25 6. Using the case study ................................................................................................. 28 7. Kurdistan regional government and its relations with selected actors ............... 30 7.1. The KRG and its internal structure from 1991 to 2017 ........................................... 30 8. The KRG, KDP and PUK and their orientation in the foreign policy ................ 36 8.1. Relations with selected actors .................................................................................. 36 8.1.1. Position of the KRI in Iraq ............................................................................. 37 8.1.2. Surrounding countries - Turkey, Syria, and Iran ............................................ 41 8.1.3. Regional political parties - PKK, PYD, PJAK, HDP, ENKS and KDPI ....... 41 8.1.3.1 The relations between KRI, Turkey, PKK, and HDP .............................. 42 8.1.3.2 The relations between KRI, Syria, PYD, and ENKS .............................. 47 8.1.3.3 The relations between KRI, Iran, KDPI, and PJAK ................................ 49 8.1.4. The relations between KRI and other regional actors - Saudi Arabia and Israel ........................................................................................................................ 52 8.1.5. ISIS as a “game-changing” actor in the regional relations ............................. 55 8.1.6. Global actors - the United States of America, the Russian Federation and China .............................................................................................................. 57 8.1.6.1 The relation between the KRI and the United States of America ........... 60 8.1.6.2 The relation between the KRI and Russian Federation ........................... 64 8.1.6.3 The relation between the KRI and China ................................................ 67 9. Analyzing the data ................................................................................................... 69 9.1. Internal issues and relations with Iraq and regional actors ...................................... 70 9.1.1. Relations between KDP and PUK .................................................................. 70 9.1.2. The position of the KRG in Iraq ..................................................................... 73 9.1.3. The relations between the KRI, Turkey, PKK, and HDP .............................. 76 9.1.4. The relations between the KRI, Syria, PYD and ENKS ................................ 80 9.1.5. The relations between the KRI, Iran, KDPI and PJAK .................................. 82 9.1.6. The relations between the KRI and other regional actors - Saudi Arabia, Israel ............................................................................................................... 85 9.2. Global actors - the United States of America, the Russian Federation, and China ................................................................................................................................. 87 9.2.1. The relations between the KRI and United states of America ....................... 87 9.2.2. The role of KRI in the US-Iran tensions ........................................................ 87 9.2.3. The relations between KRI and Russia .......................................................... 90 9.2.4. The relations between KRI and China ........................................................... 92 9.3. Reactions of individual actors on the Kurdish referendum of independence in 2017 ................................................................................................................................. 93 10. Interpretation of the results