STATEHOD ISSUE OF KURDISTAN (IRAQ)
NURUL RAFFIZA NORZEHAN
227460
LECTURER:
DR. SHERKO KIRMANJ
Background
Iraq in year 2005 has recognized the authority of Kurdistan region in the north of the country run
by Kurdistan Regional Government (parliamentary system). The minority made up of 17% and
20% live in a sporadic pattern across Syria in the west, Iran in the east, and north through Turkey.
However, only Kurdish in Iraq managed to establish their own government within the federal state
of Iraq. The Kurds of Iraq struggled to get full independence from the Iraqi state government and
this alarmed the neighbourhood countries of Iraq who feared that it could set a precedent for their
own Kurdish minorities. However, both Iraqi and Kurdish government agreed to work together in
facing the common enemy of Islamic State and the plan for independence were put on hold.
Problem statement
This paper will explore on Kurdistan statehood struggle and the factor that control Iraq Kurdish to
achieve it. Besides, this paper will explain whether Kurdistan will achieve its statehood in
international community or not.
Research Objectives

To identify the external and internal factors that manipulating the Iraq Kurdistan’s
independence.

To analyze the stability of Kurdistan’s government in achieving their independence.

To determine whether Kurdistan will achieve its independence and form a statehood.
Research questions

What are the external and internal factors that influence Iraq Kurdistan’s independence?

Why government of Kurdistan still unable to achieve independence?

Do Iraq Kurdistan will achieve its independence and statehood soon?
Significance of the study
This research topic will give a different dimension for International Affairs Management
(INTAFF) students about the issue of statehood in 21st centuries of international relations. They
will have a clear mind of the importance of a state and Kurdistan has been struggle for a long time
to achieve it. Thus, indirectly it will nurture the sense of nationalism and a vigilant mind in
protecting an independence of a state.
Theoretical framework
Rights to territory
Our world remains divided into territorial states, partly founded on modern settlement projects,
which typically resist any changes in their borders. What should we think about the right to
territory, particularly where more than one group lays claim to a single piece of land or to the use
of its resources? Territorial rights also raise a series of additional troubling questions when we
consider that states assert the right to control the flow of people and goods across their borders,
keeping strangers out and valuable natural resources within the territory of a country.
Research methods
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Reading materials
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Electronics resources
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Interview
Literature review
Kurdish Politics in the Middle East, written by Nader Entessar and published in year 2010,
enlighten on Kurdish Politics in the Middle East analyzes political and social dimensions of
Kurdish integration into the mainstream socio-political life in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Its central
thesis is that ethnic conflict constitutes a major challenge to the contemporary nation-state system
in the Middle East. Perhaps no single phenomenon highlights this thesis more than the historical
Kurdish struggle for self-determination. This book's focus is on Kurdish politics and its
relationship with broader regional and global developments that affect the Kurds. It does not claim
to cover everything Kurdish, and it does not promote the political agenda of any group, movement,
or country.
A political Theory of territory by Margaret Moore (2015) explain what exactly is the appropriate
relationship between people and territory? This is the fundamental question that Margaret Moore
sets out to answer in her new book, offering the reader A Political Theory of Territory. No set of
moral questions appears more pressing today than the series of issues she addresses in it: Who has
the right to what territory, and what should such territorial rights include? No other philosophical
volume thus far has supplied an answer as complete and all-encompassing as the account of
territorial justice delivered in this impressive book.
Kurdistan in the Shadow of History by Susan Meiselas and Martin van Bruinessen (1997),
enumerate on how Kurdistan was erased from world maps after World War I, when the victorious
powers carved up the Middle East, leaving the Kurds without a homeland. Today the Kurds, who
live on land that straddles the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, are by far the largest ethnic
group in the world without a state. A crucial repository of memory for the Kurdish community
both in exile and at home, this new edition appears at a time when the world’s attention has once
again been drawn to the lands of this little-understood but historically consequential people.
Editing
In Iraq, the Kurds have been granted their own semi-autonomous region, which they primarily administer
themselves. While not the same as an independent nation-state, it is indeed the next best thing. The Kurds are
permitted to elect their own government (based in Erbil) and even maintain their own military force (the
“Peshmerga”). Despite these conditions, Iraq is unlikely to ever sever ties in entirety with the region for two
reasons. First and foremost, the Turks would intervene militarily in Iraq if it ever ceded a Kurdistan due to the
threat of domestic instability.. Iraq would not benefit from a war and thus cession is not an attractive option for
the Iraqis. Secondly, Iraqi Kurdistan does produce substantial amounts of oil, and some of those oil revenues go
to the Iraqi central government. Losing Kurdistan would mean losing out on some of those revenues. Therefore,
while the Kurds are relatively well treated in Iraq, an independent nation does not appear to be on the horizon
(Misra, 2015)
Iraqi Kurds were granted with semi- autonomous region in local administration (Erbil). However, it is not as the
same as an independent nation- state status. Compared to other Kurds in neighbouring states, Iraqi Kurds are
lucky as they are allowed to elect their own government and to own their own military force (PESHMERGA).
Even so, Iraq central government is not in idea of disserving the region due to some political interests. Firstly,
the Turks will interfere militarily in Iraq if the central government of Iraq ceded Kurdistan. There is no good
from a war, so cession is not an option for the Iraq’s government. Secondly, is economic interest of the central
government on the Kurdistan region. They produce significant amounts of oil, and the revenues goes to the
government. Hence, losing Kurdistan will not be helpful for the Iraq central government in terms of economy.