Kurds and Their Struggle for Autonomy

Kurds and their Struggle for Autonomy: Enduring Identity and Clientelism is a comprehensive study of the roots of Kurdish identity, the processes of identity formation among the Kurds, and the Kurds' seemingly never-ending struggle for self-determination.

Kurds and their Struggle for Autonomy: Enduring Identity and Clientelism is a comprehensive study of the roots of Kurdish identity, the processes of identity formation among the Kurds, and the Kurds’ seemingly never-ending struggle for self-determination. By relying on a hybrid theoretical model of identity politics, this book offers a thorough treatment of the origins, characteristics, and evolution of Kurdish culture in general, and political culture in particular. It also examines the historical explanations and nuances of Kurdish struggles for some form of autonomy, assesses economic imperatives that shape the potentials and challenges of Kurdish social and political life, and offers a critical review of the contemporary Kurdish institutional and policy dynamics in Iraq and Syria.

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1: Identity Politics, Nationalism, and Ethnic-Nationalism: Concepts, Theoretical Paradigms, and Challenges

2: The Kurds: Their Land, Demographics, Tribalism, Language, Religion, and Economy

3: Kurdish Political Culture, Religions, and History

4: The Kurdish Civil Society

5: Kurdish Governance in Iraq and Syria: Clientelism and Political Institutions and Processes

6: Public Policies and Intergovernmental Relations

Conclusions

Bibliography

Index

About the Authors