Power and Borders - Kurds and Kurdistan CS Flashcards
What type of sovereignty is threatened here?
Territorial integrity
Who are the main actors involved?
Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria
How many of the Kurdish population live in Turkey?
50%
Why do the Kurds have no established territory?
Denied a state since the Ottoman Empire
Why is there a territorial integrity/sovereignty issue?
Their territory falls across 4 states that already exist, including nations in conflict -> Syria and Iraq
Why is this a complex issue?
- The Iraqi and Syrian Kurds have a form of autonomy -> neighbouring Turks are pushing into this region
- In 1988 Iraq Kurds suffered violent oppression -> Saddam Hussein gassed thousands
- USA supported Syrian Kurds during civil war, then withdrew when Syrian fighters became useless in holding ISIS back -> ‘Used the Kurds’
What are the social causes of the issue?
- With shared religion and similar language have been systematically persecuted
- Division within Kurdish community along tribal, and linguistic lines -> cohesion difficult
How have the Kurds been persecuted?
- Villages burnt
- Banned language
What year were the Kurds allow to teach language and culture in Turkey?
2012
What are the economic causes of the issue?
- Conflict with Iraq led to loss of land and Kirkuk oil fields
- Building the Kurdistan state would mean a landlocked state surround by hostile neighbours
- Losing territory poses a threat to the socio-economic development of Turkey as Kurds make a significant proportion of the pop.
What proportion of the Turkish population are Kurds?
15-20%
What are the environmental causes of the issue?
- Kirkuk considered central to Kurdish statehood -> oil wealth
- Kirkuk in Iraq and it was attacked after the Kurdish independence referendum
When was the Kurdish independence referendum?
2014
What are the political causes of the issue?
- No middle Eastern state will give up land for the Kurds -> would break surround states
- Kurdish state would be allied to US/Israel and Iraq and Iran hostile to this
- Not all Kurds want a state -> want autonomy in a already existing state
- Kurds seeking more political rights in Turkey -> PKK seen as a terrorist organisation
What is PKK?
Kurdish Political Party
What was the vote for independency for Kurds in Iraq?
93%
What is the relationship between the Kurds and the Govt in Syria, Turkey and Iraq?
It is fractious and tense, and often fatal
What are the interventions and actions of other world powers?
- Allies promised the Kurds a state after WW1, but never materialised
- No other states have recognised Kurdistan because their own sovereignty would be threatened by domestic independence movements
- Allowed Turkey to attack Kurdish held areas in Syria’s NW territory
What are the challenges for stability, equality, economic growth and development?
- Kurds do not agree on a state
- Independence for a small Kurdish state in Iraq would cut them off and weaken them
- Turkey would see Iraqi Kurdistan as a threat, and would enact sanctions on Iraq
What are the opportunities for stability, equality, economic growth and development?
- Kurdish referendum in Iraq for independence is a symbol of liberal democracy and freedom, in a region where this is not a the norm
What are the key words associated with this case study?
- Separatist pressures
- Nation
- Territorial integrity
- Sovereignty
- Autonomy
What are the impact on people?
- PKK armed struggle in Turkey has cost 1000s of lives
- Migration of Kurds -> Germany and Europe 1.5 million
What are the consequences of global governance strategies for local people?
- Lack of global governance has rendered Kurds without a state
- Current lack of new states due to permanence of territorial integrity makes future state difficult to achieve
What is a nation?
A large body people united buy common descent, history, culture or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory
How much oil is estimated to be in the Northern part of Iraq?
45 million barrels
What’s the impact on place?
- Areas of NE Syria now in hands of Assad , leader of Syria, to prevent autonomy
- Kurdish areas of NE Iraq destroyed by heavy Govt backed bombardment in 1998 , to prevent insurgency
How is Pakistans sovereignty threatened?
Externally:
- Has become a regional security threat -> matter of survival
- Effects amplified by climate change
How much of Pakistans agricultural industry does it support?
90%
What’s one reason why India want Jammu and Kashmir?
It is their route into Central Asia
What is the economic factor contributing to the conflict?
75% pop are farmers -> economic disaster if water supply cut off
