The Future of Kurdistan
Great Decisions 2016 | Topic 3
Kurdistan, a mountainous region made up of parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia and Syria, is home to one of the largest ethnic groups in West Asia: the Kurds.
Kurdistan, a mountainous region made up of parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, is home to one of the largest ethnic groups in West Asia: the Kurds. Now, most in the West know them for the small, oil-rich autonomous region in northern Iraq called Iraqi Kurdistan—one of the U.S.’ closest allies in the Middle East, and a bulwark against the expansion of the so-called Islamic State. What does the success of Iraqi Kurdistan mean for Kurds in the surrounding region?
Latest News
Blogs
Articles
- Why Turkey is Fighting the Kurds Who are Fighting ISIS
- Kurds Need More Than Arms
- Syria’s Kurds at the Center of America’s Anti-Jihadi Strategy
- Who are the Kurds?
- The Time of the Kurds - An Interactive Presentation
Winter Updates
- Turkey’s Campaign Against Kurdish Militants Takes Toll on Civilians
- Kurdish Trenches Against IS Draw Iraqi Ire
- Kurds as Peacemakers in the Middle East
- Could another ISIS surge hasten a Kurdish exit from Iraq?
- Turkey’s unwinnable war
- Turkey and the Kurds: Widening the conflict
2016 National Opinion Ballot Report
Related Organizations
Recommended Readings
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ISIS vs. the Kurds
Iraq expert reports on the possibility of Iraqi Kurdish statehood in the immediate aftermath of the war with ISIS. Rare access to Massoud Barzani, the President of the KRG, is the centerpiece of the work.
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What the Kurds Want
An exploration of a would-be leftist revolution in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria.
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Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood Is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East
This exhaustively researched book of narrative reporting explores the possiblity of Iraqi Kurdish independence, as well as its impact on the region.
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Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence
Six years after its initial publication, this book remains the foremost insight into the PKK and the Kurdish struggle within Turkey and beyond. Based on interviews with former guerillas, the book provides a nuanced view of the polarizing and, in the West, greatly misunderstood war.
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Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History
Susan Meisalas spent decades in Iraqi Kurdistan, beginning in 1991, creating this rich visual history of Iraqi Kurds. Her photographs and descriptions help to illustrate the complicated and often tragic history of Kurds in Iraq.
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Kurds in Control
The article challenges some of the mainstream narratives about Iraqi Kurdistan in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Great Decisions 2024 cover image.