The Kurds in a Changing Middle East

The Kurds are one of the largest stateless nations in the world, numbering more than 20 million people. Their homeland lies mostly within the present-day borders of Turkey, Iraq and Iran as well as parts of Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Yet until recently the 'Kurdish question' - that is, the question of Kurdish self-determination - seemed, to many observers, dormant. It was only after the so-called Arab Spring, and with the rise of the Islamic State, that they emerged at the centre of Middle East politics. But what is the future of the Kurdish national movement? How do the Kurds themselves understand their community and quest for political representation?
This book analyses the major problems, challenges and opportunities currently facing the Kurds. Of particular significance, this book shows, is the new Kurdish society that is evolving in the context of a transforming Middle East. This is made of diverse communities from across the region who represent very different historical, linguistic, political, social and cultural backgrounds that are yet to be understood. This book examines the recent shifts and changes within Kurdish societies and their host countries, and argues that the Kurdish national movement requires institutional and constitutional recognition of pluralism and diversity. Featuring contributions from world-leading experts on Kurdish politics, this timely book combines empirical case studies with cutting-edge theory to shed new light on the Kurds of the 21st century.

Faleh A. Jabar was Research Fellow at the School of Politics and Sociology, Birkbeck College, University of London and President of the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies in Beirut. His publications in English include: The Shi'ite Movement in Iraq (2003), Tribes and Power in the Middle East (2002), and Ayatollahs, Sufis and Ideologues (2002) and wrote a number of books in Arabic as well as contributions to peer-reviewed edited collections and journals.
Renad Mansour is Research Fellow at both the Cambridge Security Initiative at the University of Cambridge and The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House. He has previously been Lecturer of International Studies in the Faculty of Politics at Cambridge University and Senior Fellow at The Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies, Beirut.

Maps showing the predominantly Kurdish areas in the Middle East
Note on Transliteration
Note on Bibliographic Referencing
Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Introduction. The Kurdish Moment and the Fate of the Unitary State in
the Middle East, Faleh A. Jabar
Part I. New Society: The Kurds in a Changing Middle East
Chapter 1. New and Old Dynamics in the Construction of Kurdish Nationhood -
Some Reflections Faleh A. Jabar
Chapter 2. Problems and Outlooks of Kurdish Representation, Renad Mansour
Chapter 3. Segmentation of Political Parties in Underdeveloped Contexts -
The Case of the Kurds, Gareth Stansfield
Chapter 4. The Rise of the White Kurds - An Essay in Regional Political
Economy, Michiel Leezenberg
Chapter 5. Forms and Prospects of Kurdish Armed Struggle, David Romano
Part II. Old Society: Perennial Continuity
Chapter 6. Tribes and Ethnic Identity, Martin van Bruinessen
Chapter 7. Tribes and Politics, Hamit Bozarslan
Chapter 8. Gender, Family, Patriarchy and Women, Sami Zubaida
Part III. Reflections on the Historiography of the Kurds
Chapter 9. A Critical Overview of Early British Kurdish Studies, Michael Gunter
Chapter 10. Kurdish History - Not a Neutral Pursuit, Janet Klein
Author Biographies
Maps showing the predominantly Kurdish areas in the Middle East