Kurdish Awakening: Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland

Published by University of Texas Press 2014

Kurdish Awakening

Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland

Edited by: Ofra Bengio

https://doi.org/10.7560/758131

Overview
Contents

About this book

Kurdish Awakening examines key questions related to Kurdish nationalism and identity formation in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. The world’s largest stateless ethnic group, Kurds have steadily grown in importance as a political power in the Middle East, particularly in light of the “Arab Spring.” As a result, Kurdish issues—political, cultural, and historical alike—have emerged as the subject of intense scholarly interest. This book provides fresh ways of understanding the historical and sociopolitical underpinnings of the ongoing Kurdish awakening and its already significant impact on the region.

Rather than focusing on one state or angle, this anthology fills a gap in the literature on the Kurds by providing a panoramic view of the Kurdish homeland’s various parts. The volume focuses on aspects of Kurdish nationalism and identity formation not addressed elsewhere, including perspectives on literature, gender, and constitution making. Further, broad thematic essays include a discussion of the historical experiences of the Kurds from the time of their Islamization more than a millennium ago up until the modern era, a comparison of the Kurdish experience with other ethno-national movements, and a treatment of the role of tribalism in modern nation building. This collection is unique in its use of original sources in various languages. The result is an analytically rich portrayal that sheds light on the Kurds’ prospects and the challenges they confront in a region undergoing sweeping upheavals.

Author / Editor information

OFRA BENGIO is Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Kurdish Studies Program at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, as well as Associate Professor (Emerita) in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. A frequent commentator in Israeli and world media, she is the author of several books, including The Kurds of Iraq: Building a State within a State. She lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Reviews

"Researchers of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran—in addition to broader international studies—will find this book to be significant. Kurdistan is becoming far more important in regional politics, and this will increase over the next few years. . . . This book is a sober, academically nuanced reading of a very complex and transformative situation."

— Gareth Stansfield, Al-Qasimi Chair of Arab Gulf Studies, Professor of Middle East Politics, and Director, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

"This book complements many previous studies not only by [taking account of] contemporary developments, but also by exploring the changing role of the Kurds in their host states, the region, and the world. The experience of more than 30 million Kurds without a state is not unlike many other ethnic and religious groups that make up so many nation-less states. The literature on the Kurdish identity and issues of assimilation has moved beyond the politics of imperialism and self-determination to a rich world of multidisciplinary scholarship. This book plays a positive role in continuing the process."

— Charles G. McDonald, Professor Emeritus, Department of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acronyms Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Foreword Uzi Rabi Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Introduction Ofra Bengio Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART I
Kurdish Nationalism in Comparative Perspective Benyamin Neuberger Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
Historical Setting: The Roots of Modern Kurdish Nationalism Michael Eppel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
The Dual Relationship between Kurdish Tribalism and Nationalism Eli Amarilyo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
PART II
Kurdish Integration in Iraq: The Paradoxes of Nation Formation and Nation Building Sherko Kirmanj Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
The Evolution of National Identity and the Constitution-Drafting Process in the Kurdistan-Iraq Region Rachel Kantz Feder Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
Forging Iraqi-Kurdish Identity: A Case Study of Kurdish Novelists Writing in Arabic Ronen Zeidel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
PART III
A Tale of Political Consciousness: The Rise of a Nonviolent Kurdish Political Movement in Turkey Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
The Role of Language in the Evolution of Kurdish National Identity in Turkey Duygu Atlas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
The Kurdish Women in Turkey: Nation Building and the Struggle for Gender Parity Heidi Basch-Harod Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
PART IV
The Kurds in Syria: Caught between the Struggle for Civil Equality and the Search for National Identity Eyal Zisser Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
Toward a Generational Rupture within the Kurdish Movement in Syria? Jordi Tejel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
PART V
The Kurds in Iran: The Quest for Identity Nader Entessar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
The Nostalgic Republic: The Kurdish Republic of 1946 and Its Effect on Kurdish Identity and Nation Building in Iran Hussein Tahiri Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
Conclusion: The Kurdish Momentum Ofra Bengio Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	269
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	283
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	325
Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	349
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	355

Language: English
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 384
Illustrations
- Other: 2 b&w photos, 5 b&w maps

eBook

Published: November 15, 2014
ISBN: 9780292763005