Thinking Theoretically about the Kurds

• Published in: Middle East critique Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 287 - 306
• Main Author: Gunter, Michael M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01-09-2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Constructivism; Feminism; Government employees; International relations; Kurdish people; Kurds; Liberalism; Marxism; Nationalism; Political parties; Realism; Referendums; Regional government; Theory; Truces & cease fires; Turkey; Kurdistan
• ISSN: 1943-6149; 1943-6157
• DOI: 10.1080/19436149.2021.1957561

Thinking theoretically about three important and recent events affecting the Kurds can help us to understand better their political experiences.
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These events include (1) The breakdown of the Turkish Government-Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) cease-fire in July 2015; (2) the failure of the advisory referendum on independence that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq held on September 25, 2017; and (3) the Turkish military incursion into northeastern Syria (Rojava or Syrian Kurdistan) in October 2019. I first examine five different theories of international relations as well as the concept of levels of analysis and theories of nationalism. In doing so, I refer intermittently to these three important recent events concerning the Kurds and then describe them more fully to illustrate how thinking theoretically can help explain what happened and why.