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As the Middle East goes through one of its most historic, yet painful episodes, the fate of the region’s Kurds have drawn substantial interest. Transnational Kurdish awakening—both political and armed—has attracted unprecedented global interest as individual Kurdish minorities across four countries, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, have begun to shak...
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Since 1971, the United States follows Israel's security and ensuring the security of energy flow goals in the Middle East. Is the pattern that U.S. adopted to achieve these goals in Foreign Policy is subject to change in the future? To achieve these goals, America tried to take the Middle East geo-economic points including the Persian Gulf under it...
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... The oil reserves in Rojava and the KRG are vastly unequal. Estimates put the amount of oil in the KRG between 30 and 60 billion barrels making it the eighth largest oil holder in the world (Khorshid, 2014;Ünver, 2016). According to the United States Energy Information Administration (2015), Syria has 2.5 billion barrels of oil under its ground. ...
... The Kurdish population lived in the borderlands of the Empire and were given their autonomy in exchange for serving as defense units. This formal autonomy as negotiated with the Ottoman Empire was structured through the Bitlisî policies (Klein, 2011;Ünver, 2016). The Bitlisî policies fell apart following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. ...
This paper argues that sociological analysis of social movements has undertheorized non/anti-state social movements. It is argued that an alternative modality of resistance to that of movements seeking reform through the state or the capture of state power through revolution is to exit the world-system and set up parallel structures of governance and production. A conjunctural inter-regional comparison is taken up in order to map the inter-scalar and historical causal factors that led to exit-with-autonomy in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and autonomy-without-exit in Iraqi Kurdistan (Kurdish Regional Government). The paper shows that in order to exit the world-system social movement actors in Rojava used strategic loyalty bargains and political voice at specific historical conjunctures in order to maintain their movement and seize on non-state political opportunities. These same non-state political opportunities were not available for the social movement actors hoping to exit the world-system in the Kurdish Regional Government.
... Hence, Kurds' path to autonomy became "one of conflict, betrayal and dashed promises" ( Yildiz, 2007 : 14). Kurdistan was no longer an inaccessible buffer zone on the fringes of mighty empires in competition Ünver, 2016 ) as Ahmad-i Khani's poem reminds. Kurds found their ancestral homeland partitioned into four pieces and were forcefully integrated into the boundaries of emerging nation-states geared to be ethnically homogeneous and whose governments began considering Kurdish-held tribal territories as rebellious peripheries to be denied of any autonomy. ...
Examining the interplay between the oil economy and identity politics using the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a case study, this book tells the untold story of how extractivism in the Kurdish autonomous region is interwoven in a mosaic of territorial disputes, simmering ethnic tensions, dynastic rule, party allegiances, crony patronage, and divergent visions about nature.
Since the ousting of Saddam Hussein, the de-facto borders of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have repeatedly changed, with energy interests playing a major role in such processes of territorialisation. However, relatively little research exists on the topic. This book provides a timely, empirical analysis of the intersections between extractive industries, oil imaginaries, and identity formation in one of the most coveted energy frontiers worldwide. It shines a light on relations between the global production networks of petro-capitalism and extractive localities. Besides the strained federal relationship with the Iraqi central government, the transformative effects the petroleum industry has had on Kurdish society are also explored in depth. Moreover, the book fills a gap in the literature on Kurdish Studies, which has devoted scant attention to energy-related issues in the re-imagination of Kurdish self-determination.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of the extractive industries, energy studies, conflict studies, Middle Eastern politics, and political ecology.
... Though, Arabs are the most fragmented ethnic group considering their varying bounded territorial -State formations. (Freij, 1997;McGee, 2014;Neuberger, 2014;Ü nver, 2016;Vali, 1998). Many authors have focused on Kurdish issues and ethnic-nationalist movements through various perspectives considering the social movements (Romano, 2006;Tezcür, 2019), International theories, cultural nationalism and primordial perspective (Kreyenbroek & Sperl, 1991;Romano, 2006;Kentel, 2010;Romano, 2017). ...
... The collective memory that attaches to the place connects to the imagination of belonging (Groote & Haartsen, 2008;Tuan, 1977;Twigger-Ross & Uzzell, 1996;White et al., 2008). In this respect, the collective memories of Kurdish identity are associated with the sense of belongingness and create the place as a Kurdish place (Sheyholislami, 2011;Ü nver, 2016). In this way, ''Imagined community ''acquire an inevitable reality through practices that derive as much from imaginary and the discourse link between individuals. ...
... The historical memories of 'Turkish Kurd' (estimated population as 15-20% in Turkey) or shaped with the forces of time as ''historical exile punishment, economic migration 1950s, military village evacuation in 1990s''. Further, the spatial forces of deterritorialization and reterritorialization have constructed the Kurdish places in the 1990s Kurdish place identities 'Home' also related to ''relative isolation'' of 'Kurds' at mountains to topographical feature; ''As mountains are considered as always a challenge to the energies of man (Gambetti & Jongerden, 2015;Park, 2005;Sheyholislami, 2011;Ü nver, 2016). However, mountains have always given rise to closed societies, self-centered, orthodox and preserving old customs. ...
The p resent research paper aims to investigate the relations between "power" and "places". It tried to find out the ethnic construct of place identity and its attachment to the sense of power. It analyses the questions as, How the ethnic identity of social groups constructs the meaning of "place" and transformed themselves into ethnic places? How do the "places" intervene in the identity of "selves"? This research undertakes Kurdish identity and their imbibed notion in order to contextualize the ‘ethnic place’ and questions of "selves". In this connection, it studies the ethnic places as the phenomenological product of ethnic and social experiences. It discusses ethnic places and their sense of power within the framework of place identity. The central theme of this paper is the Kurdish identity of Turkey to be placed in the spatial adjustment to which they belong. The image of Kurdistan as a place seems to empower them and ultimately causes their sense of security. The method of research is purely theoretical and descriptive on the bases of spatial-analytic approaches. However, in this research, phenomenological analysis of the concepts of place and experiences are argued with relation to power, place and ethnic identity. The phenomenological experiences of community behavior have been seen with respect to their cognitive relations to the living environment of the Kurdish group. Generally, this study is based on secondary sources and archival materials. A case study of Kurdish ethnic identity assertion is seen with respect to the theoretical applicability of place, power, and security concepts. It analyses Turkish Kurds and their identity assertion in the context of demand for the place, associated with the "power" as well as their cognitive environment and sense of belongingness. Ethnic place emerges in "relative isolation" as ethnic selves differing from other-selves. Hence, the demand for the place by the Kurdish group in Turkey is seen as a preservation of ethnic places to be empowered.
... This struggle has brought the Kurds closer to the dream of Kurdish transboundary unity, but it also has become a source of intra-Kurdish rivalries. 1 In Syria, the regime of Bashar al-Assad began to withdraw from the Kurdish-majority areas in northeastern Syria in the summer of 2012. This withdrawal allowed the PYD-many of whose members are linked to the PKK-to bolster its presence. ...
Even after the collapse of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the Iraqi-Syrian border continues to be one of the most geopolitically restless areas in the Middle East. In the last few years, a variety of Kurdish entities and groups have increasingly shaped the dynamics across the northern section of this border. In particular, there are two dynamics that deserve attention. First, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Kurdish-dominated Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria have come to effectively control new border crossings in this area as the Syrian government has lost access and the Iraqi government’s presence has been contested. This means that the movement of people and goods in this area is largely controlled by two entities that are neither state nor nonstate actors. The reality on the ground reflects hybrid arrangements that have emerged as a result of the weaknesses of both central governments and the increasing autonomy gained by Kurdish parties (which, in the case of the KRG, is stipulated constitutionally).
Second, the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), by virtue of its participation in the war against the Islamic State and by taking advantage of the consequent power vacuum, managed to augment its influence along the border. Its ideological and organizational ties with local groups, such as the People Protection Units (YPG) in Syria and Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) in Iraq, enabled it to exert security and political influence. On the one hand, this turned segments of the border into an arena for transnational, pan-Kurdish militancy. On the other hand, these groups’ presence intensified intra-Kurdish rivalries, especially between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which is the KRG’s main ruling party, and the PKK. This rivalry reflects a clash of two visions for the border: the PKK’s revolutionary, transnational vision that seeks to eradicate or at least underplay the reality of the border; and the KDP’s pragmatic and territorial vision seeking to assert the border’s reality as a demarcation of the KRG’s authority and future statehood. In addition, the KDP is allied with Turkey, which has been fighting the PKK for several decades and is currently waging a military campaign against the group in northern Iraq and Syria.
To a large extent, the future of this border is predicated on this geopolitical conflict and whether the PKK manages to entrench itself further or becomes isolated and marginalized as the KRG, the Autonomous Administration, and the Iraqi federal government assert their territorial authorities.
... The second geopolitical constraint had to do with the attempts of international forces, the US and Russia in particular, to reorder the region through the global geopolitical contradictions centred on Syria (Unver 2016). Even though the core states are central to these hegemonic relations, they are dependent on converging interests with regional actors, which are conducted by means of continuous negotiations. ...
The »global« is permanently made and remade by how it is envisioned in political projects, in language, and in literature. Through a range of case studies, this book shows how practices of referring to the world actually constitute the global in its many facets. It aims to provide a sense in readers of how the global is not something »out there«, but that it is embedded in a wide range of the seemingly »everyday«. The contributions appeal to a readership from a background in Sociology, History, Political Science, Literary Studies, and Social Work.
... The second geopolitical constraint had to do with the attempts of international forces, the US and Russia in particular, to reorder the region through the global geopolitical contradictions centred on Syria (Unver 2016). Even though the core states are central to these hegemonic relations, they are dependent on converging interests with regional actors, which are conducted by means of continuous negotiations. ...
The "global" is permanently made and remade by how it is envisioned in political projects, in language, and in literature. Through a range of case studies, this book shows how practices of referring to the world actually constitute the global in its many facets. It aims to provide a sense in readers of how the global is not something "out there", but that it is embedded in a wide range of the seemingly "everyday". The contributions appeal to a readership from a background in Sociology, History, Political Science, Literary Studies, and Social Work.
... The Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) split the Kurdish homeland between Britain and France as part of their 'spheres of influence' before being split among modern day Turkey (Bakur), 7 Iraq (Başur), Iran (Rojhilat), and Syria (Rojava). 8 The treaty of Lausanne (1923) in which Turkey gave up its claims to the remaining pieces of the Ottoman Empire failed to mention Kurdistan, resulting in a lack of formal recognition within the nation-state system. The disarticulation of Kurdistan was institutionalised by the Middle East Treaty Organisation (1955), which reinforced the borders drawn after World War I therefore subverting Kurdish transnational efforts directed at establishing a homeland. ...
The aim of this paper is to broaden our understanding of multidimensional socio-spatial relations as they apply to anti-systemic insurrectionary movements. As an illustrative case I discuss the Rojava insurrectionary movement, particularly the difficulties it faces in maintaining its solvency as a free territory due to multiple mechanisms of state power and capital accumulation in the world-system. I discuss where anarchist theory in the social sciences has been adequate and where it has come up short in understanding the potentialities of anarchist insurrectionary movements. I do this by paying particular attention to the sociohistorical and sociospatial realities in Rojava as it applies to territory, place, scale, and networks. In conclusion I call for a synthesis of anarchist theorisation with the world-systems perspective.
... For example, they say that "Kurds have no-friends but the mountains." (Unver, 2016) However, rather than facilitating 'Kurdish unity', this territory has ended up preventing it, as rugged terrain forced the Kurds to live in cut-off, isolated tribal structures and become involved in rivalry between larger powers in the region. Ünver believe that the "buffer status" Kurds possess is imposed on them by their geographical location. ...
This thesis attempts to present a geopolitical account of the endeavors of Kurdistan Region of Iraq towards independence in the last two decades. After the establishment of Kurdistan as a federal region in 2003, there is a perpetual mistrust between Kurdish leaders with Iraqi Federal.
... 87 This became the foundation of my article on Kurdish geopolitics later on. 88 While I was planning to expand the militant selfie study to other groups in Syria and also bring in Ukrainian groups, a failed coup attempt took place in Turkey, in July 2016. I reorganized my work to focus on the digital engagement patterns during the coup attempt and started to scrape geotagged tweets that clustered around six most widely shared hashtags. ...
Computational Social Science emerged as a highly technical and popular discipline in the last few years, owing to the substantial advances in communication technology and daily production of vast quantities of personal data. As per capita data production significantly increased in the last decade, both in terms of its size, bytes, as well as its detail, heart rate monitors, Internet connected appliances, smartphones, social scientists ability to extract meaningful social, political and demographic information from digital data also increased. A vast methodological gap exists in computational international relations, or ComInt, which refers to the use of one or a combination of tools such as data mining, natural language processing, automated text analysis, web scraping, geospatial analysis and machine learning to provide larger and better organized data to test more advanced theories of IR. After providing an overview of the potentials of computational IR and how an IR scholar can establish technical proficiency in computer science, such as starting with Python, R, QGis, ArcGIS or Github, this paper will focus on some of the author's works in providing an idea for IR students on how to think about computational IR. The paper argues that computational methods transcend the methodological schism between qualitative and quantitative approaches and form a solid foundation for building truly multi method research design.
... The Syrian Civil War changed this thinking. Once ISIS was defeated at Kobani, the Kurdish cantons of Afrin, Kobani, and Jazira would unite along the border, creating a singular territorial reality, resting at the edge of Turkey's Hatay province-which would be the only gap that would prevent a unified Rojava from accessing the Mediterranean Sea (Unver 2016). Not only would the Kurdish belt's access to the Mediterranean would be an immense geopolitical goal that would render unification and state building, it would also open up KRG oil fields to naval export without having to deal with neighboring Turkey, Syria, Iraq, or Iran. ...
No-go zones are gray areas in conflict settings where state weakening is followed by the emergence of violent non-state actors (VNSAs). These groups not only expel state security forces from the area but gradually start to take on the functions of the state, such as provision of security, law enforcement, and providing basic goods and services. These no-go zones are coming into the focus of international scholarship, as wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and beyond generate substantially weakened states, which export instability around their immediate neighborhood. This paper focuses on two VNSAs operating in northern Syria, Islamic State (ISIS) and People’s Protection Units (YPG—in Rojava), to assess how they establish, run, and hold no-go zones. In doing so, this paper focuses on their territorial approach, propaganda, economic policy, and redistribution networks. Also, this paper compares and contrasts ISIS and YPG’s diverging views on optimizing taxation and production, along with a discussion of how territory and population size affects these policies.
