Analysis Of Kurdish Geopolitics Past And Present

Essay, Research Paper

Who are the Kurds. Most of us have heard about them but

don’t know who they are. Are they a race, a religion, a

country. As we see from the following example, even

Europeans who are much closer to the Kurds still do not have

a complete understanding of the Kurds or the middle east in

general:

In the West, the left and liberal minded

people in general, especially in the Scandinavian

and Anglo-Saxon countries, have usually supported

or at least expressed some sympathy with the

struggles against both European colonialism and

U.S. policies in Vietnam. But as soon as the

problem shifted to Biafra, Southern Sudan,

Kurdistan or Eritrea – in short, whenever the

national question was raised within a third

world country – this section of the public opinion

has tended to remain silent and confuesed.1

This lack of knowledge about the Kurds and Middle East in

general is a major wall between resolution of the many

problems that exist in the Middle East. I would like to

give you a better understanding of what it is to be Kurdish

by describing to you the past and present condition of

Kurdistan, the state or territory that the Kurdish people

populate. A brief understanding of the history of the

Kurdish people is all that is needed to successfully

accretion just why we should be more involved and educated

about the current political activities surrounding Kurdistan

and the countries that infringe upon it.

The Kurdish people have the unfortunate distinction of

being the only community of over 15 million in population

that has not achieved some form of national statehood.2

This is the problem that needs addressing, people without a

country. There Kurds territory, would be country, consists

of the mountainous regions of central and northern Zargos,

the eastern one-third of the Taurus and Pontus, and the

northern half of the Amanus ranges (see F1).4 The Kurdish

are an ancient people who about 4,000 thousand years ago

started to trickle into Kurdistan in limited numbers to

settle there.3 By the classical era in 300 b.c. the Kurds

were already experiencing massive population movements that

resulted in settlement and domination of many surrounding

regions.5 Although they did at times rule over the land

outside the mountains, for the most part, the Kurds home

ended where the mountains ended. The Kurds as a distinct

people have only survived in the mountains.6 The

relationship between the Kurds and the mountains is so

strong that they have become synomonis.7 These mountains

are also the axis for five major countries, which include

Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the former Soviet Union.

Since the end of World War I, Kurdistan has been divided

into these five sovereign states, in which a significant

population of Kurds inhabit (see below).

8

Notice that the total number of Kurds in all countries is

larger than that of Iraq but smaller than Iran. Barring a

catastrophe, Kurds will become the third most populous

ethnic group in the Middle East by the year 2000,

furthermore, if present demographics trends hold, the Kurds

will replace the Turks as the majority ethnic group in

Turkey itself.9 The Kurds remain the only ethnic group in

the world with indigenous representatives in three world

geographic blocs: the Arab World (in Iraq and Syria), NATO

(in Turkey), the South Asian – Central Asian bloc (in Iran

an Turkmenistan), and until recently the Soviet bloc (in the

Caucasus, now Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia).10

The most important features of Kurdistan society since

the end of medieval times has been it’s strong tribal

organization, with independence or autonomy being the

political status of the land. Kurdish society was well

underway of developing a political culture but this was

disbanded by the redistribution of their county at the end

of the first World War. But strong Tribal confederacies

still remained as a form of social organization and

authority in which people put their allegiance.11

Kurdish lands, rich in natural resources, have always

sustained and promoted a large population. While

registering modest grains since the late 19th century, but

particularly in the first decade of the 20th, Kurds lost

demographic ground relative to neighboring ethnic groups.

this was due as much to their less developed economy and

healthcare as it was to direct massacres, deportations, and

famines. The total number of Kurds actually decreased in

this period, while every other major ethnic group in the

area boomed.12 Since the mid 60’s this negative demographic

trend has reversed, and the Kurds are steadily making a

comeback. There is now one Kurdish city with a populatio

Внимание, отключите Adblock

Вы посетили наш сайт со включенным блокировщиком рекламы!
Ссылка для скачивания станет доступной сразу после отключения Adblock!

Скачать