The Kurdish Spring

Michael Gunter

Third World Quarterly, 2013, vol. 34, issue 3, 441-457

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to survey the Kurdish Spring (demands for meaningful democracy along with cultural, social, and political rights and their immediate implementation) that has occurred in the aftermath of the much better known Arab Spring which began in late 2010. To this end it analyses the situation in Turkey, Iraq and Syria. In Turkey the failure of the government’s much heralded Kurdish Opening and the prospects for its renewal are investigated. This includes the continuing kck arrests and sentencings that seem more a war on dissent than on terror. In Iraq the rise of the Gorran Party, anti-government demonstrations which occurred in 2011, and Kurdistan Regional Government (krg) president Massoud Barzani’s recent hints that the krg will declare independence are discussed. The failure to agree on a hydrocarbons law and on a boundary for the krg are two major reasons for Barzani’s position. For Syria the article analyses the assassination of Mishaal Tammo in October 2011 and the rise of the pkk-affiliated pyd against the background of Syria suddenly becoming a major factor in the Kurdish Spring. Iran’s relative quiescence will also be noted.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2013.785339

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