What Drives the Securitization of the Kurdish–Kurdistan Question, and How Does it Shape the Middle Eastern Security Subcomplex?

Ramin Mafakheri

Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 2025, vol. 12, issue 3, 303-326

Abstract: This article examines the strategic logic and underlying motivations behind the securitization of the Kurdish–Kurdistan question in the Middle East. It argues that, rather than achieving its intended goal of containment, the securitization process has inadvertently facilitated the formation of the Kurdistan Security Subcomplex (KSS). Focusing on Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, the study explores how securitization—intended as a deterrent—has failed to neutralize the movement and has contributed to its evolution into a transnational constellation of sociopolitical and military actors. These developments have significantly influenced the foreign and domestic policies of the states involved. Drawing on securitization theory and regional security complex theory (RSCT), the article demonstrates how this movement, once framed as an internal threat, now constitutes a core element of regional security architecture. The findings underscore the entangled dynamics of vulnerability, resistance, and strategic alignment that shape the security subcomplex, illustrating the agency of non-state actors in redefining regional security landscapes.

Keywords: Securitization; regional security (sub)complex; Kurdistan movement; Kurdish national identity; survival; Kurdistan security subcomplex (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:crmide:v:12:y:2025:i:3:p:303-326

DOI: 10.1177/23477989251346576

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