Routledge Handbook on the Kurds

by Michael Gunter (Editor)

Overview

With an estimated population of over 30 million, the Kurds are the largest stateless nation in the world. They are becoming increasingly important within regional and international geopolitics, particularly since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Arab Spring and the war in Syria.

This multidisciplinary Handbook provides a definitive overview of a range of themes within Kurdish studies. Topics covered include:

• Kurdish studies in the United States and Europe



• Early Kurdish history



• Kurdish culture, literature and cinema



• Economic dimensions



• Religion



• Geography and travel



• Kurdish women



• The Kurdish situation in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran



• The Kurdish diaspora.

With a wide range of contributions from many leading academic experts, this Handbook will be a vital resource for students and scholars of Kurdish studies and Middle Eastern studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367580582
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael M. Gunter is a Professor of Political Science at Tennessee Technological University and the Secretary-General of the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), headquartered in Brussels. He is the author or editor of 15 scholarly books on the Kurdish and Armenian issues as well as over 100 peer-reviewed scholarly articles.

Table of Contents

List of maps xi

Introduction Michael M. Gunter 1

Part I Kurdish studies 11

1 Kurdish studies in the United States Michael M. Gunter 13

2 Kurdish studies in Europe Vera Eccarius-Kelly 22

Part II Early Kurdish history 35

3 The Kurdish emirates: Obstacles or precursors to Kurdish nationalism? Michael Eppel 37

4 An overview of Kurdistan of the 19th century Hamit Bozarslan 48

5 The development of the Kurdish national movement in Turkey from Mahmud II to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Ahmet Serdar Akturk 62

Part III Kurdish culture 77

6 Ehmedê Xanîs Mem û Zîn: The consecration of a Kurdish national epic Michiel Leezenberg 79

7 Classical and modern Kurdish literature Hashem Ahmadzadeh 90

8 Calibrating Kurmanji and Sorani: Proposal for a methodology Michael L. Chyet 104

9 Kurdish cinema Bahar Simsek 110

Part IV Economic dimensions 125

10 The oil imperative in the KRG David Romano 127

11 De-development in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Veli Yadirgi 139

Part V Religion 157

12 Islam and the Kurds Mehmet Gurses 159

13 The inadequate Islamic grappling with the Kurdish issue Christopher Houston 169

14 The Jewish communities in Kurdistan within the tribal Kurdish society Mordechai Zaken 181

15 Yezidi baptism and rebaptism: Resilience, reintegration, and religious adaptation Tyler Fisher Nahro Zagros 202

Part VI Geography and travel 215

16 The geopolitics of the Kurds since World War I: Between Iraq and other hard places Michael B. Bishku 217

17 Roaming Iraqi Kurdistan Stafford Clarry 227

Part VII Women 237

18 Kurdish women Anna Grabolle-Celiker 239

Part VIII The Kurdish situation in Turkey 257

19 The rise of the pro-Kurdish democratic movement in Turkey Cengiz Gunes 259

20 The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Kurdish political parties in the 1970s Joost Jongerden Ahmet Hamdi Akkaya 270

21 Turkey's Kurdish complexes and its Syrian quagmire Bill Park 282

Part IX The Kurdish situation in Iraq 297

22 The state we're in: Postcolonial sequestration and the Kurdish quest for independence since the First World War Francis Owtram 299

23 The disputed territories of Northern Iraq: ISIS and beyond Liam Anderson 318

24 The continuing problem of KRG corruption Michael Rubin 329

25 The Russian historical and political approach towards nonconventional independence of Iraqi Kurdistan Kirill V. Vertyaev 341

Part X The Kurdish situation in Syria 355

26 The Kurdish PYD and the Syrian Civil War Eva Savelsberg 357

27 The evolution of Kurdish struggle in Syria: Between Pan-Kurdism and Syrianization, 1920-2016 Jordi Tejel 366

28 The roots of democratic autonomy in Northern Syria-Rojava Michael Knapp 382

Part XI Iran 397

29 Iran and the Kurds Nader Entessar 399

Part XII The Kurdish diaspora 411

30 The future of the Kurdish diaspora Östen Wahlbeck 413

31 Diasporic conceptions of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Barzoo Eliassi 425

32 The Kurds in Germany Vera Eccarius-Kelly 439

33 The Kurdish diaspora in the UK Desmond Fernandes 451

Notes on contributors 465

Index 471

Editorial Reviews

"...edited by Michael M. Gunter, who is himself probably the most prolific of today’s scholars of Kurdish politics... Gunter has made an effort to juxtapose different viewpoints in each section, some chapters being sympathetic with the Kurdish movements described and others more critical[...] The history of the Kurdish movement, from the early twentieth century until the defeat of ISIS, is well covered and there are interesting though partial observations on changes in the political economy and social organisation of Kurdistan. [...] Kurdish scholars will find a few chapters that provide significant new information or analysis... Non-specialists who consult it as a work of reference may find it helpful for contextualising news reports." — Martin van Bruinessen, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, book review appeared in Kurdish Studies, May 2020

"Edited by Michael M. Gunter, who is himself probably the most prolific of today’s scholars of Kurdish politics and who persuaded over thirty colleagues to contribute chapters." - Martin van Bruinessen, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, review in Kurdish Studies

From the Publisher