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Cross-border Unity or Fragmentation of the Kurds - A Qualitative Content Analysis on the KRG’s and the PYD’s Views on National Identity and Statehood

Afsharian, Maral LU (2020) MRSK62 20192
Human Rights Studies
Abstract (Swedish)
Med en befolkning på cirka 30 miljoner människor är kurderna den fjärde största etniska gruppen i Mellanöstern. Trots detta har kurderna inte sin egen självständiga stat vilket gör dem till en minoritetsgrupp i Turkiet, Irak, Iran och Syrien. Eftersom kurderna är utspridda över fyra olika stater är det av intresse att undersöka hur de hänvisar till varandra i förhållande till idén om att ha en suverän stat. Syftet med undersökningen är att ta reda på hur kurderna kopplar samman deras idé om nationell identitet och statsskap. För att uppfylla syftet med undersökningen har uttalanden som berör nationell identitet och statsskap från Kurdistans regionala regering (KRG) i Irak samt Demokratiska unionspartiet (PYD) i Syrien, undersökts. De... (More)
Med en befolkning på cirka 30 miljoner människor är kurderna den fjärde största etniska gruppen i Mellanöstern. Trots detta har kurderna inte sin egen självständiga stat vilket gör dem till en minoritetsgrupp i Turkiet, Irak, Iran och Syrien. Eftersom kurderna är utspridda över fyra olika stater är det av intresse att undersöka hur de hänvisar till varandra i förhållande till idén om att ha en suverän stat. Syftet med undersökningen är att ta reda på hur kurderna kopplar samman deras idé om nationell identitet och statsskap. För att uppfylla syftet med undersökningen har uttalanden som berör nationell identitet och statsskap från Kurdistans regionala regering (KRG) i Irak samt Demokratiska unionspartiet (PYD) i Syrien, undersökts. De politiska organisationernas skriftliga agendor och officiella uttalanden mellan 2016–2019 har granskats genom en induktiv kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Det teoretiska ramverket för studien är David Millers teori om nationell självbestämmelse som belyser vikten av självstyrande för människor som innehar samma nationella identitet. Studien drar slutsatsen att KRG inkluderar de irakiska kurderna i sin definition av nationell identitet och strävar efter en självständig stat för de irakiska kurderna i den kurdiska regionen i Irak. PYD, å andra sidan, inkluderar alla kurder från olika stater i sin definition av nationell identitet, men motsätter sig idén om statsgränser vilket betyder att de inte strävar efter en suverän stat för kurderna. (Less)
Abstract
With a population of around 30 million people, the Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. Despite this, the Kurds do not have their own independent state which makes them a minority group in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Since the Kurds are scattered over four different states it is of interest to examine how they refer to each other in relation to the idea of having an independent state. The purpose of the study is to examine how the Kurds link their idea of national identity and statehood. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study, the views on national identity and statehood of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), are examined. The political organizations’... (More)
With a population of around 30 million people, the Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. Despite this, the Kurds do not have their own independent state which makes them a minority group in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Since the Kurds are scattered over four different states it is of interest to examine how they refer to each other in relation to the idea of having an independent state. The purpose of the study is to examine how the Kurds link their idea of national identity and statehood. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study, the views on national identity and statehood of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), are examined. The political organizations’ written agendas and official statements from 2016-2019 are examined through an inductive qualitative content analysis. The theoretical framework for the study is David Miller’s theory on national self-determination which highlights the importance of self-governing for people who share the same national identity. The study concludes that KRG include the Iraqi Kurds in their definition of national identity and seek an independent state for the Iraqi Kurds in the Kurdish region in Iraq. PYD, on the other hand, include all Kurds from different states in their definition of national identity, but opposes the idea of nation-states and therefore do not seek an independent state for the Kurds. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Afsharian, Maral LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Gränsöverskridande enighet eller fragmentering av kurderna. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av KRG:s och PYD:s syn på nationell identitet och statsskap
course
MRSK62 20192
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Kurds, KRG, PYD, Statehood, Independence, National Identity, Kurdistan. Kurder, statsskap, självständighet, nationell identitet, Kurdistan.
language
English
id
9001096
date added to LUP
2020-03-04 09:51:31
date last changed
2020-03-04 09:51:31
@misc{9001096,
  abstract     = {{With a population of around 30 million people, the Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. Despite this, the Kurds do not have their own independent state which makes them a minority group in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Since the Kurds are scattered over four different states it is of interest to examine how they refer to each other in relation to the idea of having an independent state. The purpose of the study is to examine how the Kurds link their idea of national identity and statehood. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study, the views on national identity and statehood of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), are examined. The political organizations’ written agendas and official statements from 2016-2019 are examined through an inductive qualitative content analysis. The theoretical framework for the study is David Miller’s theory on national self-determination which highlights the importance of self-governing for people who share the same national identity. The study concludes that KRG include the Iraqi Kurds in their definition of national identity and seek an independent state for the Iraqi Kurds in the Kurdish region in Iraq. PYD, on the other hand, include all Kurds from different states in their definition of national identity, but opposes the idea of nation-states and therefore do not seek an independent state for the Kurds.}},
  author       = {{Afsharian, Maral}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Cross-border Unity or Fragmentation of the Kurds - A Qualitative Content Analysis on the KRG’s and the PYD’s Views on National Identity and Statehood}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}