The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq [Hardcover]

Brendan O'Leary (Author), John McGarry (Author), Khaled Salih (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2005

On March 19, 2003, the United States, the United Kingdom and a "coalition of the willing" invaded the Republic of Iraq. But one part of that state, Kurdistan, was already free from Saddam's B'athists. It was autonomous but not formally independent. The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq collects expert contributions on the consequences of the overthrow of Saddam's regime for the Kurds and the other peoples of Kurdistan.

The bulk of the published literature in English on the Kurds and Kurdistan has been historical or anthropological. This volume is the first in any language to address in detail the constitutional politics of Kurdistan's relations with the rest of Iraq, and Kurdistan's future constitutional options. The essays are innovative and contain detailed analysis and description. They evaluate how the relations between Kurdistan and predominantly Arab Iraq might—and should—be remade in a state marred by the legacies of genocide, ethnic expulsion, and coercive assimilation.

The volume includes contributions from political scientists, constitutional lawyers, regional experts, and Kurdistan's international constitutional advisory team and opens with a historical overview. The viewpoints present analyses of the Transitional Administrative Law of Iraq and Kurdistan's preferred vision of a pluri-national federation, of appropriate lessons from Canadian federative history, of the constraints facing the negotiators of Iraq's permanent constitution, and of the status of children in constitutional renewal. Essays on past failures for Kurdistan's autonomy, on Kurdish hopes and fears before the March 19 war, on Kurdistan's internal divisions, and on its external relations with Turkey give needed historical background to the debates. Contemporary pieces appraise mistakes made in the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and analyzes what Kurdistan's negotiators seek to have inserted in the negotiation of the Transitional Administrative Law and will want in any permanent constitution of Iraq. The "Postscript: Vistas of Exit from Baghdad" updates readers, and scans benign and malign scenarios for Kurdistan.

Also published in Kurdish and Arabic, this volume is the first in any language to address in detail the constitutional politics of Kurdistan's relations with the rest of Iraq, and Kurdistan's future constitutional options. Its authoritative contributors include political scientists, lawyers, and regional experts, and the three members of Kurdistan's international constitutional advisory team who assisted in preparation for the negotiation of the Transitional Administrative Law, and in preparation of the design of the electoral law of Iraq and Kurdistan.

Containing informed and constructive analysis, practical and fair prescriptions, this collection will interest all general readers who have followed the Iraq War, and will be especially useful to teachers, students, and public officials working in international relations, constitutional law, and the political science of national and ethnic conflicts.

Contributors: Ofra Bengio, Karna A. J. Eklund, Peter W. Galbraith, Michael M. Gunter, John McGarry, Molly McNulty, Brendan O'Leary, Khaled Salih, Gareth Stansfield, Karin von Hippel, Sophia Wanche, Paul R. Williams

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the first detailed scholarly study of the kind of federation that would best serve the interests of the Kurds and the other peoples of Iraq—Arabs, Turkomans, and Chaldean Assyrians. Highly recommended."—Choice

"Adds up to a strong pitch for a viable Kurdistan within an Iraq federal state—or even an independent Kurdistan if the several contending forces in Iraq will not accept federalism. Much has happened since mid-2004 when this book went to press [but] the analysis and prescription presented here remain relevant."—Foreign Affairs

"This collection of essays is a core resource for anyone with a serious interest in Iraq and the U.S. military. . . . A good representation of the major issues confronting Kurdistan, Iraq, and their neighbors as of spring 2004. I learned even where I disagreed."—Publius: The Journal of Federalism

"When more than one hundred London-based diplomats, politicians, journalists, and international affairs analysts turn out for a discussion of a book, one knows that the book is timely and has something to say about pressing current international affairs and about its topic's potential for impacting regional and international geopolitical alignments. This is what happened on 31 May 2005 at Chatham House, a British think tank associated closely with the United Kingdom's Foreign Ministry. The book discussed was The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq, edited by Brendan O'Leary, John McGarry, and Khaled Salih. The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq well deserves the prestigious turnout it produced."—Mediterranean Quarterly

"An outstanding collection which illustrates the virtue of academic engagement with current predicaments."—Times Higher Education Supplement

About the Author

Brendan O'Leary is Lauder Professor of Political Science and Director of the Program in Ethnic Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author, coauthor, or coeditor of fourteen books, including Right-Sizing the State: The Politics of Moving Borders. He served in Kurdistan as a constitutional advisor to the Kurdistan National Assembly and Regional Government during 2004. John McGarry is Canada Research Chair in Nationalism and Ethnicity, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including Minority Nationalism and the Changing International Order (with Michael Keating). Khaled Salih, born in Sulaimania, Kurdistan, is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Southern Denmark. A specialist in Middle East politics, he was a consultant for the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council, served in Kurdistan as a constitutional advisor to the Kurdistan National Assembly and Regional Government, and is currently Adviser to the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (March 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812238702
• ISBN-13: 978-0812238709
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,503,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Michael Gunter's Response to Michael Rubin's Review, April 3, 2006

By 

Michael M. Gunter (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq (Hardcover)

I was disappointed to read Michael Rubin's review of Brendan O'Leary et al., The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq, where Rubin wrote that my article "Turkey's New Neighbor, Kurdistan" "undercuts the collection's quality" because it simply "rehashes history but does not address mutual security, trade, and Tigris River water allocation." Rubin must have been reading my article with his eyes wide shut because all one has to do is read my pp. 227-29 where, despite what Rubin wrote, I do indeed analyze especially, issues of mutual security as well as trade. My basic argument is that "Turkey needs to realize that as the more powerful partner it could become the natural leader and protector of either a national Kurdistan in a federal Iraq or an independent Kurdistan which would serve as a buffer between Turkey and possible Islamist-driven instability to the south" (p. 229). I also argue that Iraqi Kurdistan "must continue to assure Turkey it will not foment armed rebellion among the Kurds in Turkey, either directly or indirectly" (p. 228). Furthermore, I analyze how "Kurdistan's treatment by Turkey will be inspected by EU parliamentarians determined to ensure that Turkey is worthy of membership [and mention how] Kurdistan in Iraq and Turkey have joint interests in commercial cross-border cooperation" (p. 228). I encourage others to read the rest of my article to judge the accuracy of Rubin's characterization of it as simply an article that "rehashes history." I think others too will be disappointed how Rubin has treated my article in such an inaccurate and cavalier manner.

Michael M. Gunter

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars dated with no real value, September 18, 2007

By 

Mark bennett "Mark" (portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq (Hardcover)

This book is so dated as to be of little use to anyone interested in the subject. At best its a good retrospective on the situation leading up to the US invasion of Iraq. But so much has happened since then as to make the book largely irrelivant.

Certain of the contributors to the book have unhealthy ties to Kurdish groups and the Kurdish cause. The inclusion of material from those sources undercuts the credibility of the rest of the book.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Future Of Kurdistan In Iraq, March 7, 2006

By 

Michael Rubin "Middle East Quarterly" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq (Hardcover)

The Kurdistan National Assembly in Erbil, Iraq, formally inaugurated Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani on June 14, 2005, as president of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, formalizing northern Iraq's de facto federalism. The nature of the region's relationship with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad, however, remains ill-defined. The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq, a collection of essays derived from a December 2002 conference in Denmark and a September 2003 meeting in Washington, explores these unresolved questions.

O'Leary, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Salih, a lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, begin the collection with an essay exploring the denial and affirmation of Kurdistan in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq. Their discussion of the evolution of Iraqi Kurdistan through various Iraqi governments is detailed and well-complemented with maps. Their comparison of tactics used to address irredentist Kurdish nationalism falls short, though, because of their gratuitous antipathy toward Turkey and over-reliance on often-biased secondary sources.

Four essays on types of federation provide an excellent primer for Iraq's constitutional debates. O'Leary examines forms of federation, contrasting U.S.-style "integrative" federalism with the Swiss-style "pluralist" variety. In integrative federalism, decision-making is majoritarian rather than consensual, and the central government is stronger. McGarry, a nationalism and democracy specialist at Queen's University in Ontario, discusses lessons from the Canadian experience with "pluri-national" federalism. A third essay by O'Leary, with American University graduate student Karna Eklund and American University law professor Paul Williams, highlights debates regarding autonomy, resource sharing, and national versus regional militaries. A detailed additional chapter on children's rights in various constitutions by a UNICEF consultant is out-of-place.

Three authors address the legacy of the Iraqi Kurdish past. Tel Aviv University historian Ofra Bengio charts the development of Kurdish autonomy in the wake of the 1991 uprising but also addresses what she calls the "Kurds' Achilles Heel," meaning their propensity for internecine fighting. Gareth Stansfield contributes an interesting essay on the benefits of the Kurdish political divisions: duplicated administrations trained more bureaucrats, and competing governments sought to outdo each other's administrations. A contribution by Swedish development consultant Sophia Wanche on "Kurdish Perspectives on a Post-Saddam Iraq," based on field research conducted in 2002, fails to address its topic and instead rehashes well-worn discussions of the implications of independence, autonomy, and federalism.

A final section on immediate issues undercuts the collection's quality. Tennessee Technological University professor Michael Gunter's examination of the implication for Turkey of formal Kurdish federalism also disappoints, as it rehashes history but does not address mutual security, trade, and Tigris River water allocation. Peter Galbraith, a paid consultant to the Kurdistan Regional Government, lambastes the Bush administration, discounts Iraqi nationalism, misrepresents Iraqi Arab arguments, and is generally more Kurdish nationalist than many Iraqi Kurds.
Examining lessons learned from the U.S. military's occupation of Iraq, Kings College research fellow Karin von Hippel points out the need for greater coordination between civilian and military planning and also urges nongovernmental organizations to abandon their hostility to the military.

The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq offers a mixed assortment. It helps elucidate the federalist debate but some authors allow their sympathy for the Kurds to trump their analysis. Missing is any treatment of Iraqi Arab or Turkmen perspectives on Kurdish federalism. Despite these weaknesses, the collection offers a useful handbook as Iraqis determine their future.

Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2006

I've reread the chapter but my assessment stands. The first two-thirds of Michael M. Gunter's essay contains little new and the concluding three pages-which he writes here to defend-elucidate little about the Iraqi Kurdish-Turkish interplay. In part, that is because, rather than discussing this on its own terms, Gunter views it in the context of Turkey's drive for European Union membership.

Discussion of the postwar period falls short in several ways. There are no facts or figures related to Turkish-Iraqi Kurdish economic relations. He ignores too many issues. Is it not important that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan awarded oil exploration rights to two Turkish companies and asked another to build Sulaymaniya University's new campus? Was the decision purely economic, or was there a political component? What did the independent Kurdish media say?

Gunter quotes influential Turkish journalist Ilnur Cevik as praising cooperation but neglects to mention that Cevik quit as editor of the Turkish Daily News after his construction company won the contract to build the Sulaymaniya airport and a new Kurdish parliament complex. How many Turkish businessmen
followed Cevik's path? What is the proportion of Turkish investment in Iraqi Kurdistan? How important is Iraqi Kurdistan
for Turkish business? How has trade moderated politics in Iraqi Kurdistan? In Turkey? Does the intertwining of economies give the
Turkish government more leverage or less? Might it dampen Iraqi Kurdish demands for independence? How does Kurdish autonomy
affect Tigris River water allocation? Gunter does not say.

In another forum, Gunter's essay would be useful but it falls short as a chapter in a book on The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq.

Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2006