Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Ph.D Student of International Relations, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.
2
Associate Professor of International Relations, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.
3
Professor of the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Introduction
In the past one hundred years, the Kurds, especially in Iraq, have tried to revise the structural and even border relations of the region at various times. Meanwhile, international and regional trends and events during the last three decades have had a greater impact on their fate. This article tries to find an answer to this question that what impact international events and trends in three decades has had on the situation of the Kurds in Iraq? The hypothesis of the article is that the series of developments, including the end of the bipolar order and the beginning of regionalism on the one hand, and developments and events such as the creation of a semi-autonomous region, the American attack on Iraq, the Arab Spring and the emergence of ISIS has increased the acting power and also the Kurds' desire to upgrade their government from "federal-local" to "independent-national" one in 2017.
Methodology
The research method is a combination of three historical-adaptive, descriptive-analytical and content analysis methods. The library method is used to collect information.
Results and discussion
International and regional trends and events affecting the situation of the Kurds in has been affected by regional and international factors, trends, developments and events more than internal developments and growth. During the 1990- 2017, we have witnessed the occurrence of numerous and extensive developments at various international and regional levels, which have had various direct and indirect consequences on the situation of the Kurds as follows:
1.1. The end of the bipolar era in the international system (1991);
1.2. The beginning of the period of regionalism in the Middle East;
1.3. Increasing self-awareness and communication due to the internet revolution and the emergence of virtual social networks;
1.4. Issue of Security Council Resolution 688 (1991);
1.5. The US and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003;
1.6. The Arab Spring revolution in the Middle East and the emergence of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Factors proving the increase in the acting of Iraqi Kurds
Iraqi Kurds have had gradual slope in achieving parts of the demands and rights, although in recent years, the Kurds in Syria have also been affected by international and regional developments and events, and have faced a very significant improvement in their position.
Conclusions
International and regional events, developments and trends that have had a direct and indirect impact on the situation of the Kurds in Iraq and have increased their role. Strengthening the position in Iraq, becoming an official actor and the second side of power (after the Shiites) in the power triangle in the new Iraq, being recognized as an effective actor in regional and international relations, etc., caused the Kurds in Iraq, centered on Masoud Barzani, to hold a referendum on independence and separation from Iraq in order to try to change and improve the position of their federal-local government with an independent national government. In this regard, Masoud Barzani while repeatedly emphasizing that the Sykes-Picot agreement has expired after one hundred years, took over the management of the secession referendum from Iraq in the Kurdistan Region, as well as the disputed areas under the control of the Peshmerga forces. The independence referendum held in September 2017 should be considered the most important event that drew attention to the Kurds in the Middle East in the international arena. Another important consequence of the increasing role of the Kurds and the subsequent attempt to gain independence from Iraq has been an impact on the developments and security relations in the region, which can cause a kind of revision regarding the security subgroups of the Middle East region.
It can be seen from the set of effects and consequences of the international and regional trends and events discussed in this article, the set of these developments increased the role of the Kurds in Iraq and took steps towards upgrading the level of the government from "federal-local" to "independent-national" one.
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