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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,[1] 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.
Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at AEI.
Note : 1. The contributor biography included in the
collection describes Galbraith as “an advisor to the
Kurdistan Regional Government and Kurdistan National
Assembly,” p. 341. Senior Kurdish Regional
Government officials told the author about the paid
relationship in Baghdad, Feb. 22, 2004, Sulaymaniyah,
Mar. 14, 2004, and Erbil, Nov. 3, 2004.
The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq Edited by Brendan
O'Leary, John McGarry, and Khaled Salih
University of Pennsylvania Press 2005
Click Here to BUY The Future Of Kurdistan In Iraq (Hardcover) by Brendan O'Leary (Editor)
www.aei.org
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