Abstract

Since the First World War,the Kurdish question has constituted one of the hotspot issues in the Middle East. The question has long affected the stability and development of the four countries where it emerged and evolved,namely Iran,Iraq,Turkey,and Syria,while also exerting broader impacts on the Middle East region. In comparison with its counterparts in the other three countries,the Kurdish question in Iraq holds greater and more enduring significance not only on Iraq’s internal affairs but also on Middle Eastern geopolitics and international relations.

Between 1958 and 2003,the Kurdish question in Iraq witnessed significant and profound changes. First,the contextual framework of the Kurdish question in Iraq changed fundamentally as Iraq transitioned from a monarchy to a republic in 1958,alongside a redirection of the focus of state diplomacy from the Western camp to the Soviet-led Eastern camp. This period also saw the constitutional recognition of the national rights of the Kurdish people for the first time. Second,under these emerging historical circumstances,the Kurdish leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani,who returned from his exile in the Soviet Union,and the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party with a modern party structure,began to wield substantial influence on Iraq’s political stage. Third,from 1958 onwards,the ever-changing dynamics in both Iraq’s domestic situation and the state’s position in the political geography of the Middle East,in effect,set in motion the historical development of the Kurdish question as it shifted towards a violent,complex,ethnicized,internationalized,and long-lasting issue. All these factors profoundly influenced and determined the changes in the political status of the Kurds and the degree of evolution of the Iraqi Kurdish question following the end of the 2003 Iraq War.

Based on that,this book conducts a historical examination of the evolution of the Kurdish question in Iraq from 1958 to 2003. Drawing on a critical reading of the existing literature and an investigation of historical records,as well as a comparison with the internal Arabic documents of the H·izb al-Ba‘th al-‘Arabī al-Ishtirākī in Iraq,and the primary English archives of the Foreign Relations of the United States,this book embarks on a historical and theoretical study of the Kurdish question in Iraq. Building on a chronological overview of key historical events and turning points,this book divides the evolution of the Iraqi Kurdish question during this period into four sub-periods:the emergence and development period （1958-1968）;the rise period （1968-1975）;the fall and resurgence period （1975-1990）;and the making period （1990-2003）. With this delineation,this book also closely scrutinizes the interactions between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish nationalist movement across three dimensions:ideology,socio-political organization,and political actions. The analysis is conducted through a comparative lens,exploring the divergent visions from both sides on some core disputes. Furthermore,various factors such as the social structure and party politics of the Kurdish community,as well as the positions and involvement of regional and global powers,are introduced to the discussion,to further address their historical implications.

Key Words: Iraq；Kurdish Question；Ba‘th Party；Nation Building；Nationalism