Mahir A. Aziz, The Kurds of Iraq: Nationalism and Identity in Iraqi Kurdistan, London and New York: I. B. Taurus, 2015, 163 pp., (ISBN: 978-1-78453-273-4).
Aziz’s sociological study assesses the development of ethno-national identities amongst a new generation of Kurds in the post-1990 era of Iraq. The Kurds of Iraq aptly traces how memory and identity in the Kurdish north have evolved away from the centralising force of Iraqi state hegemony. Aziz comprehensively traces the ways in which Kurdish youth balance competing, but ultimately complimentary, national, regional and ethnic forms of belonging. The introduction clearly outlines the main research questions, which address identity as a sociological model of inquiry, how and why Kurdish and Iraqi identities might differ, and to what extent Kurdish identity is dependent upon territorially specific mappings of individual and communal histories.
Aziz approaches the development of identity as organic, allowing for fluidity within the process of remembering and reconstructing new identities. Kurdistanism is not static in this sense, lending credence to the success of the Kurds in keeping alive their autonomy in the wake of repressive nationalising Ba’thist schemes. Tribal affiliations play an important role in advancing kinship systems of marriage and family alliance, helping the Kurds to maintain closely-knit communities that resist the hegemonic weight of the state to conform. The author discusses the rise of a new generational shift in nationalism, Kurdistanyeti, born of the lived experiences of the “youth” through the brutality of the Ba’th autocracy followed by a decade of de-Bathification. Aziz also complicates the relationship between the developing sense of Kurdistaniyeti nationalism following the devastating impacts of the Gulf War defeat and the increasingly urgent attempts by the Ba’th to reign in autonomy in the Kurdish north. The “failure of these regimes to instill a normative sense of Iraqiness in the Kurdish people” (p. 161) is the success of ethnic, territorial, and traditional forms of belonging that bind together an imagined nation within the broader boundaries of the Iraqi nation-state.
The book transitions somewhat awkwardly from a theoretical first section to the reminder of the monograph that discusses empirical data from student questionnaires disseminated across three campuses in Kurdistan. The first part of the book is especially frustrating because these short and choppy chapters frequently become repetitious, and remain disconnected from the research findings. Understandably, a discussion of nationalism(s) requires a discussion of theoretical lineages; however, it might make for a more interesting overview if these lineages were put into conversation with each other. Perhaps a more historically oriented approach might be useful in addressing how discussions of nationalism and ethno-nationalism germinate over time. An entire chapter on Anthony Smith’s theoretical model and its applicability in this monograph felt excessive, since an additional chapter on history and the developments of the Kurdish region within the broader history of the Iraqi state may have been more helpful to students of the region.
In the second part of the book, Aziz provides a rich statistical analysis of how identity can at once be segmented but overlapping, highlighting the way in which Kurdistaniyeti identity incorporates local, regional, and national systems of belonging. At times, the text felt cluttered by demographic information that might be best included as an appendix to the book. The statistical data suggests that the segmentation of “Iraqi” and “Kurd” is problematic as this new generation embraces a more nuanced ethno-political identity. One element that Aziz does not address in great detail is how we define “Iraqi” identity in the post-1990 period. Eric Davis’s Memories of State interrogates the subjugation of ethnic and religious history memory to the force of the Ba’th “Project for the Rewriting of History”. Forcing all Iraqis to align behind a myth of collective past has distorted the communal narratives of all Iraqis, but especially those born into the post-1990s period. In this sense, putting this study in conversation with a bourgeoning body of literature on Iraqis in diaspora helps us to understand one of the many responses to the repressive measures of the state on ethno-national groups in Iraq.
Despite the enduring force of Kurdishness amongst the peoples of northern Iraq, Aziz concludes his evocative work with a prognosis that due to the lack of a fully developed civil society, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is not yet ready to emerge as a political state. As this new generation moves closer to a civic-oriented society, Aziz believes it is possible that statehood could be achieved in the future. Throughout the book, Aziz promotes the successes of Kurdish students and scholars, whom he believes will go on to pave a way towards peace and cooperation in Iraq. Perhaps the message to garner from his research is that Iraq cannot afford to lose the Kurds and jeopardise the chance of collaboration in its precarious future.
Aziz attempts to break with the familiar research pattern of accessing political elites and tracing their development as a representative microcosm of change and continuity. He instead draws upon groups of university-aged students who have been shaped by a distinctly Kurdish historical, cultural and political narrative. This group is portrayed in the book as the future of Kurdish identity and nationalism: the future of the region within the state, and the future of co-existence within the broader region. The strength of the book lies in Aziz’s native knowledge of the region, but also his ability to communicate ideas and ask questions in both Kurdish and Arabic. Many historians and political scientists interested in the region try to capture its identity politics, and complex and often fractured nationalisms without the benefit of advanced local, cultural and linguistic capability. The cultural sensitivity and ethnographic tools Aziz brings to this study make the book a compelling interpretation of how the next generation of Kurds in Iraq will lead the charge in rethinking the role of the modern nation-state for Iraqis.
The reverse of his fortunate position as a researcher with an accessible pool of participants is the inherent danger in not addressing the power dynamics present in this relationship. These highly educated and politically conscious graduate-student participants are also aware of how and why their answers are important to the ongoing struggle for an independent Kurdish state. Had a similar survey been conducted with young adults from different educational backgrounds, it would have been interesting to see if the premise of research terms in the questionnaire would have resonated in the same way. Moreover, the questionnaire as it was administered in Kurdish (or Arabic) would have been a welcome addition to the appendices of the book.
This empirically rich study engages a new generation as they emerge into a new political and social reality for Iraq. In the midst of the current instability, Kurds are a critical element to the rebuilding of the nation and have a crucial part to play in the future of Iraq. As research participants, they also offer an essential window into the dynamics of national and ethno-national negotiation in an unofficial state-building process. The book is accessible on a number of levels – it is detailed enough to be of value to undergraduate and graduate students, and all manner of specialists interested in Iraq, the Kurds, nationalism, identity, and regionalism. It is both well written and executed, since the detailed mapping provided in the introduction is carried forth throughout the book, making it accessible despite the level of statistical detail.
Though current geopolitical realities stand in the way of Kurdish independence, Aziz believes this could eventually be a reality if a democratic federal Iraq can cooperate with the northern region. Kurdistan straddles important oil and water resources that make it essential that stability be returned to the region – not only on a national level, but also to the benefit of the U.S., Turkey, and states in the neighbouring region. Kurdish nationalism will thus shape the future relationships between this region, its resources, and its allies. The work is a wonderful contribution to the growing body of literature that has expanded upon studies of nationalism to explore aspects of transnationalism and identity in the context of a global diaspora. Though this pivotal contribution is set within national borders, it provides an important basis from which to engage with Kurdish state-building activism within the diaspora. The intersections of nationalism, identity and regionalism coalesce in this monograph to support future developments of ethno-nationalisms and layered identities. An understanding of identity and nationalism in a new generation of Kurds is an essential tool not only for those in the academy, but much further afield in areas of diplomacy, foreign policy, and international development.