The Kurds: State and Minority in Turkey, Iraq and Iran (Conflict and Crisis in the Post-Cold War World) - Hardcover

Ciment, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816033390 ISBN 13: 9780816033393

Publisher: Facts on File, 1996

Synopsis

The end of the Cold War has exposed, or re-exposed, to general view many ongoing regional ethnic, territorial and religious conflicts that had been obscured, suppressed or subordinated to the great international power struggle. One of the most ancient of these conflicts is the struggle of the Kurdish people for national autonomy or independence.
Surveying the history of this conflict (with particular emphasis on the twentieth century), examining the cultures of the Kurds and of their antagonists, analyzing the byzantine political infighting and maneuvering of Kurdish leaders as well as the generally self-serving interventions by outside powers, James Ciment lucidly assesses the state of Kurdish affairs in each of the three states in which most Kurds live, and the possible course of future events. Organized for ease of access, yet lively and readable, The Kurds: State and Minority in Turkey, Iraq and Iran is a splendid and compelling work for students and other readers who need a clear and understandable introduction to a very complex subject.

About this title

About the Author:

James Ciment, Ph.D., teaches history at City College of New York (CUNY).

Review:

Kurds have for centuries occupied large parts of the mountainous areas of the lands that now comprise the states of Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Though Muslims, they are ethnically distinct from the majority populations of those countries, and they have been repressed, often violently, in all of them. Kurds have been subject to deportation, mass murder, political repression, forced assimilation, and large-scale military assault. Despite this history (and the nearly universal desire among them for self-government) Kurds have been unable to develop a serious and united political vehicle for their aspirations. Vicious internal power struggles among Kurdish leaders have seriously undermined the national cause, as have cynical interventions on all sides by the great powers. The Kurds: State And Minority In Turkey, Iraq And Iran surveys the history of the conflict, the cultures of the Kurds and their antagonists, the byzantine political infighting and maneuvering of Kurdish leaders, and the self-serving interventions by outside powers. The Kurds is essential reading for anyone attempting to understand the current Kurdish situation in the middle east. -- Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Facts on File
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0816033390
• ISBN 13: 9780816033393
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 225